Salem has become a scary and cruel place to live while the accusations of witchcraft are being made. Living in Salem during the witch trials is like playing hide and seek, except we are all hiding from the unjust accusations of witchcraft. Men and woman in this town are being accused and hanged for witchcraft with little to no evidence, like a corrupt authority. My neighbor, Elizabeth Proctor, has been accursed of witchcraft yet has stayed faithful to her family and religion throughout these crazed events of the Salem Witch Trials.
Whenever I would see Elizabeth, her and her husband were love birds until recently, they have been growing distant. Elizabeth spoke to me the other day and told me she was suspicious of her husband, John’s, interactions with their servant, Abagail William. We have now discovered that John had an affair with Abagail and Elizabeth fired her. Even when Elizabeth found out about the affair, she never had an outburst on John because she had faith in him to make things right.
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The judge asked Elizabeth if John had cheated on her with Abagail Williams. It seemed like a simple answer, specially because honesty was Elizabeth’s best quality. She was as honest as the day is long. Elizabeth told the court that John had not cheated on her, this made John’s heart sink because he had told the truth about his affair with Abagail. Elizabeth’s lie stood up and roared. Her decision showed John that she would tell her first lie in order to protect him and not to lose him. Abagail, a sly fox, thought that by accusing Elizabeth of being a witch and sending her to court, she would brake up Elizabeth and John’s marriage and have John for herself. However, in the end, it only made them realize how much they loved each other and that their marriage was rock
Elizabeth too has attained quite a bit of respect from the townspeople. She is known by those around her to be a genuine and kind woman. Elizabeth is accused of witchcraft, but soon after they realize that the accuser’s claim is misleading. They figure this out in Act Two when Mary Warren confesses to the poppet being hers and not Elizabeth’s. Furthermore, Elizabeth is a fervent Puritan woman. With that being said, she never lies because that to her is equivalent to murder or adultery. The only time that she ever thought to tell a lie was when she was doing her best to protect her husband in the court; unfortunately, what she did wasn’t the best choice she could’ve made. Moreover, Elizabeth is faithful with her husband, but that doesn’t stop her from continuing to not have trust in him. For example, in the beginning of Act Two, John mentions to her that he had been alone with Abigail. Without a doubt, that makes Elizabeth uncomfortable because she has a bit of an idea of what John was hiding from the public eye. In the stage directions, Arthur Miller prompts the reader to feel and sympathize with Elizabeth. For instance, in the same Act, it says that John goes to give her a kiss and she simply receives it. She doesn’t kiss him back showing that she has no desire to be doing much with the man. Throughout the play, Arthur Miller does an exceptional job with how he portrays Elizabeth as a good
Conclusion: I think that the Salem trials can teach a lot of life lessons; by not automatically assuming something must be true if coming from an “innocent” child. If it were to be true, whether it be a woman or man, the devil can and will get who it wants. I believe there are possible possessions that still take place in today’s society that are out of a person’s control. However, contrary to the ideals of the Salem Trials; todays’ “devil” affects all races, genders, and ages. During their time, race, gender, and age played a massive role in the accusations of witches and executions of innocent people.
At the start of the play, Elizabeth is heartbroken her husband, John Proctor, has committed adultery seven months ago with Abagail Williams. Elizabeth’s sorrow leads her to insecurities of her husband’s fidelity. When the talk of witchcraft comes up, Elizabeth becomes devastated she has been accused of witchery by Abagail. She is even more heartbroken John will not confess to the court of his infidelity to end the whole fiasco. She gently asks John to break any false hopes Abagail may have and is quickly discouraged by his answer. Elizabeth believes Abagail means to accuse her of witchery to take her place (1127). She goes on to tell her husband, “…I will be ...
Elizabeth Proctor was probably one of the characters faced with the most stress and problem throughout the duration of “The Crucible” After a long period of illness, she try to live life as normal, despite having found out her husband committed adultery and, later, that she has been accused of witchcraft. Although she proves brave and strong and endures the experience, when the most important decision in the fiasco comes, she makes a controversial choice.
John is a loving husband. He proves that by telling Elizabeth, “It is well seasoned” (p. 48) in reference to the rabbit she cooked, in which he had to add salt to. He likes to make her happy, which shows he loves her, and so he asks, “Would that please you?” (p.48) He is asking in reference to buying a heifer for her if the crops are good. He assures her he will “fall like an ocean on that court” by which he shows his love in caring for her freedom (p.73). To the court he admits he has “known her” he is talking about Abigail and their affair (p.102). He is showing his love towards his wife by throwing away his freedom, life, honor, dignity, and pride to prove Elizabeth’s innocence and have her freedom. He tells Elizabeth to “show honor now” as he is to be hanged in the gallows (p. 133). He is showing his love for her by letting her know he cares about her enough to want her to be strong even though he is to die.
