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Brief synopsis of a play called The Crucible by Arthur Miller
The crucible arthur miller sparknotes tragic heroes essay
The crucible arthur miller sparknotes tragic heroes essay
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In Arthur Miller's drama, The Crucible, the Salem Witch Trials took place in the Massachusetts Bay during the early 1690's, which consisted of dark magic and hidden secrets. Some people in the Salem Village believe that the evils of witchcraft are among them, for they are afraid and willing to protect themselves at all costs. The protagonist, John Proctor, seems to portray a hard-spoken and unrelenting personality attempting to hide his one unforgettable sin— his affair with Abagail Williams. Essentially in this play, Abagail Williams can be identified as the antagonist because she has, “stirred the pot” in the town, and goes against everyone's ideas. Abagail tends to lie herself out of almost every situation or turns the tables onto someone …show more content…
else, avoiding getting into huge amounts of trouble, and ultimately preventing herself from ending up in jail. Abagail's and John's source of power roots from their willingness to protect themselves and their names at all costs. However the coherent influence that God has on the folks living in Salem always seems to prevail. Therefore, the theocracy and Abagail Williams are the two main influences that upset and frustrate the protagonist, John Proctor. A theocracy is when the highest power, judge, and influence is always God, and it denotes a form of government in which God is the source from which all authority derives. The trouble that was brought upon the protagonist John Proctor was, “developed from a paradox. It is a paradox in whose grip we still live, and there is no prospect yet that we will discover its Aude !1 resolution” (Miller 245). The essence of the paradox was that the goal of the theocracy was to fully allow God to make all the decisions and be in total control in order to maintain the community's togetherness, but it led to chaos when it repressed individual freedoms. John feels overwhelmed by the limiting factors that the theocracy caused him because of his inability to follow the requirements made by the Church. Furthermore, in the ideal theocracy, it is expected that one is able to, “Recite your commandments! She never knew no commandments, and they had her in a flat lie!” (283). In the Salem Village, it was agreed upon that if one could not recite his Ten Commandments then one would be thought to be communicating with Satan. After Mary Warren was unable to recite the Ten Commandments, the court was about to hang her to death, substantially betraying God, and thus making John Proctor extremely angry because of her association with the Devil. Because it is a theocracy, proper justice consists of punishment for witchcraft crimes, including communicating with or serving the Devil. Even though Abagail Williams is young and has a quite low social status, she sure has the ability to channel her inner manipulative skills to make certain people go crazy and turn the town of Salem upside down.
Abagail certainly holds most of the responsibility for getting caught late at night in the dark woods with Tituba. In one incident Reverend Parris, “heard a screeching and gibberish coming from her mouth. She were swaying like a dumb beast over that fire!” (249). The gibberish that Abagail was presumably speaking tends to be communicating in a rambling speech, sounding like non-sense. Abagail does this to begin her plan of trying to get back with John Proctor, moreover putting his relationship with Elizabeth in jeopardy. After Abagail gets caught, she tries to lie herself out of the predicament to prevent the charges of witchcraft, but more importantly protect her affair with John Proctor. Abagail is willing to use violent threats …show more content…
to Aude !2 those she knows in order to keep her secrets safe, leading to more and more lying.
The truth behind Abagail's actions finally comes forth when she tries to get Tituba and Betty to agree that, “[they] danced. And Tituba conjured Ruth Putnam’s dead sisters. And that is all...And mark this. Let either of you breathe a word, or the edge of a word, about the other things, and I will come to you in the black of some terrible night and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you” (255). Abagail's dark and deceiving side emerges from within when she gets the girls to corroborate a fake story. Moreover, it shows what her real intentions are and how she will do whatever it takes in order to get what she desires. Abagail is not only a disgrace to Proctor, but to God, and the entirety of the theocracy as well. She never looks back as she is continuing to move forward with her plan, using her deceptiveness and undeniable authority to pursue her one true love, Mister
Proctor. John Proctor is seriously frustrated by the theocracy and Abagail Williams putting his name in jeopardy for all the bad that they bring him. In Salem's theocratic society where the most severe form of Puritanism is evident, everything and everyone belongs to either Satan or God. John is frustrated by the Church because he knows he is frowned upon by some select people for his poor Church attendance. By doing so, he is rejected by society and feels trapped by his powerful emotions. This is compounded by the relationship that John holds with Abagail, which is extremely complicated because she has mistaken his lust for love, making her furious at him. Abagail is the antagonist and a threat in the way she uses her insidiousness to try to win John back, even though John has committed himself to restoring his imperfect relationship with Elizabeth. The Witch Trails are a perfect example of having no tolerance for indecisiveness during crucial times, as Danforth explains to Proctor that, “a person is either with this Aude !3 court or he must be counted against it, there be no road between” (308).
