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How does Arthur Miller portray figures of authority and/or power in The Crucible? What are the main concerns of those figures, and what impact does th...
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Liars, Deceit, and Deaths; OH MY!
“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… and I can make you wish you had never seen the sun go down!” (Miller 1097) The Crucible was written in 1952 by Aurthur Miller. The play is known to be a reflection of the Puritan witch hunts of its time. The Crucible was an act of desperation. While reading this play, many have argued who is to blame for all the deaths during the trials. Abigail Williams is to blame for the deaths caused by the Salem Witch Trials because, she danced in the woods and conjured spirits, had an affair with John Proctor, and was leader of all the girls during the trials.
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Abigail’s first act of crime is when she dances in the woods, conjures spirits, and drinks blood to kill Goody Proctor. One night 12 girls snuck out and went to the woods to dance and conjure spirits, Abigail was one of them. The girls were making “spells” to draw the man of their dreams fall in love with them. The man Abigail wanted was married, John Proctor, therefore she drank blood to kill his wife, Goody Proctor. While they were out dancing Reverend Parris catches them. In this time dancing was very illegal, however, they were also naked. Betty Parris goes into a state of shock from her father catching the girls. Abigail lies to Reverend Parris, her uncle, and says they are just they were just dancing in the woods that was all. “You drank blood, Abby! You didn’t tell him that!” (Miller 1094) If Abigail was willing to lie to her own uncle for something as little as dancing in the woods and conjuring spirits, whose to say she won’t lie about others being tried for witchcraft? This is not the only reason Abigail is to blame. Abigail also had an affair with John Proctor. Abigail shows she is the most to blame again by having an affair with John Proctor. Later on in the play we learn that Abigail had an affair with John Proctor. This leads us to why she drank the blood to kill Goody Proctor. When Goody Proctor found out about the affair she discharged Abigail being their maid. This caused innumerable amount of negative talk around the village about Abigail because no one knew why they kicked her out. Not only has Abigail broken the law once by dancing in the woods and conjuring spirits, she has now broken the law twice by having an affair with John Proctor. Abigail is practically a convict with no good intentions. “She thinks to dance with me on my wife’s grave! And well she might, for I thought of her softley. God help me, I lusted, and there is a promise in such sweat. But it is a whore’s vengeance, and you must see it; I set myself entirely in your hands. I know you must see it now.” (Miller 1143) The last reason Abigail is to blame, she was the leader of all the girls during the trials. “I know not. A wind, a cold wind, has come,” said Abigail. “Your honor, I freeze,” exclaims Mercy Lewis. “I freeze, I freeze,” said Susanna Walcott (Miller 1145) Abigail is to blame for the deaths during the Salem Witch Trials because she was the leader of all the girls during the trials. During the trials of all the people being tried for witchcraft all 12 of the girls were “witnesses.” It’s funny because during every trial Abigail would “see” a spirit, the other girls would join in right away. In the beginning of the play when the idea of witchcraft came about, Abigail threatened the girls that they couldn’t tell anyone what really happened. Abigail is a very deceitful person. With that being said Abigail uses her deceitfulness against everyone to get what she wants, when she wants it. This is one of the many reasons Abigail is to blame. There were many deaths during the Salem Witch Trials.
No one knows who is really to blame for the deaths.The cause of the Salem Witch trials began with the girls dancing in the woods and Abigail drinking blood. If that had not of happened, Betty would not have gone into shock and Reverend Parris would not have called Reverend Hale. There would have been no word of witchcraft. Abigail having an affair with John Proctor tells us that she has no boundaries when it comes to getting what she wants. Accusing a woman of witchcraft to get hanged, whose husband she had an affair with, just to be able to get him to herself is insane. Lastly, Abigail threatening all the girls to not say a word about them in the woods, and leading them in the trials is messed up. Sending innocent people to die because you don’t like them, heck Abigail should have been tried for being a witch as well. Abigail Williams is to blame for the deaths caused by the Salem Witch Trials. “Aye, Sir. She swears how that she never saw Satan; nor any spirit, vague, or clear that Satan may have sent to hurt her. And she declares her friends are lying now,” announced by John Proctor during Mary Warren's confession. (Miller
1142)
A motivation can be described as a character having a reason to behave or act in a particular way. Someone or something can be someone's motivation. A child obeys its parents to avoid punishment or a clerk works overtime so that he can afford a better car are examples of motivation. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, characters illustrate several types of motivations. Throughout the play, Abigail is motivated by jealousy, power, and attention.
