Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Salem witch trials outline
Witch hunt mysteries of salem witch trials
Salem witch trials summary
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
The Salem Witch Trials occurred from 1692-1693.Witch trials were not uncommon in Puritan society;therefore it was not unusual for it too have occurred. The only unusual aspect was the frenzy and large number of accused.The mass hysteria of this event was to be matched in the nation once more during the Red Scare of the Cold War period, and prompted Arthur Miller to write a play about it. Thus, The Crucible was born. In the play several characters contribute to the worsening situation in Salem. One of these characters whom carries the blame of the trials is surely Mary Warren.
At the beginning of the play a group of girls decide to pretend to have been “witched” so as to avoid getting into any actual trouble within their community. Along with these girls who are pretending witchcraft has spread to their town, is Mary Warren. Initially, Mary is against faking such a heinous crime, but she easily convinced otherwise. “I say shut it, Mary Warren!” (Act 1, 73). After Abigail says that Mary
…show more content…
He uses her as a way to hopefully end the antics of the girls in order to save his wife. Mary’s inconsistencies in her story causes great conflict, because at that time many have already been accused, and her claims that the girls are lying makes the court look bad. It was easy for Mary to side with John Proctor (as he was her boss), but her inconsistency does not end there. Mary becomes anxious when confronted by the judges and other girls, so she backs out of helping John Proctor. She switches sides again, “You’re the Devil’s man!” (Act 3, 1430). She decides to argue pro witchcraft and accuses Mr. Proctor. By doing this she allows the blame to fall on her once more by ruining her only chance at ending the trials and subsequently saving the
Witchcraft started in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. Superstition started when women were accused of acting strangely. These superstitions turned into trials, and later lead to mounds of hanged people. Most of the people accused were innocent, but the harsh judge rulings left them with nothing to live for. The only options for the tried, no matter if guilty or not, were to claim guilty, living the rest of their life in prison, or to plead not guilty and hang. Due to both consequences being equally as punishable, many people isolated themselves from society. Unfortunately, some people caused the uprising of the salem witch trials more than others did. In the play The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, Abigail Williams single handedly attributed to the
Unlike her peers, Mary Warren is innocent of and wishes to tell the truth, "We must tell the truth, Abby! You'll only be whipped for dancin', and the other things!" (Miller, Arthur. "Act 1." The Crucible. 50th Anniversary ed. Harmondsworth, Eng.: Penguin, 1976. 18. Print.). Upon hearing this, Abigail immediately shoots down Mary's request, threatening her life if she dare
The events that took place in Salem Massachusetts during 1692 through 1693, would forever define the colonial religious extremists, known as the Puritans. The Salem Witch Trials created a distinct nuance, that marked a dark period in American history. The dramatized version of the Witch Trials, The Crucible, resulted in a semi accurate representation of the historical events that occurred in Salem Massachusetts. The author Arthur Miller, wrote the playwright by incorporating factual content, as well as imaginary aspects that brought the characters of the Witch Trials to life.
When these women of Salem Massachusetts started to do witchcraft and pass it on to other people, they were put on trial for their actions, which at the time was, illegal. It had caught on all over England and was spreading fast. Arthur Miller made a play called the Crucible that was about the Salem witchcraft trials. Arthur Miller took the historical accounts and changed them to be suitable for the play. The crucible had many alterations to the historical documents that took place in 1962 which were in the characters, the historical differences, and why the theme of history was changed.
Mary Warren’s first lie comes as a result of her wanting to fit in and feel like she is a part of something. She claims that Sarah Good, an old and poor woman who sleeps in ditches, sends her spirit out on her in court and chokes her to “near death”. She describes the courtroom experience to John Proctor and says that she felt “a misty coldness climbin’ up [her] back” as “ the skin on [her] skull began to creep” and she felt a “clamp around [her] neck” until she could not breathe” (57). It seems as if Mary Warren has convinced herself that witchcraft is real, just to fit in with the girls. Pretending that Sarah Good sent her spirit out into the courtroom has major consequences on the town as well as on Sarah.
The statement,“The Crucible is essentially about courage, weakness, and truth,” is proven true numerous times, throughout the play. The Crucible was written by Arthur Miller, about the true events that happened in Salem, Massachusetts, between the years 1692 and 1693. The Salem witch trials consisted of many hangings, lies, and complete mass hysteria. The citizens of Salem followed the religion of Puritanism, and the ideas of predestination. The root of the mass hysteria comes from their belief in the sense that in something happens then it must have been planned by God. In Miller’s portrayal of the story, Abigail Williams was the ringleader of the witch trials, and she used the idea of predestination to cover up her own sins. Abigail was a very manipulative girl and ruined many lives. John Proctor, Mary Warren, and Elizabeth Proctor were just a few of the victims in Abby’s game. John, Mary, and Elizabeth exhibit the traits courage, weakness, and truth, whether it was in a positive or negative way.
It was easier for them to blame the devil for the problems of society than fix the problems of their own strict way of life. So the girls involved with Abigail, like Mercy Lewis and Mary Warren, named many people in the town as witches. These people were put in jail and would be hanged if they did not confess to the crime of devil worship or witchcraft. Another part of the developing plot is that John Proctor knows Abigail and her friends are lying, but he is afraid to say anything because eight months before he had an affair with Abigail and did not want to be seen by the town as a lecher, which means wife cheater. So, Mr. Proctor has to fight with himself to come out and tell the truth, or his wife might die because of Abigail saying she was a witch.