Argument: The argument is between Tituba and the examiner. “By confessing early on, Tituba avoided the ordeal of going to trial, joining with the afflicted girls in providing key evidence against accused witches."2 It was very clear in her examination that Tituba didn’t mean any harm to the girls, and they she did not understand why everything took place.
Abigal went through a change when she saw Tituba lie to Reverend Hale and saw the power she had. Then she started accusing people she didn’t like of witchcraft. The reason she was doing all this was to get rid of Elizabeth Proctor. She had everyone who was in the woods help her by doing everything she said, and if they didn’t she said she would stab them if they didn’t listen. Then they accused a few people to convince people that they were telling the truth.
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 the play sets in to action, John has had a past affair with his servant Abigail Williams. His wife, Elizabeth Proctor is very forgiving of his sin, but John has his mind set that he will not confess to anyone else, in fear of ruining his good name, and reputation. The affair between John and Abigail caused the start of chaotic witchery and accusation. After the affair, Abigail became horribly jealous of Elizabeth Proctor. Proctor realizes there is only one way to stop all the witch hysteria in Salem, and that would be to confess his sin of adultery. Although he knows he should, he continues to be determined not to confess. Also in the beginning Reverend Paris is new to town, and John insist continually that he is only speaking of hell, and hardly ever of God, as Proctor goes on to say to Parris, "Can you speak one minute without we land in Hell again? I am sick of Hell!" (Miller 30). In the drama, Mary Warren places a needle in a poppet she gave to Elizabeth; John firmly demands that Mary Warren tell the courts that she really put the needle in the poppet that day. Proctor says to her, "You're coming to the court with me, Mary. You will tell it in the court." (Miller 80). Furthermore, at the end of the play Proctor is persistent by saying that no matter what anyone says to convince him differently, he would rather die an honest man and save his name. John Proctor took pride in his thoughts, feelings, values, and his name. It took persistency to make his intent clear to others.
As the story of Tituba unfolds, it reveals a strong and kind hearted young woman, very different from the Tituba we meet in The Crucible. I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem unveils for the reader, Tituba's life, loves, and losses. Her long and arduous journey through life is inspired by her many female counterparts, yet also hindered by her insatiable weakness for men, who also press upon her the realities of life.
When the play sets in action, John has had a past affair with his servant, Abigail Williams. His wife, Elizabeth Proctor, is very forgiving of his sin, but John has his mind set that he will not confess to anyone else, in fear of ruining his good name and reputation. The affair between John and Abigail causes the start of chaotic witchery and accusation. After the affair, Abigail becomes horribly jealous of Elizabeth Proctor. Proctor realizes there is only one way to stop all the witch hysteria in Salem, and that would be to admit to adultery which is considered a sin. . Also in the beginning R...