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
In the Crucible there was three characters that stood out from all the other ones in this wicked story. Abigail Williams was a big influence in this story she would lie and lie to get out of things and she was also the leader of the girls in the woods. Furthermore she also had an affair with John Proctor which made John and Elizabeth relationship unstable. Also John Proctor runs into a situation at the end of the story where he is put in the position if he wants his pride of not signing that paper full of lies or die knowing he did the right thing of not lying. Additionally, Elizabeth Proctor has never lied ever until the day John was being prosecuted for his witchcraft and possibly adultery and Elizabeth lied so that his name wouldn't be ruined.
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.
The Crucible How does an individual gain so much power through trials? In the play, The Crucible, Arthur Miller portrays Abigail Williams as a powerful individual by revealing her control over the younger girls and the continuous accusations she makes until the end of the play. Throughout the entire play, it is made clear that Abigail has control over the younger girls in the village. In Act 1, it is right away noticed that her way of controlling them is through causing fear by making threats.
After all of the witch trials in 1692 concluded a total of 20 people were hanged all because of people craving attention and personal gain. There are three people depicted in Arthur Miller's The Crucible that are most responsible for this and they are, Abigail Williams, Judge Danforth, and Thomas Putnam. Abigail Williams is mostly responsible for the Salem witch trials because she was the first person to start accusing innocent people of witchcraft. Judge Danforth is responsible because he is not concerned about justice, all he cares about is being correct about the witch trials. Lastly Thomas Putnam is guilty of causing the witch trials because he was able to have people accuse other people so he could claim their land for himself. The witch trials were a senseless massacre and all because Abigail Williams, Judge Danforth, and Thomas Putnam were only concerned about them selves, not the innocent ones around them.
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
In The Crucible, Arthur Miller shows that the tragedy of the Salem Witch Trials stems from human failings, particularly the need for vengeance, greed, and fear. Abigail Williams is an example of all three. Her fear prompts her to first accuse random women, her need for vengeance directs her toward Elizabeth, and her greed for power affects the lives of everyone around her. Individual flaws, when acted on collectively, inevitably cause the downfall of Salem.
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.
the town. Abigail doesn't want anyone to find out that she was in the forest so
A person must be accountable for his/her actions. In the play “The Crucible” Abigail Williams is a victim of her society. She is a vindictive person who always had to have her way, and also lead the girls in the accusations. However, can she be excused or pardoned because of the influence of outside forces upon her?
Abigail Williams the main character in The Crucible by Arthur Miller draws the interest of the reader as she is a wicked, confident girl who lies to get what she wants and defends her name and her life.
“What 's in a name? that which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” (Goodreads). William Shakespeare writes this quote in the play Romeo and Juliet. The play The Crucible by Arthur Miller many of the characters disagree with this quote about a name not impacting the character of a person. The setting of The Crucible is 1692 Salem, Massachusetts during the witch trials. Abigail Williams is a feisty teenager, and starts accusing people of witchcraft as a scapegoat for participating in activities that could be seen a witchcraft. Abigail ends up accusing Elizabeth Proctor of witchcraft, and Elizabeth’s husband John Proctor must try to clear her name. The court does not want to hear his deposition though, because then they might
In every conflict there always seems to be at least one person to blame. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, many problems arise that deal with live and death. Many innocent people in this play were hanged during the Salem Witch Trials. Of course, there are many people that may be blamed. In The Crucible, one may find Abigail Williams, The Putnams, and Mary Warren to blame. Abigail was manipulative, The Putnams were very jealous, and Mary Warren was weak-willed.
Because of Abigail’s deleterious behavior, many innocent victims were brutally murdered. All of her actions were selfish and pretentious. Abigail may not have intended to cause the witch trials, but she certainly did nothing to end them once they began. Abigail’s lustful behavior, her unhealthy habit of lying, and her obsessive desire for power makes her responsible for the Salem witch trials.