Power At the end of the day it is clear that women hold all the cards and have a lot of power. Although there were many people with and without power in The Crucible, people went to to extremes to either gain power or stay in power for their own selfish motives. One of the many people who is trying to take advantage of this opportunity and seize power is Abigale. She is deceiving and lying to the town and more importantly to the church whom right now holds most, if not all of the power to gain more power and to get what she wants. In the book it says “Elizabeth: And she charges me? (Miller 203)” This is when Elizabeth realized that Abigail is falsely accusing her of being a witch. Abigail is doing this because she is madly in love with Elizabeth's …show more content…
Tell me, Mr. Proctor, have you given out this story in the village? (Miller 210)” This was Danforth refusing to believe or even consider John's accusation that none of the girls actually saw spirits. He is doing this for his own iniquity and selfish reasons. Another example was when Danforth said “Danforth: There will be no postponement (Miller 232).” This was showing that Danforth was letting these hangings proceed just because he did not want to admit that all this time he was wrong in accusing these people of witchcraft. He considers himself as very educated and wise to this sort of thing so when he realized he was wrong he had too much pride to admit it. There were very many people in The Crucible by Arthur Miller who did not have power but took it by making false accusations and lying to benefit themselves, there were also people who had power before these corrupt trials took place that did some unintelligible things to ensure they did not lose power. All of my information was from the story ‘The Crucible’ by Arthur Miller. It is crazy to sit and think about how these people were afflicted and how families were torn apart because of the false accusations of little girls. I don’t think a situation like this would ever occur in modern
Authors often have underlying reasons for giving their stories certain themes or settings. Arthur Miller’s masterpiece, The Crucible, is a work of art inspired by actual events as a response to political and moral issues. Set in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692, The Crucible proves to have its roots in events of the 1950’s and 1960’s, such as the activities of the House Un-American Committee and the “Red Scare.” Though the play provides an accurate account of the Salem witch trials, its real achievement lies in the many important issues of Miller’s time that it dealswith.
In the play, "The Crucible," characters are put in tough situations where they feel uncomfortable and they need for something to change in order to resolve the problem. The definition of crucible is actually a "heat resistant container in which materials inside can be subjected to great heat." (Merriam-Webster, 190) This is very fitting for the play because the girls are like the heat on the outside, putting pressure and tension on the adults in the village, who are like the materials on the inside. One of the two categories of people must change in order to resolve the conflict, and three main characters display this need to change more than any others. The first person is John Procter, who changes somewhat through the play. The second is Abigail Williams, who attempts to change the people around her. And the third is Reverend John Hale, who changes quite dramatically through the play. All of these characters recognize that change is needed, but approach the problem from different perspectives.
In the Crucible, we are introduced to the main protagonist John Proctor; the way that Arthur Miller presents him by rebelling against the authority in Salem. Out of the entire town he is the only person that speaks out, realising that the authority is unfair and unjust; he is not like everyone else in the town who keeps quiet to themselves. There are many situations where we the readers can see very clear examples of him rebelling against the authority that controlled Salem. One example of Proctor rebelling against authority in Salem was when he did not go to church on a Sabbath day and instead decided to pray in his own home ‘Mr Proctor, your house is not a church; your theology must tell you that’. That is one clear example of him rebelling
I, Elizabeth Proctor, am innocent. I have faced countless ridicule, discrimination, and hatred over an act that was never performed by me, near me, or around me. No one I have ever known has been a witch, and there’s no more of a reason for me to be considered one too. Sure, I have made mistakes in my life, but nothing as to which would be basis for the grounds upon me being accused of witchcraft. This is simply preposterous! I have lived a good Christian life and been god-fearing, what more do you vile accusers expect of me? I have been a good wife to a cheating husband and now will be a mother to one. Even with a delayed hanging until my baby is born, of what good will my child be, being raised without a loving mother? How will my baby be
Some people might say that The Crucible is related to our culture because of the abuses of power; however, people fail to think that The Crucible is not just about the court’s abusive system, but about the choices Proctor makes in keeping his family away from harm. In The Crucible, Proctor made some life and death decisions when dealing with the court. He decided to tell the truth about his affair with Abigail Williams. If he lied about having an affair, he could have been hanged. Not only this shows how abusive the court can be, but showed how Proctor protected him and his family from being killed. The only consequence he faced was that his wife was