In Arthur Miller's The Crucible, the main character Abigail Williams is to blame for the 1692 witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts. Abigail is a mean and vindictive person who always wants her way, no matter who she hurts. Through out the play her accusations and lies cause many people pain and suffering, but she seemed to never care for any of them except John Proctor, whom she had an affair with seven months prior to the beginning of the play. John Proctor and his wife Elizabeth used to employ Abigail, until Elizabeth found out the affair and threw Abigail out. Although John told Abigail that the affair was over and he would never touch her again, she tried desperately to rekindle their romance. "Abby, I may think of you softly from time to time. But I will cut off my hand before I'll ever reach for you again." (Page 23) She claimed that she loved John and that he loved her. Before the play began, Abigail tried to kill Elizabeth with a curse. She thought that if Elizabeth were dead John would marry her. Further into the play, Abigail accused Elizabeth of witchcraft. She saw Marry Warren, the Proctor's servant, making a poppet. Mary put a needle into the doll, and Abigail used that for her accusation. She stabbed herself with a needle and claimed that Elizabeth's soul had done it. Although Abigail claimed she loved John, she may have just loved the care and attention he gave her. John cared for her like no one else had. In a way he could be described as somewhat of a father figure to her. When Abigail was just a child, she witnessed her parents' brutal murders. "I saw Indians smash my dear parent's heads on the pillow next to mine..." (page 20) After her traumatic experience, she was raised by her uncle, Reverend Parris, who is somewhat of a villain. In the play it was written, "He (Parris) was a widower with no interest in children, or talent with them." (Page 3) Parris regarded children as young adults who should be "thankful for being permitted to walk straight, eyes slightly lowered, arms at the sides, and mouths shut until bidden to speak." (Page 4) Therefore, it is obvious to see that Abigail grew up without any love or nurturing.
He is feared and respected throughout the town of Salem, but few know that he is guilty of adultery with the teenage servant Abigail Williams. As a result of this affair, Proctor is caught in guilt, which effects his self-perception.
Abigail Williams is manipulative and wants everything to go her way. She is the main character and causes trouble everywhere she goes. The Salem Witch Trials is about hearings and prosecutions of people who were accused of witchcraft. In The Crucible Abigail is a no good villain. Abigail first commits adultery with Elizabeth’s husband. Later on Abigail begins to accuse innocent people of doing witchcraft which causes them to die. Abigail Williams uses the Salem Witch Trials to put out all the resentment she has toward everyone.
Salem citizens in general were afraid of all ungodly things with their Puritan views. They had no trouble believing that, because Parris had called Reverend Hale, (known for his studies in demonic arts), there must truly be witchcraft within the town. The play progresses and certain characters begin to develop: here is a community full of underlying personal grudges. Religion pervades every aspect of life, 'A man may think that God sleeps, but God sees everything, I know it now.'; but it is a religion that lacks the ritual of confession. Here and throughout the play we see how this affects John Proctor, a man so proud of his name that guilt eats at his very heart, as he will not let out his secret pain in a vain attempt to keep his integrity.
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.
Documents tracing the origins of the witch hunt have led to one individual, Elizabeth “Betty” Parris, daughter of Reverend Samuel Parris. After giving one of his spirited sermons, Betty and her cousin Abigail Williams, began to act strangely. Crying out loud, hiding under chairs, and twisting their arms and legs in positions that were unnatural. When Dr. Griggs said it was from a bewitchment, the Reverend demanded to find who was torturing her. To calm the uproar and confusion, Betty named Tituba, a brown-skinned native, as the cause of her bizarre illness.
Abagail in the end is the victim of Puritan society. She rebelled against the order that gave her no worth, her conflict was individual vs. society. She is told to follow the Ten Commandments, told to “walk straight, and mouth shut until bidden to speak.”(1.4) Abagail who no longer wants to be submissive to Puritan society becomes driven by selfish motives which allow her to rebel. She puts on the mask of deceit and wreaks chaos on her society all in the name of her self progression.
Tituba’s confession sparked a massive, hysterical, witch hunt in which at least 22 people were killed, in which nineteen people were hanged, between four to thirteen people who died in prison, and one person who was pressed to death. What is astounding is that although Betty and Abigail were the ones that were possibly sick, many others played along and accused people. Together, they accused almost 100 people of be...
John Proctor faces many decisions in response to his moral dilemma to try to save his life. One of the difficult decisions John makes is to reveal that he had an affair with Abigail Williams and thereby has committed adultery. If the local court convicts him of this crime, he faces being jailed. Also by admitting this crime, John reveals a weakness in his character. This flaw in his personality will make it harder for him to stand up in the community as an honorable and believable person. In trying to convince others that witchcraft does not exist John’s dishonesty with his wife will make him less convincing to the community.