Abigail is wicked and confident and is not afraid to take control of situations. This is shown when she is with Parris, Abigail is respectful on the surface but she hides her resentment and disrespect. She talks back to defend her name and in Act One, she suggests to Parris," Uncle, the rumour of witchcraft is all about; I think you'd best go down and deny it yourself." She is also aggressive and forceful, the other girls are afraid of her. When Mary Warren suggested that they should confess to dancing in the woods. Abigail threatens them,."..I have seen some reddish work done at night and i can make you wish you had never seen the sun go down!"
In the beginning of the story Mary says ''Abby, we've got to tell. Witchery's a hangin' error, a hangin' like they done in Boston two years ago! We must tell the truth, Abby! You'll only be whipped for dancein', and the other things!'' (Miller 410).This tells that Marry regrets dancing and doing other things in the forest , also desires to be truthful. Later on in the story Mary tells Proctor '' I cannot, they'll turn on me'' (Miller 11273). This indicates she is spineless. She does not want to help Proctor save Elizabeth's life because she does not want to stand up to Abigail. When she tried to be truthful Abigail and the girls all went against her clamming that she is witch. Mary as the spineless girl she is, she blames John Proctor for being with the devil. Mary also chickened out on standing up to Abigail and the other girls. She let's them get to her and did not do what she desired over
“What a grand peeping courage you have!” This quote was said by Mercy Lewis referring to Mary Warren in The Crucible during 1692. Mary and the other girls were dancing in the woods when Reverend Parris found them. When the girls were asked who all danced, Mary said that she was just watching. Mary Warren and I have a few of the same personality traits and that we both are caring, shy, and honest.
Mary represents our follower. Mary was the biggest crybaby I have ever seen. She used her innocence as an excuse, even though she was a part of the witch hunt as much as Abigail and the others. Once Abigail lost her job at the Proctor’s Mary took her place. Abigail saw this as the perfect opportunity for revenge on Elizabeth because Mary was such a pushover. Mary couldn’t say no to Abigail. Honestly she probably couldn’t say no to anyone because she represents the scary and adherent person in the play because she is so easily persuaded. According to Kohlberg’s Theory Mary would be at the top of the list in the stage of infancy.
Out of fear she screams at Proctor “You’re the Devil’s man!” she says “I’ll not hang with you! I love God, I love god.”(Act 3, 124) She believes it was better to lie and accuse innocent people out of fear of saving herself, instead of telling the truth and trying to save the other townspeople, even if she died in the process. The decision is not justified as her fear made her focus on saving herself. She is so frightened she rushes to Abby with the promise of “I’ll never hurt you no more!”(Act 3, 125) Mary’s fear forced her into falsely accusing others and making bad decisions such as siding with Abby again. Mary Warren was going hysterical with fright, causing her to make what was the easiest decision for her. As she was just trying to get herself out of trouble, the decision she made is not
The Crucible is a 1953 play by Arthur Miller. Initially, it was known as The Chronicles of Sarah Good. The Crucible was set in the Puritan town of Salem, Massachusetts. It talks of McCarthyism that happened in the late 1600’s whereby the general public and people like Arthur Miller were tried and persecuted. The Crucible exemplifies persecutions during the Salem Witch Trials. The people were convicted and hung without any tangible proof of committing any crime. Persecutions were the order of the day. When a finger was pointed at any individual as a witch, the Deputy Governor Danforth never looked for evidence against them or evidence that incriminated them; he ordered them to be hanged. This can be seen through his words “Hang them high over the town! Who weeps for those, weeps for corruption!” (1273), the people were persecuted aimlessly. The four main characters in the play, John Proctor, Abigail Adams, Reverend Hale and Reverend Parris, are caught in the middle of the witchcraft panic in the religious Salem, Massachusetts in late 1690’s. Persecution is the most important theme in the Crucible, the leaders and citizens of Salem attacks and persecutes one of their own without any tangible evidence against them.
Mary realizes that what Abigail is doing is wrong and she’s the only one who can put a stop to it. Abigail’s frustration grew as Mary announced to the court that, “She [Abigail] sees nothin’!” (121) and tried to accuse her of murder. Abigail saw Mary’s confidence building up as Mary kept denying using witchcraft after she repeatedly accused Abby of it. Transition here Abigail screaming at the “bird” on the ceiling because she thought it was Mary, Mary supposedly sent to attack her as Danforth asks Mary, “Have you compacted with the Devil? Have you?”(121) and Mary replies with, “Never, Never” (121). Mary Warren knows that if she does not admit to using witchcraft she could be hung, but she knows she must put an end to Abby’s manipulation. Earlier in the novel, Mary was too intimidated by Abigail and would never have had the courage to accuse Abby of lying about the events in the woods. To successfully accuse Abby, Mary had to admit that, “I never saw no spirits” (112) which put her own life in danger as well. Until accusing Abby of witchcraft and murder in the court with John Proctor, Mary Warren had no confidence in herself and did what everyone else wanted her to do. At the end of the play, Mary made decisions for herself and wasn’t afraid to go against what everyone else was doing.
The Crucible is considered the outline of the real life events during the Salem Witch trials in 1692. Abigail Williams, the niece of Reverent Paris was found conjuring in the forest along with his nine year old daughter Betty and other girls. After that event the witch trials began. In real life, Abigail was the one who began the witc...