In the removed scene of “The Crucible” (Act 2, scene II), Abigail Williams meets John Proctor in the woods at night, where they talk about the occurrences in the town. Abigail tells John of the mental suffering she has gone through, and even shows John the physical proof of her sufferings: holes in her leg from witches’ needles, the wound in her stomach that Elizabeth’s spirit reopens every night, and the lump on her arm that George Jacobs strikes while Abigail tries to sleep. Abigail appears insane to the reader, who knows that she is connected to witchcraft and has no ability to see spirits. Abigail is crazy enough to injure herself in order to be believed by Salem’s court. She misleads herself into thinking that John will marry her one day. As for John, he sees Abigail’s deluded state. He wants to end Abigail’s influence over court, so he warns her that he’ll confess their affair in court, but she does not believe that he will
To begin with, in the play The Crucible, Arthur Miller displays a flaw in the world of Salem with the intention of demonstrating the problem of the church authority. There is no separation of the church and state in this play, the people abuse their power of authority. For instance, Reverand Parris has been engrossed in the thought of saving himself and keeping his reputation in check, rather than his teachings and God. In fact, John Proctor points this out and exposes him. Hale questions the Proctors and wonders why two out of three of their children were baptized, and John's answer raises eyebrows. "I like it not that Mr. Parris should lay his hand upon my baby. I see no light of God in that man. I'll not conceal it," (Act 2, p.62). For this
Kennedy, Miller and Reagan all assert that governments must use whatever measures necessary to protect and maintain their respective lifestyles. Miller, in his condemnation of witchcraft and its failure to allow due process in prosecuting alleged perpetrators of this occurrence, reveals the need for a democratic judicial process. JFK urges people to reevaluate their attitudes and promote peace from within. He argues that while it is necessary to have the required force should an enemy fail to respect the United States, ideally future generations will be able to work cohesively together and realize that they possess more commonalities than differences. Reagan stresses the importance of freedom. It is our freedom of speech that is worth
The crucible by author miller demonstrates three main themes. It demonstrates abuse of power, revenge and how lies can ravage a community with hysteria. These three themes are outlined by many characters. Making the book have to main sides of witchcraft vs common sense.
Former NASA trainer jumped through hoops to kill her husbands mistress. Shannon O’Roark Griffin drove two hundred and fifty miles to shoot and kill her husbands mistress. Shannon was devastated when her husband wouldn’t leave his mistress, Shannon later drove to the woman's house and shot her when she answered the door. Abigail Williams similarly tried to kill her lover's wife. After John Procter called it quits with Abigail she tried to murder his wife in the Salem Witch Trials. Others are able to get over an ex, Abigail on the other hand did not take that route. The crazily obsessed love struck teen refuses to get over an ex that does not truly love her. Abigail, the example of the ex that every ex trembled at the thought of. Abigail the
A. A tale of adultery, witchcraft, and fabrication. The life of 17-year-old Abigail Williams, and her friends will change after a night of dancing in the woods.
In The Crucible by Arthur Miller many characters chose to put their life on the line before losing their good reputation, that was how highly they valued their reputation. The Crucible took place in Massachusetts in the early 1960’s, it is based on a real life event of the Salem witch trials in which multiple girls claim to be traumatized by witchcraft. The girls start accusing the townspeople of witchcraft, specifically people that they or their families hold a grudge against in order to favor themselves. The accused were jailed and often hung as a result of the accusations. Arthur Miller shows through various characters’ motivations and actions that people value their reputation which shows that they often care about themselves more than the effects of their actions.
The unfounded accusations that Joseph McCarthy and the girls in The Crucible make are what fuels the widespread hysteria in both situations. McCarthy is quoted as declaring in a speech, "I have here in my hand a list of 205 that were known to the Secretary of State as being members of the Communist Party and who, nevertheless, are still working and shaping policy in the State Department." This is the first of the many unwarranted charges that he claims. The girls in The Crucible, all make unwarranted charges against people for witchcraft, especially Abigail Williams. The leader of the accusations, she accuses various people from Elizabeth Proctor to Tituba. Joseph McCarthy and the girls earn the respect and awe of the people, instead of being riduculed for their unfounded accusations.
Danforth is not a truthful man. The trials in the story thrive on accusations made mostly by abigail and the girls. A real trial should be based on the truth. In the end of the play when they all realize that this is all fake and the people are actually innocent, they do not want to give up their pride and tell the people that they made a mistake accusing Elizabeth Proctor and John Proctor so they tell them that they need to confess if they want to live even though they all know that they are innocent. This makes the trial based on lies. Danforth tells John Proctor the day he is going to be hung that he can save himself ig he signs this paper that he was a witch and it would be hung up around town. Danforth said that if he were to do it then he would be free and allowed to be with his wife as long as they sign it. He knows it is not the truth yet he is making John Proctor and Elizabeth Proctor sign a lie to keep Danforth and the other judges
The issues of power, that Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, portrays are concerned with, who has the power, the shifts of power that take place and how power can consume people and try to abuse it, for either vengeance, jealously, material gain or sexual desire.