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Arthur miller on writing crucible
What are arthur millers intentions for the crucible
What are arthur millers intentions for the crucible
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Arthur Miller develops many themes in his novel The Crucible , unveiling them through conflicts that the characters created between themselves. Perhaps the most prominent theme was deceit and its connection to the conflict with Abigail and John. Lying is used in order to achieve personal gain, because of this Abigail lies to everyone in the town for her own selfish needs. Lying can also be used as a defense mechanism which is what John illustrates throughout the story. Firstly, John Proctor recently had an affair on her wife with a servant of his: Abigail Williams. Even seven months after the affair has occurred, things between him and his wife Elizabeth were still tense and awkward. At one point John is confronted when he is how Abigail is …show more content…
a fraud and says that he was alone with her. Following this, Elizabeth emphasizes his point that he was “alone with [Abigail]” as to question him on his honesty, and following directly after that he insists he was alone with her “for a moment” which portrays how inconsistent it is what he has been telling her; this indicated that he was lying to her in order to protect himself from the feeling of guilt and future confrontation (Miller 152).
Consequently, John is not alone when it came to deceit, though it’s clear that Abigail had a different goal in mind when doing so. When the little girl Betty pretends to be cast under some spell and cannot wake, Tituba is accused of putting her under said spell. Abigail accuses her of witchcraft, implying that Tituba “sends her spirit on [Abigail] in church” and “makes [her] laugh at prayer” implying Tituba is capable of witchcraft, lying for no other reason then to get the people of Salem to start believing every word she says in order for her to lie her way into marrying John Proctor or getting Elizabeth killed (Miller 150). Finally when it is time to lie for good purpose and reason, John refuses to due to the fact that he is required to sign his name away. In order to avoid the rope, John must confess to witchcraft and sign his name onto a document which proves he confessed. Though his wife Elizabeth and Reverend Hale both implore him to give the court the lie that they want to
hear, John refuses to sign off his name “because [he] cannot have another in [his] life” and “because [he] lies and sign[s] [himself] to lies”; even though he doesn’t lie here, it conveys that once you lie enough, whether or not it is to protect yourself or for personal gain, your lies will catch up to you and no one will believe you even if it is the truth (Miller 200). In summary, The Crucible exposes the theme of lies and deceit that the characters often display in the story. John and Abigail often display this theme by continuously lying to everyone around them, going extensive lengths of deceit for their own personal gain. Whether it was for self protection or selfish wants, lying exposed itself throughout the entirety of the story. Arthur Miller often displayed the different purposes for lying to others and presents it with many characters in the story, but it prominently stands out with John and Abigail. John lied to his wife and many people around him about an affair that happened between him and Abigail, while Abigail stirred up the whole town by lying to everyone about being able to see apparitions and accusing others and practicing witchcraft, causing mayhem in an otherwise calm and quiet town.
The stage directions even say “as though a secret arrow had pained his heart” this proves that he feels horrible about deceiving his wife. Hale also questions John about why his third son is not baptized and John replies, “I like it not that Mr. Parris should lay a hand upon my baby. I see no light of God in that man. I’ll not conceal it.” This theme reemerges later in act two, when Cheever says “He plow on Sunday, sir.”, John says “I- I have no love for Mr. Parris. But God I surely love.” This proves that although John has not been the holiest he still believes in the gospel. John has also moved on from his act with Abigail. He develops a new maturity when he tells Abigail “...I will cut my hand off before I reach for you again.” John is
Abigail and her friends start to accuse people in the town of witchcraft; by saying a person’s spirit attacked them. The people who were accused were usually the outcast of the town or someone Abigail and her friends
In the Town of Salem Massachusetts, 1692, a group of adolescents are caught dancing in the forest. Among the adolescents in The Crucible, Abigail Williams and Mary Warren. The girls are horrified that they have been caught dancing, a sinful act, therefore they devise a story to evade punishment: they claim to have been bewitched. The first person who they accuse of witchcraft is a the black maid, Tituba. This results in her jail sentence as well as fearful suspicion throughout the town. Arthur Miller demonstrates the impact of lying as the girls recognise and manipulate their power in the town. Lead by Abigail, they go further, claiming countless others guilty and dooming them to exile. Miller demonstrates that there power is so great that even when Mary attempts to stand against her friends, she is quickly overwhelmed and once again plays along with their trickery. As the girls’ conspiracy continues, controversy arise over their truthfulness; people choose sides often lying themselves to support their side, further altering the lives of all involved.