The Salem Witch Trials marks a vulnerable era in history. The play allows us to see that uncontrolled rage, pride, and even religion at times, can lead to destruction and mayhem. With these factors, it’s quite clear to see why Salem was vulnerable to these
In today’s times, witches are the green complexed, big nosed ladies who ride around on broomsticks at Halloween. Back in the 1600’s, witches looked like average people, but they worked alongside the devil. Salem, Massachusetts, was a religious town of Puritans. They were strong believers in God, and had believed that witches were the devils workers. Everything was usual in Salem in 1692, until, 9-year-old Elizabeth Parris and 11-year-old Abigale Williams had sudden outbursts of screaming, contortions and convulsions, the doctor came and diagnosed witchcraft (Blumberg, Jess) And from this time on, the people of Salem believed there were witches all around them.
In the end, the Salem Witch Trials didn’t have a very good effect on anyone in Salem. These trials also left a major imprint on Salem.
However, the reader must always keep in mind the time at which this piece was written and how these relationships exemplify the realities of personal relationships during this time era. Her relationship with John is dominated by him and is almost like she is the child. Without anyone to speak to about her true feelings and stresses, she writes, another thing she must hide from John and Jennie. The reader feels a sense of fear from the narrator, “there comes John, and I must put this away,—he hates to have me write a word” (Gilman 78). Yet another sign of how he does not want his wife thinking for herself and doing what she pleases. When learning about the author and her background, her feminist side shows in this piece through examples like these. The true dark sides of marriage, the loneliness, and the female role of always being superior are portrayed perfectly in this short
The witchcraft trials became a significant event in Salem. There were 20 innocent people that died and many more accused. There is a debate on whether who was the main reason for the witchcraft trials and all the deaths of the accused. There are good arguments on about every side. Judge Danforth, Abigail Williams, John Proctor, Reverend Hale, Reverend Parris, Elizabeth Proctor and Mary Warren are all the main arguments for the blame. Personally, I believe that Abigail Williams is the main reason why the witchcraft trials came about and that so many people have died and were accused.
To further complicate matters, John decides not to reveal to the court that Abigail has admitted to him in private that they were just sporting in the woods. Abigail spreads additional accusations and false rumors about her neighbors. These accusations have no basis in truth and their only purpose is for Abigail’s own benefit. Furthermore, Abigail is jealous of John’s wife, Elizabeth, and she schemes to get rid of her in order to take her place. Abigail’s plot is to accuse Elizabeth of witchcraft.
The Salem, Massachusetts Witch Trials have generated extensive evaluation and interpretation. To explain the events in Salem, psychological, political, environmental, physical, and sociological analysis have all been examined. The authors Linnda Caporael, Elaine Breslaw, Anne Zeller, and Richard Latner all present differing perspectives to speculate about the events of the Salem Witch Trials. This changing interpretation and perspective has resulted in an extensive historiography to explain the
Being isolated from any other group of people with different beliefs created a church led Puritan society that was not able to accept a lot of change. The church was against the devil, at the same time it was against such things as dancing and other premature acts. The reputation of the family was very important to the members of the community. When the girls were caught dancing in the woods, they lied to protect not just themselves but the reputation of their families. They claimed that the devil took them over and influenced them to dance. The girls also said that they saw members of the town standing with the devil. A community living in a puritan society like Salem could easily go into a chaotic state and have a difficult time dealing with what they consider to be the largest form of evil.
As the story begins, the narrator's compliance with her role as a submissive woman is easily seen. She states, "John laughs at me, but one expects that in marriage" (Gilman 577). These words clearly illustrate the male's position of power in a marriage t...
The main character, John Oakhurst, was a good man throughout the story. In the beginning, Mr. Oakhurst also gave Duchess his horse to ride on since she only had a donkey, and it was uncomfortable on the journey for her, as shown in paragraph 7, ‘he insisted upon exchanging his own riding horse, "Five Spot," for the sorry mule which the Duchess rode.’ One of the main reasons we know he has hidden goodness is that he stayed with all of the women when he could’ve left them like Uncle