Fear, fear is something that will never leave you alone and something it will freeze up when it happens. In the town of Salem fear is always there, nobody can't be afraid. There is always afraid of being witched or even becoming a witch or being involved in witchcraft. Mr. Parris has a fear of the town finding out that Betty and Abigail and another friend of hers were dancing in the forest and that is now in bed not moving or able to wake up. If people find out that in his family there have been strange things happening, then they will think of witchcraft and that means that Paris will lose his place as minster. Mr. Parris says to one of the people that was with Betty, who was Abigail and he told her Parris “There is a faction that is sworn to drive me from my pulpit” and it means that if they do find out not only he is going to get punished but the rest But they’re speakin’ of witchcraft; Betty’s not witched.” and Mr. Parris says “Abigail, I cannot go before the congregation when I know you have not been open with me…” Parris fears that Abigail is not telling him all of the story of what they have done in the forest, and if he doesn't tell the truth then the faction will take away his place and maybe betty’s life. The role of Abigail is, Abigail is one of the witnesses of doing witchcraft in the forest with Betty and Tituba.Her fear is that John proctor's wife Elizabeth has said bad things about her in the village that would hurt her name. In the text Abigail says “She is blackening my name in the village! She is telling lies about me! She is a cold sniveling woman…”, what Abigail is telling Proctor is Elizabeth is a cold hearted woman that doesn't care about anyone but her. A fear that I have is a fear of death, death is always around and it can happen at anytime. In Salem everyone fear death because people are being accused of doing witchcraft or being a
As the daughter of Reverend Samuel Parris, the rumors of her affliction brought much attention to her and her family. The play described Betty as a young girl, nine years of age, who began showing symptoms around the same time as her cousin Abigail Williams. Betty accused many people, and testified against them in multiple court cases. From the evidence that the Witch Trials shows, Betty was most likely pretending to be possessed in order to gain attention, or rebel from the strict lifestyle the Puritans followed. “She could not concentrate at prayer time and barked like a dog when her father would rebuke her. She screamed wildly when she heard the ‘Our Father’ prayer and once hurled a Bible across the room” (Walsh). As a distinct personality in both the Witch Trials and The Crucible, Betty Parris created a lasting affect on the course of history in
Reverend Parris’ fear of losing his job provokes him to cry witch. Reverend Parris’ daughter feigns to be in a coma. When the doctor bade Susanna tell Reverend Parris that he “might look to unnatural things for the cause of it” (9), he denies that possibility because he fears that rumors of witchcraft under his roof would help his “many enemies” (10) to drive him from his pulpit. Later, by supporting the Salem witch trials, Reverend Parris secures his position in the church. When John Proctor brings a deposition to court signed by Mary Warren that calls Abigail and her girls’ frauds, Reverend Parris urgently tells Judge Danforth that “they’ve come to overthrow the court” (88). When Mary Warren cannot faint in court, Reverend Parris accuses her of being “a trick to blind the court” (107). After Abigail pretends that Mary Warren is attacking her, Reverend Parris spurs on the accusations by telling her to “cast the Devil out” (118). Reverend Parris fears that if Abigail becomes exposed he will be punished for supporting an illegitimate court procedure. When execution day arrives, Reverend Parris fears that the “rebellion in Andover” (127) over hangings will occur similarly in Salem. Reverend Parris pleads to Hathorne that “. . . it were another sort that we hanged till now . . . these people have great weight yet in the town” (127). Reverend Parris’ last attempt at preserv...
At the beginning of the play, Miller shows us the complicated relationships between the people in Salem. When Proctor went to Salem, Abigail meets him alone in the room, she says: “You love me John Proctor, and whatever sin it is, you love me yet!” The use of tone shows us the increasing anger and desperateness of Abigail and also clues the audience of her past affair with Proctor. Other than this, the quote also shows Abigail as an opportunist who is loyal to herself and uncaring to her social appearance, which is an important characteristic that succeeds her revenge. However, Abigail’s knowledge of sinning in a place such as Salem is ironic, for as the play progresses; she is thought of as a saint in this public. This idea is then seen again in the quote: “I never knew what pretense Salem was…” Showing us the fierce loathing Abigail has for Salem and the overflowing anger in her heart. She thought of Salem as a hypocritical place where the Christian women teaches them of moral sense but lives an entirely different life themselves. Through her new found power, she revenges Salem and makes it pay. By the end of Act one, the audience can have an initial understanding of the cause of revenge and increasing ange...
Reverend Parris is the character that initiates the hysteria of the Salem witch trials, in a community where authorities wasted no time minding the business of it's citizens, what should have been seen as teen frivolity was blown into one of the ugliest moments in American History. Parris sparks this by firstly acting on his own paranoia, which the reader would find in the introduction 'he believed he was being persecuted where ever he went';, and calling Reverend Hale in an attempt for self-preservation '….if you trafficked with spirits in the forest I must know it now, for surely my enemies will, and they will ruin me with it.'; This statement says a lot about the character of Reverend Parris: a greedy, power hungry man who is more concerned with his own reputation than the souls of his niece and daughter. He always acts on fear, a fear that he will lose his position of power in the community. Parris does not want the trials to end as a fraud because the scandal of having a lying daughter and niece would end his career in Salem.