...nnot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies! Because I am not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang! How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name!" (p. 143) By the end of the play, John has grown enough to realize that though he was wrong to have an affair, he did not lose all honor. By learning this lesson and keeping his honor right up until his death, John passes his test.
After hearing what she said the rest of the girls started to lie just so they would not get in trouble. Abigail threatened the girls not to tell or she would make them regret it, so the girls ended up lying about what happen in the woods. Abigail said that Tituba was a witch and that ended up getting Tituba whip. Tituba lied about the devil coming to her so that the man would stop whipping her, when the girls started to say who made them do it they ended up saying the ones that they wanted
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,
Abigail was able to easily deceive and manipulate the court to try and get what she had set her eyes on, being John Proctor; a much older, married man who had had an affair with Abigail once when she was a sort of servant in his household. After finding of this, his wife Elizabeth had banished Abigail from their house. Abigail sought revenge...
...ical problem. She seems to be lost in the world, and the only way for her to go through life is by being deceitful. She has no remorse for what she’s done or caused. It becomes even worse when she steals from her own family members. In addition Abigail eventually ran away with Mercy Lewis. Abigail is cold-hearted and she basically plays the devils character in her town. In this case Abigail was never the victim and she will always be an unforgettable character.
Her ability to lie, her outspokenness and developing sexuality, is unlawful against the Puritan views and deemed as evil. If convicted of the acts she has committed, including her apparent interaction with the Devil, she would face severe consequences. But to avoid this, Abigail realizes that through deceiving innocence she can control and manipulate murderous acts to save herself and her reputation. This was a new opportunity for her to expand her rule over the town. Controlling the young girls around her, Abigail uses her newfound sense of power to manipulate the group in fear. Driving them to aid her accusations, she uses them in the court to prove her claims. Abigail quickly strikes fear into the girls when she begins to hit and threaten the girls screaming, “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 you a pointy reckoning that will shudder you” (Miller 19). By threatening the girls, Abigail easily frightens them enough to do her bidding. Using fear to her advantage is evil and this act of manipulation only furthers her antagonism. Abigail now has the ability to use facades and delusion with the loyalty of the other girls, to convince the people that it is not her conjuring spirits, but others in the town attacking
The motivation of John’s behavior is to be an honorable man. At the same time he knows he must confess to committing adultery, which will desecrate his name, but save the lives of the accused. In the courtroom, John confesses about his affair with abigail saying:“ She thinks to dance with me on my wife’s grave! And well she, for I thought of her softly. 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 now.” (Act 3 Lines 380-384)
The hysteria surrounding the witchtrials causes Abigail to lie in order to save herself. She is affected by the hysteria because she does not want to exposed as a liar. She forgets about the people that are close to her in order to protect her reputation and identity. Abigail abandons Tituba, and accuses her of "sending her spirit on me in church; she makes me laugh at prayer" (41). Abigail also says Tituba "comes to me every night to go and drink blood (41). Abigail reacts like this only to save her fro...
My first example of dishonesty In the Salem Witch trials Abigail is lying about Mary attacking them in court. Once Abigail realized she could be accused of lying and be considered a witch, she started lying to try and counter Judge Danforth’s questioning. Abigail also lied many other times throughout the play, always in her own self interest. My second example from The Salem Witch Trials is Mary.
The first way Miller illustrates the theme of lies and deceit is through Abigail’s conniving
Although she was a smart girl, Abigail was only out for herself and her own reputation. Abigail Williams didn't only lie about witchcraft, but she forced others to join in. She was Reverend Parris's niece and believed she could get away with whatever she wanted. Abigail did not want to have to damage her reputation by having a different testimony as all the other girls, so she forced them to lie as well. While alone with the girls she said, "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 you know I can do it..." (Miller 1044). Abigail also stuck a needle in herself because she knew Goody Proctor had a poppet at her home with a needle in it. While talking to John Proctor about Abigail, Cheever remarked, "...and, stuck two inches in the flesh of her belly, she draw a needle out. And demandin' of her how she come to be so stabbed, she testify it were your wife's familiar spirit pushed it in," (Miller 1077). Abigail may have been the most prominent person to lay the blame on, but other people were guilty as well.
To further complicate matters, John decides not to reveal to the court that Abigail has admitted to him in private that they were just sporting in the woods. Abigail spreads additional accusations and false rumors about her neighbors. These accusations have no basis in truth and their only purpose is for Abigail’s own benefit. Furthermore, Abigail is jealous of John’s wife, Elizabeth, and she schemes to get rid of her in order to take her place. Abigail’s plot is to accuse Elizabeth of witchcraft.