Mary Warren is an important character in Arthur Miller’s play, THE CRUCIBLE. Much of the action in Act III revolves around Mary’s testimony in court. She is a kind and basically honest girl who tries to do the right thing, saving her friends from harm. However, throughout Acts I and II, Mary is a follower who allows Abigail Williams to negatively influence her good judgment. To make matters worse, Mary is terrified of Abigail’s threats. Because of her weak will, the reader isn’t certain if Mary will maintain the courage to help John Proctor to win his court case in Act III.
Mary Warren’s basic goodness is demonstrated on many occasions. She has been hired by John Proctor to help his wife Elizabeth with household chores. Mary proves to be a kind girl who gets along well with Mrs. Proctor. Although Mary has become a court official in Salem, she still gets up early in the morning to clean the Proctors’ house. While in court, Mary passes the time by making Goody Proctor a present of a small rag doll called a poppet. Upset by the court proceedings, Mary tells Mr. Proctor that she is "all shuddery inside" because Goody Osburn will hang. When the poppet becomes false proof of witchcraft against Elizabeth, Mary willingly explains that the poppet is hers. She also makes a vain attempt to comfort John Proctor as the court officials drag his wife away in chains.
A basic sense of honesty is another of Mary Warren’s traits. In Act I she goes to Salem to convince Abigail to tell the truth about what really happened in the woods. When the witchcraft scare gets out of hand, Mary joins Abigail and the other girls in falsely accusing women of being witches. These false accusations are motivated by hysteria. There is evidence that Mary really believes that the women in court are bewitching her. She tells the judge that she thought she saw spirits. The other girls were screaming, and before she knew it, Mary was screaming with them. When she realizes that there are no spirits, Mary is willing to be truthful. After Elizabeth Proctor’s name is brought up in court, Mary Warren defends her against the accusation. At the end of Act II, the reader hopes that the basic sense of honesty will remain strong enough to allow Mary to testify on behalf of the accused women in Act III.
She even claims that John should know her better than to expect such a thing from her. Elizabeth often believes that she has not been a good enough wife to John and that she does not deserve his love, or any love. She confesses, “I counted myself so plain, so poorly made, no honest love could come to me!” (137). Her confession displays humbleness, an admirable trait in any Puritan. All of the young girls in The Crucible exemplify conformity by submitting to Abigail Williams. As the leader of these young girls, Abigail persuaded them to do whatever she said, including accusing people of witchcraft. These accusations led to the deaths of many men and women. Mary Warren is a victim of Abigail’s peer pressure. She eventually admits that everything she claimed was a lie that Abigail made her tell. She explains these lies by saying, “It were only sport in the beginning, sir, but then the whole world cried spirits, spirits” (107). This confession is her way of saying that they never meant for one small lie to turn into something so huge. Later, Mary agrees to testify against Abigail in court, but, in yet another
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
During the trial the girls and Abigail pressure Mary into conforming to them by pretending that Mary was bewitching the girls. When she plays along with the girls; Proctor screams at Mary with much rage, “Mary god damns all liars!”(224).Which is ironic because John Proctor has been lying to everyone about his deadly secret. Which he knows will eventually come out and ruin everything for him. Proctor finally comes out and tells the court when there seems to be no way out for Elizabeth he points out, “I have known her sir, I have known her” (220). Proctor finally confesses about his affair in front of Judge
When Mary Zimmerman adapts a play from an ancient text her directing process and the way she engages with text are woven together, both dependent on the other. She writes these adaptations from nondramatic text, writing each evening while working through the pre-production rehearsals and improvisations during the day with the cast. The rehearsal process influences the text, and the text enriches the rehearsal process, so that one cannot exist without the other. Every rehearsal is structured the same but each production is unique because as Zimmerman states in “The Archaeology of Performance”, she is always “open to the possibilities”. The piece is open to everything happening in the world and to the people involved, so the possibilities are honest and endless.
(80). Mary demonstrates her fear of Abigail by the fact that she thinks Abigail could actually kill her. Mary Warren’s last lie and most consequential is when she gets fed up with the torture and pressure that Abigail puts on her when Abigail is trying to convict her of murder. Once Mary Warren can no longer handle the pressure she says, “He [John Proctor] wake [her] every night his eyes… like coals and his fingers claw[ing]
Mary Warren is the servant girl of John Proctor but after a couple of lines you realise that she is not a very good...
When Abigail and the girls go against Marry Warren, they pretend that Mary is trying to hurt them through her spirit. They repeat whatever Mary Warren says and act like she will attack them. Mass hysteria can be seen during this scene. Overwhelmed, Mary, who was on John Proctors side, blames everything on him. “No, I love God; I go your way no more. I love God, I bless God. Abby, Abby, I’ll never hurt you more!” (Mary Warren, Act 3, pg. 52) She goes back to Abigail and John Proctor is arrested.