For instance, Parris, Abigail’s uncle and the main reverend of Salem, feels great at first when people started to get accused of being witches. He knows that witchery is unlikely in Salem because the girls admitted to just playing. However, when Parris claims that Abigail can see spirits, he saves his position in the church. It is only when he sees that he may lose his life due to this lie, that he wants to stop. Parris expresses this to the judges, “Tonight, when I open my door to leave my house—a dagger clattered down” (200). Parris starts to care when his life is at stake, but he was stress-free for a while. He foresaw positive effects of this lie, but he understands his mistake of letting the executions continue. Lastly, Proctor admits to the judge that he had an affair with Abigail because he wants this injustice to end. The judge takes Abigail’s side, but they still ask Elizabeth to confirm or deny Proctor’s confession because she is known for only telling the truth. The judge demands an
It comes to a point in life when fear controls you and causes harm to you and everyone else in your environment. History repeats itself when fear is involved. In the Salem Witch trials, fear caused people to accuse the innocent of being witches. After World War Two, Americans feared sabotage from Japanese and locked up all the Japanese even if they were innocent. After 9/11, fear caused people to believe all Muslims were evil and could harm you. Being afraid of something can eventually become dangerous to you. In some cases, fear becomes dangerous to other people around you like in Salem.
Right when he finds them, Betty becomes sick and won't talk or open her eyes, about this time other people's daughters become sick too. Rumors spread that witch craft is involved in Betty's illness and the development of the plot begins. Important to the major development of the plot is the fact that in the forest, Abigail and the others were just playing like witches. But they were following Abigail because she wanted to try to put a curse on a lady named Elizabeth Proctor. Abigail was in love with Mrs. Proctor's husband, John Proctor, and she wanted to some how get rid of Elizabeth.
Abigail is wicked and confident and is not afraid to take control of situations. This is shown when she is with Parris, Abigail is respectful on the surface but she hides her resentment and disrespect. She talks back to defend her name and in Act One, she suggests to Parris," Uncle, the rumour of witchcraft is all about; I think you'd best go down and deny it yourself." She is also aggressive and forceful, the other girls are afraid of her. When Mary Warren suggested that they should confess to dancing in the woods. Abigail threatens them,."..I have seen some reddish work done at night and i can make you wish you had never seen the sun go down!"
In the play, there were many situations that in return caused new developments and even more problems in the town of Salem. The problems and situations that happened can all be tied back to perception, or the way someone regards or interprets a situation or event. Perception can be terrifying and have devastating effects on people and places. “Parris: Now then, in the midst of such disruption, my own household is discovered to be the very center of some obscene practice. Abominations are done in the forest” (1030). Parris had caught the girls dancing in the forest and viewed it as witchcraft. He could have believed Abigail that it was just sport and the whole situation in Salem could have been prevented. This one perception is what caused everyone to believe that the devil was loose in Salem. Many other perceptions took part in leading to the devastating situations that happened in
Oppression; an extended treatment of cruelty or injustice towards an individual or a group of people. If looked for, it can be found in every society expressed in a number of different ways. Arthur Miller, the author of The Crucible, puts it in a way that is easy to understand. "It is still impossible for man to organize his social life without repressions." This is evident in his play, The Crucible, demonstrating that within a society, oppression will always be present due to personal motives, disputes and misuses of power, as well as distorted religious beliefs.
In the Crucible, Arthur Miller shows us how fear and suspicion can destroy a community. As the play develops, Miller shows us how fear and suspicion increase and destroy the community. Throughout the play it becomes apparent that the community gets more and more divided as time goes on. In the beginning there were arguments about ownership of land between some of the villagers. As the story progresses people fear for their own safety and begin accusing their neighbours of witchcraft in order to escape being hanged.
Yet another motivation of the characters in Salem is witchcraft. Witchcraft became a major theme in the text, as it became a weapon which could leave innocent people hanging on a noose. Witchcraft had revealed to the reader that reverend Parris was ashamed of his child and niece, as they were supposedly ‘possessed’ by witchcraft; this could also link with the reputation theme. He uses witchcraft to state things he normally wouldn’t, like assuring that Abigail’s laughs during
Most of the people in Salem were based on the Puritan belief, which was very strict. The Puritans believed in a punishment for the disobediences against the laws during the period of Salem. There were only a few things a person could do to avoid being hanged. If a person confessed of witchcraft, they would not be executed. According to the article “Witchcraft in Salem,” “a confessor would tearfully throw himself or herself on the mercy of the town and court and promise repentance.” Even though many people did confess to witchcraft, many would not because they wanted justification. However, there were only a few to confess, but were still punished in jail. Reverend Samuel Parris was the town’s minister during the trials, and two of the main accusers Betty and Abigail lived in the Parris’s household. However, once a person was accused of witchcraft, Reverend Samuel Parris had no interest in believing otherwise in the person’s innocence. Reverend Parris was very imprudent, and careless to the hangings. Ragosta observes that “through either direct order or indirect insinuation, Parris may have chosen not only those who represented an unusual or disliked position in the village, but also those who had supported his enemies and
Throughout the play, The Crucible, a theme portrayed was fear and suspicion can ruin a society. As Abigail had to find a way to get the blame off of her in the beginning of the story she created fear and suspicion in the town. When others began to believe witchcraft in Salem could be true, suspicion began to run wild. Mrs. Putman put it into a good perspective when she stated, “... there are wheels within wheels in this village, and fires within fires!” (Miller 17). This tells us as readers that everyone is becoming suspicious of each other, and nobody knows who they can really trust. When Mrs. Putman is talking about fires she means everyone is creating plots on each other based on their previous encounters with each others. Towards the end of act two it wasn't more about suspicion any longer, but everyone was now just
Authors often have fundamental reasons for giving their stories certain themes. Arthur Miller’s masterpiece, The Crucible, is a work of literature inspired by actual events as a response to political and moral issues. The story takes place in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. In the play, Miller displays people accusing each other falsely to save themselves from the high court of Salem and death. Fear causes people to do things totally out of character with whom they are. Miller wanted to convey the message of fear over reason and also warn of mass hysteria. Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible with the intention of showing the audience how scapegoating, hysteria, and injustice can lead to chaos and disorder in society.