Men and women, Goody Proctor (nod), people of the court, I stand before you today to reclaim the innocence this town has lost. Salem has been in anarchy driven by the heathens you (scan the room) have chosen to believe. Today, I present to you my deposition to no longer reprieve Abigail Williams. I will be corroborating all my points today in order for justice to be served.
The name and reputation (put hand on chest) I uphold is immaculate yet you choose to call me a child (point to the court), you accuse me of speaking gibberish. I, Mary Warren, have no blush about my name so there is no reason for me to hide behind the falsely accused. In this community, dancing is considered lewd, yet accusing weighty names of witchery, such a treacherous crime is looked over, and why? Because you believe Godly women like Goody Nurse or hearty John Proctor are guilty, or because so many lives have been lost but the court won’t admit fault. There is no justification for why Abigail isn’t hung yet!
I admit to dancing in the forest, as a sport, I admit to accusing the innocent, as a result of group hysteria. Abby made me tell lies, she made me... she threatened that if Betty or I “breathe a word, or the edge of a word” she would come “in the black of some terrible night” and “bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder…” us ¹. She told
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Even worse, she broke commandment seven, you shall not commit adultery. An affair, in Salem!? (sarcasm) The town of the holy and righteous? There could be no way! (chuckle) Best believe it! Those present in the court months before the death of John Proctor he admitted to lechery with “ a whore.” ⁵ Now Abby’s true selfish, jealous motives are revealed, Abigail titillated a married man, conjured the spirits to kill his wife and marry him not because she cares about him, but because it will increase her position in this
The first reason Abigail is to blame for the deaths of the innocent Puritans is her lustful personal ambition to be John Proctor’s wife. John and Abigail previously had an affair, which basically began the hysteria. An exasperated John attempted to tell Abigail the affair is a thing of the past, by saying, “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.” Abigail, however, relentlessly strives to keep their “romance” alive. Because of this intense jealousy of John’s wife, there is an enormous amount of tension between Abigail Williams and Elizabeth Proctor. Abigail even goes as far as to consume a potion with the intent to murder Elizabeth, which Betty confronts her about by saying, “You drank a charm to kill John Proctor’s wife! You drank a charm to kill Goody Proctor!” Abigail is so envious of Elizabeth, she does the unthinkable by accusing her of witchcraft. She claims that Goody Proctor’s spirit came to her and stabbed her with a needle. She felt that if she could dispose of Elizabeth Proctor, she could take her rightful position as John’s wife.
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
John Proctor a well-respected man in the city of Salem has a deep secret that plays a major role later on in the story. He had an intimate affair with a younger single girl named Abigail which he regrets greatly. Proctor shows his disgust when he argues with Abigail by insisting, “Abby I never give you hope to wait for me” (page168). Proctor exclaims that he surely regrets his sin and doesn’t want Abigail to think that he loves her and not his own wife. Although Proctor may still have feelings about Abigail he reassures her that he will never have emotional relationships with her ever again. He had the ultimate opportunity to get back at Abigail and stop the witch trials from happening when he meets Abigail alone in the woods; upon their encounter she confesses to John, “We were dancing in the woods last night and my uncle leaped in ...
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.
... truth, denying her involvement as a witch, but be hung anyway for "lying" under oath. On the other hand, an innocent victim could lie and confess her involvement as a witch, accuse another witch instead and be let "off the hook". However, if the innocent victim lied and confess, but wasn't willing to turn in another witch, she would be hung anyway. (Starkey, 17) This created quite an ironic situation coming from a Christian based community of purity and holiness.
Pollan’s article provides a solid base to the conversation, defining what to do in order to eat healthy. Holding this concept of eating healthy, Joe Pinsker in “Why So Many Rich Kids Come to Enjoy the Taste of Healthier Foods” enters into the conversation and questions the connection of difference in families’ income and how healthy children eat (129-132). He argues that how much families earn largely affect how healthy children eat — income is one of the most important factors preventing people from eating healthy (129-132). In his article, Pinsker utilizes a study done by Caitlin Daniel to illustrate that level of income does affect children’s diet (130). In Daniel’s research, among 75 Boston-area parents, those rich families value children’s healthy diet more than food wasted when children refused to accept those healthier but
Because of Abigail Williams’s unequivocal craving to have the eyes of the town turned towards her, as well as her irrational feelings towards the inaccessible John Proctor, she chooses a course of action with serious implications not just for herself, but for the whole town of Salem. These choices lead her to become a changed character by the end of the play, and are the reason she abandoned her heartache and pain and escapes the place where her difficulties had begun. Breaking sacred religious laws in Salem had had consequences Abigail Williams could never imagine. Perhaps this is why Puritans considered lying a deadly sin – it truly could be deadly, and not just for the liar.
