Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, renders the horrific events of the Salem witch trial through a crew of many fantastic characters. Fear pedals the citizens of Salem Massachusetts to reveal their true character while facing the judgment of a bias court before barbarous judges. While the whole town of Salem is filled up with this madness, two particular women stand out above the rest. Shame and revenge lives in the mind and heart of an adulteress teenager Abigail Williams, while truth and righteousness lives in the soul of Elizabeth Proctor, a faithful wife to John Proctor. Abigail and Elizabeth both heighten the suspense and tension of the play along with their differences leading to turmoil due to both of their desire for one man’s love. In The Crucible, Abigail Williams is a cunning, manipulating and deceitful character who thought of an idea where she can get away with anything without fearing any consequences. A teenager never looked at as a dangerous character by her society; Abigail figured that she could avoid trouble by making up lies to cover up her practicing witch craft. When the other girls from her community who were also involved in this started feeling guilty, Abigail verbally threatened by saying "..Let either of you breathe a word, or the edge of a word, about the other things, and I will come you in the black of some terrible night and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shutter you. And you know I can do it.."(Act I, 20). She never did play around with her getting in trouble and ruining her chances to be with John Proctor, the man whom she was most in love with. Elizabeth and Abigail are merely opposite of each other. A faithful wife to John Proctor, Elizabeth was more than a bystander in her commu... ... middle of paper ... ...proves how unethical, immoral, and selfish she is. Elizabeth is a stand up women. Throughout The Crucible, she seems to be struggling to forgive her husband and let her anger go for his infidelity. Of course her anger towards Abigail is understandable. Elizabeth’s hatred for Abigail is justified because Abigail later in the play tries to murder Elizabeth by framing her of witch craft. Elizabeth is the blameless victim. The only sin we see her commit is at the court. Elizabeth in the play is portrayed as a noble and a honest women. The Puritans really did believe in witch craft. Reading about the witch trail may look stupid and make many people mad but the truth is that Puritan’s life was different than one’s life in the 21st century. Because in Puritans society moral law and state law was the same individual’s soul, sin, and status was matter of public concern.
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Show More“No one man can terrorize a whole nation unless we are all his accomplices.” In the case of The Crucible by Arthur Miller, Edward Murrow is uncannily accurate. The Crucible, set in Salem, Massachusetts during the Salem Witch Trials, proves that when one antagonist has accomplices, they can destroy the lives of many. In this story, Abigail destroys the lives of everyone in Salem. That being said, in times of stress or panic, people's’ true traits and personalities can be discovered, as shown in the cases of John Proctor and his damning indiscretion, Rev. Hale’s panicked realization, and Mary Warren’s naive and fearful indecision; all of which develop throughout the play in response to different stimuli.
In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, Miller demonstrated that it was Abigail William’s flaws – mendacity, lust, and arrogance – that led her to be responsible the most for the tragedy of the witch hunt in Salem, Massachusetts. Driven by lust, Abigail was able to lie to the Salem community in hopes of covering her and her friends’ deeds and gaining the attention of John Proctor. Her arrogance enabled her t0 advance her deceit.
The Crucible is a famous play written by Arthur Miller. This play centers around the witch trials that took place in Salem, Massachusetts. In Act II, Abigail and her friends accuse several innocent people of witchcraft. Once they leave the court, Reverend Hale goes to John Proctor’s house to inform Elizabeth Proctor that people in the court have mentioned her name. Then officials of the court, Herrick and Cheever, arrive at the Proctor’s house. They claim to have a warrant for Elizabeth’s arrest because the court declares she practices witchcraft. After, Herrick and Cheever take Elizabeth to jail. Injustice in Act II prevails because of the inability to see the truth. Reverend Hale and John Proctor illuminate the theme that closed-mindedness
During the early years of the colonies, there was a mad witch hunt striking the heart of Salem. Anger, reputation, and even religion play an important part during the play of The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller. The author allows us to witness the vivid idea of the hysteria taking place in Salem, Massachusetts, and why it was so vulnerable during the time.