She tries to be a goody two shoe about almost everything but she turns out to be a liar along with everyone else. Mary lies when she says “you’re the devil’s man Proctor” she is actually lying after she realizes that everyone is starting to think that she is a culprit in the court and that she may be getting charged so she then decides to blame Proctor to save herself and to ensure she gets away clean and clear. Mary also lies many other times throughout the crucible, all in ways that she really didn't need to lie up until the very end when everyone was being tried in court. My final example of dishonesty is Elizabeth Proctor, a woman famous for her honesty and absence of mistakes throughout her entire life in Salem.
The Crucible is one of the most bizarre accounts of a historical event to date. The naïveté of the townspeople leads them down a road of madness and confusion, led by a shameless Puritan girl. Abigail Williams was a ruthless girl who showed no mercy upon accusing her victims of witchcraft. Knowing the entire town of Salem would believe her and the other girls, she would not hesitate at charging anyone she wished with the crime of the Devil’s work. However, a challenge arose to Abigail when she decided to accuse Elizabeth Proctor, and eventually her husband John, of witchcraft. The Proctor marriage was not just any simple marriage; it had its times of cold shoulders, heartfelt truth, and undying love.
“Many educators believe that a dress code also promotes a positive educational environment.” (Wilder 1) “Dress codes will help to instill student discipline, helping to resist peer pressure, helping students concentrate on academics and aiding in recognition of intruders.” (Wilder 2). “Students reported there was an improved sense of belonging and tolerance when a dress code was implemented.” (Wilder 2) If dress codes will help promote a positive learning environment, why don’t all schools have this? If students are more focused on their academics then high school dropout rates will decrease and average GPAs and graduation rates will go
Mary shows her honesty in The Crucible by not lying to Danforth no matter what it costs. She would not change her answer to Danforth even though he was badgering her in court, which is currently not allowed. Honesty is one of my best traits because it makes me trustworthy. I am trustworthy because it gives me a better chance to keep the people that I also trust. My honesty also shows that I won’t lie to others. I don’t lie to others because I feel that it isn’t right and I do not want lied to in return. Honesty is the final trait that Mary and I have in
Marriage, as an institution, has evolved in the last few decades. As society progresses, the ideas and attitudes about marriage have shifted. Today, individuals are able to choose their partners and are more likely marry for love than convenience. While individuals are guaranteed the right to marry and the freedom to choose their own partners, it has not always been this way. Starting from colonial times up until the late 1960’s, the law in several states prohibited interracial marriages and unions. Fortunately, in 1967, a landmark case deemed such laws as unconstitutional. Currently, as society progresses, racism and social prejudice have decreased and interracial marriages have become, not only legal, but also widely accepted.
Interracial marriage is a union between two people from different racial backgrounds. Over the past decades, interracial marriage has been on the rise and has predominantly become popular among recent generations. Interracial marriages, despites the challenges it faced in the early centuries due to slavery and racial segregations is now common across many cultures. Since the abolishment of laws banning interracial marriages in the late 1960’s, society has embraced interracial marriage disregarding racial and cultural differences in the process. Several researchers have attributed the growing trends of interracial unions to immigration. While there is popular support for the growing trend of interracial marriage, it is imperative to consider whether becoming a multicultural society has impacted interracial marriages. This paper will place much emphasis on the growing trends and patterns of interracial unions in America. In addition, more emphasis will be placed on marital satisfaction in interracial unions and finally societal attitudes towards interracial couples.
Abigail Williams is accused of witchcraft early on. In order to avoid conviction she confesses to witchcraft, accuses Tituba of forcing her to drink blood and do witchcraft, and accuses Elizabeth Proctor, Sarah Good, Goody Osburn, Bridget Bishop, Goody Sibber, Goody Hawkins, Goody Booth, and countless other innocent people in court. She throws herself down in the court and does other dramatic actions in order to convince the court that a person is in fact a witch. This leads to people being falsely accused of witchcraft and forced to accuse others in order to live. Because of Abigail's growing power in the court, people become fearful of her. One of the most important people who begins to fear her is Elizabeth Proctor. Elizabeth is afraid that Abigail will accuse her of witchcraft. She also gives more insight into Abigail's behavior in court. She states that Abigail will “scream and howl and fall to the floor” when the accused are brought forth (50). The people and the court begin to believe that Abigail can see who the witches are. Her words and actions become the deciding factors in a defendants fate.
Ellman, Y. (1987). Intermarriage in the United States: A Comparative Study of Jews and Other Ethnic and Religious Groups. Jewish Social Studies, 49(1), 1-26. Retrieved from http://web.a.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.nu.edu/ehost/detail/detail?sid=0bfb9f36-e537-4499-99ad-bcf2d453bf27%40sessionmgr4003&vid=0&hid=4114&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#AN=7114765&db=pbh