The Salem Witch looked to be so innocent, because of this she had everyone fooled. Abigail Williams went through a hard time, which gave the illusion of her innocence. Abigail should be the one held accountable for all imprisonments and execution of all the innocent people, because she lied her way through the witch trials so she could get what she wanted, and her biggest reason was to get John Proctor.
...n as truth in court, giving the court evidence to accuse Mary Warren as a witch as well.
However, there is ample proof for the case of Elizabeth Proctor’s innocence, but little for her conviction. The numerous inconsistencies within the fabrication with which Abigail has poisoned your mind, along with her direct motives to dispose of Goody Proctor give way for numerous doubts concerning Abigail’s claim. These doubts contradict the very idea of proof. And if one is not proven guilty,we are indeed obligated to consider them innocent. I speak directly to the jury when I say: consider her
The Crucible was a rather strong book, it had battles both internal and external, there were also betrayals and vendettas… but a few stuck strong to their morals of what was wrong, and what was right. After the girl’s acts were, undoubtedly, in the eyes of the law, seen as entirely real, people who would not otherwise have been accused of witchcraft were now eligible to be under Satan’s spell. One John Proctor, saw himself above the nonsense, that witches could not exist in Salem, his wife, his children nor him; But, when Mary Warren said to the court that he used his spirit to drag her into court to testify against the girls, the judges deemed her word more truthful than his. After actively and repeatedly denying the claims, he was sentenced to death, for only a witch could lie in the face of god.
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.
From the beginning of the play Miller establishes that John Proctor committed adultery. Abigail Williams confronts Proctor by saying, "I know how you clutched my back behind your house and sweated like a stallion whenever I come near" [21]. While Elizabeth lay bedridden, Proctor stages an affair with Abigail. Proctor's unchecked desire for women leads him to infidelity and sets the stage for his downfall. Enamored by the attention Proctor paid her, Abigail clings to the hope that he will love her. This drives her to accuse Elizabeth Proctor of witchcraft, with the intention of replacing Elizabeth's place by Proctor's side. Proctors' lack of foresight results in Abigail leading a band of girls on a wild spree of accusations that ruins the lives of innocent men and women. His failure to remain faithful to hi...
The true antagonist of the play is the town of Salem itself, because of the judgemental and self concerned peoples, and its oppressive views. Abigail;s outrageous actions are due to her desensitized views on death and actions otherwise viewed as unethical. From her youth ABigail recalls: “ I saw indians smash my dear parents’ head on the pillow next to mine and i have seen some reddish work at night” (Miller 20), because of this Abigail is numb to death and suffering and is in fact quite morbid. There is no problem in condemning other to death in Abigail’s eyes because she doesn’t see the issue with it. Abigail does not seem to comprehend that it is unethical to let people be hanged and stoned to death and has no issue telling others that she “ can make you wish you had never seen the sun go down” (Miller 20). Not only is Abigail desensitized to murder and death, she is also numb to other unethical dilemmas. Abigail is desensitized to corrupting the Proctor’s marriage because of her childish lust and obsession for John Proctor. Such desires can be seen through her encounters with Proctor. In regards to their so called “relationship” she says: “it’s she put me out, you cannot pretend it were you. I saw your face when she put me out, and you loved me then and you love me now!” (Miller 22). Abigail does not view her behavior t...
And there’s the whole of it” (Miller,1130). Stated from Abigail herself she is blankly she is blankly lying to her uncle Reverend Parris about what occurred in the woods. This woman attempts to turn the situation upon her uncle to try to make herself seem innocent upon him to guilt him into being the blame for Betty’s incident. Reverend Parris feels guilt brought upon him from Abigail when she is the one who had the idea to dance with the girls in the woods and drink the chicken’s blood to be able to receive something from the witchcraft they were