First, In the book The Crucible Abigail Williams is the vengeful, manipulative, and a liar. She seems to be uniquely gifted at spreading death and destruction wherever she goes. She has a sense of how to manipulate others and gain control over them. All these things add up to make her one good antagonist with a dark side. In Act I, her skills at manipulation are on full display. When she's on the brink of getting busted for witchcraft, she skillfully manages to pin the whole thing on Tituba and several of Salems other second class citizens. Also since Abigail's affair with John Proctor, she's been out to get Elizabeth, his wife. She convinced Tituba to put a curse on Elizabeth, hoping to get rid of her and take
The play “The Crucible” written by Arthur Miller depicts the horror and fear suffered due to the Salem witch trials; where countless were condemned due to suspicion of witchcraft. Through the play, the reader builds strong emotional connections to the characters. John Proctor, the play’s protagonist, exhibits complex emotions and character traits. These character traits cause him to heavily affect the course of the play as well as the fates of the other characters. These traits include pride, bravery, and integrity. Due to John Proctor’s sense of prideful, blunt spoken, and integrity will undoubtedly leads to his death, but will also leaves a strong lasting impact on the play.
From the start of the play, Abigail already has a bad reputation for committing adultery. Elizabeth Proctor had kicked her out of their home because Elizabeth knew of the affair that was going on between Abigail and John. This tarnished her reputation and for that, Abigail wanted to get revenge on Elizabeth Proctor. “She is blackening my name in the village! She is telling lies about me! She is a cold, sniveling woman, and you bend to her!” This is the remark Abigail makes to John Proctor about Elizabeth and what she is doing to her reputation. The main reason behind Abigail accusing so many people is so that eventually the blame is put on Elizabeth. Abigail’s hopes are to have Elizabeth killed so her and John can go on living their lives together. Not only does she want to live her life with John Proctor, but Abigail is also angered at Elizabeth because of the reputation she has given her throughout the village. Her actions go to show how willing she is to ruin numerous lives in order to get revenge on Elizabeth and also get rid of Elizabeth to carry on her dreams of marrying John Proctor. Obviously, Abigail Williams was very serious about getting vengeance on Elizabeth for destroying her reputation in the village of Salem,
In the novel The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, highlights a powerful drama based on the chaotic Salem Witch Trials. Salem is governed strictly where the bible is the law and anyone who doesn 't follow the law must be acquainted with the Devil. Witchcraft started by a group of girls getting caught "dancing in the woods" (Trevino). In Salem, dancing was prohibited and the girls knew they were in trouble so without thinking twice they started accusing others of being seen with the Devil. The main character in Salem is John Proctor that portrays the classic tragic hero who falls to his death. This allowed the reader to fully understand that he is a honorable, simple, virtue, and "sinner" man (Miller 19). In his lifetime, he runs into trouble with Abigail that ruined his relationship with God, his wife Elizabeth, and also damaged his self image. We see the external conflict that Miller illustrates with John and the Salem Witch Trials that is examined on his use of two tools: plot and characterization.
The year is 1692 in Salem, a small town in Massachusetts, and the Puritans community is in serious trouble. In the story “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller, the Puritans community is in the Salem court where John Proctor admits to committing adultery to Abigail Williams who at the time was very young. Abigail Williams is where the court started after she is involved in the case where John Proctor is accused of committing adultery with her. Abigail also lead the girls and their witchcraft accusations in court. Abigail truly believed that John Proctor still had love for her.
Arthur Miller’s dramatic play The Crucible, takes place during 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts. The setting is important because it takes place during the time of the Salem Witch Trials. The play begins with the town’s girls, led by Abigail Williams, gathering in the forest and starting to dance around a fire, chanting. Reverend Parris catches them dancing, sending the girls into a panic and causing two of the girls to go into a coma-like state. The townspeople spread rumors that there are witches lurking throughout the the town that have put the girls under their spells. This causes Reverend Parris to send for Reverend Hale, an expert in witchcraft and the devil's work, who hopes to rid the town of all witchcraft. John Proctor, a local farmer, asks Abigail to stop accusing innocent people and start telling the truth about what happened in the forest. Elizabeth Proctor, John Proctor's wife, excused Abigail from their house because she found out about an affair between Abigail and John. She lies to the court when she is asked about John’s affair to save him from any punishment. In doing so, they were both sent to jail for witchcraft because they knew she had lied. Abigail and the girls continued to lie about people in the town being witches, causing many innocent people to be killed, including John Proctor. Miller shows the dangers of scapegoating when lies that are regarded as the truth, and can kill innocent characters.
In The Crucible, the main struggle of all women is to be a perfect Puritan, wife, or friend, while the men struggle to uphold their reputations without sullying anyone else’s. Elizabeth Proctor is a prime example of a Puritan woman who strives to be the perfect wife. She demonstrates this by cooking for her husband and putting effort into cooking for him. When he compliments her food, she blushes, which exemplifies her desire to please him and to be a good wife for him. Elizabeth also forgives John for having an affair with Abigail. Even though John accuses her of judging him for his affair, Elizabeth maintains that she does not judge him for those actions. When he continues to claim that she has not and will not forgive him, she says, “I have sins of my own to count. It needs a cold wife to prompt lechery” (Miller 137). By saying this to John, she is telling him that she sins too and that she has things other than his sins to worry about. She appears to be hurt by his blame and lack of trust in her. John
Over two hundred years of history rests between the Salem witch trials and the publication of The Crucible, but innumerable resemblances rests between the times. From the wrongful deaths during the witch trials to the punishments throughout the reign of McCarthyism, all occurred without much validation other than someone’s word over someone else’s. Also, Miller possibly set his play hundreds of years ago to give a voice to the accused citizens of Salem who lost theirs in a similar way to those haunted by the accusations against them during the Red
She first establishes power over the other women throughout the town by engaging in witchcraft and then placing the blame on others. She coldly lies and condemns others to guilt while keep her eye on the prize, John Proctor. Abigail precedes with her plan by falsely accusing Elizabeth of witchcraft. The guilt of Elizabeth will allow Abigail to fulfilled her desires of lust and revenge. She will eliminate Elizabeth and end up with John Proctor. However, the plan fails when John Proctor rises to the occasion and admits his guilt of adultery. In Act Three, John Proctor exclaims, “Excellency, forgive me, forgive me. She thinks to dance with me on my wife’s grave! And well she might!—for I thought of her softly, God help me, I lusted, and there is a promise in such sweat!” (Miller 110). Abigail, without one shred of remorse, turns on John Proctor and condemn to death. Although she is an insecure, lonely, young girl, she was able to use her skills of manipulation, power, insight to rise above the people of
Abigail is in love with Proctor. They had an affair together. The events that happened in the story were based on what she did so she could be with Proctor. She did everything she could in her power to try and make Elizabeth disappear because she is Proctor’s wife. “She is blackening my name in the village! She is telling lies about me! She is a cold, sniveling woman, and you bend to her!” says Arthur Miller, author of The Crucible. Abigail tells Proctor that Elizabeth is spreading lies about her. She wants Elizabeth departed so she can be with Proctor. Abigail caused the events in this story because all she wants is Proctor to love her.
Arthur Miller's verifiable play, The Crucible, depicts the recorded occasions of the Salem witch trials through a swarm of life-changing characters. Trepidation drives these Puritans to uncover their actual feelings while confronting their informers in the predisposition courts before coldblooded judges. While in the long run all the individuals of Salem get subject to this frenzy, two ladies emerge above the rest. Retribution and disgrace live in the heart of the young adulteress, Abigail Williams, while truth and exemplary nature dwell in the soul of Elizabeth Proctor, John Proctor's dedicated wife. Although they both elevate the strain and tension of the play, Abigail William's and Elizabeth Proctor's disparities lead to turmoil because of their yearning for limited affection. Despite their yearning for limited affection, their roles take on a distinct route while Elizabeth is the good woman who is faithful to her man always, Abigail is the lying deceitful woman who only cares for herself. There roles first change by describing that Abigail Williams is depicted as a tricky and sly character, the fact that she blames nearly every individual, the goodness of Elizabeth and finally how their love for john makes them comparable and also contrastable.