How Arthur Miller Makes Act Three of The Crucible a Dramatic Scene

How Arthur Miller Makes Act Three of The Crucible a Dramatic Scene

In the play Arthur Miller shows us how the time in Salem affected

people’s thoughts about witchcraft and how the behaviour of certain

characters such as Abigail Williams changed the outlook of respectable

characters in the play.

Arthur Miller wrote the play because of the time in the 1950’s in

which Joseph McCarthy, a man who led an anti-communist investigation

to seek out any communist sympathizers in the USA. People who were

suspected of communism were encouraged to own up and identify any

other communists as a way of escaping punishment. This is like in the

play with those who are suspected of witchcraft are advised to own up

therefore facing lesser punishments. Although ‘The Crucible’ is

historically incorrect play because of the characters relationships

shown between John Proctor and Abigail Williams. This is because in

real life John would be in his sixties and Abigail only 11 or 12. It

is extremely unlikely that they would have had a sexual relationship.

Therefore the story of John and Abigail in the play was not only wrong

but was there to set the root of the problem in Salem. An effective

device used to depict the power and bigotry in the town which would

tear the community apart.

Abigail Williams is a devious character and is clearly pointed out by

the audience as the villain in the play. She is manipulative and sly

and manages to trick the whole town with her lies. Not only that but

as the play concludes she manages to deceive judge Danforth which

leads to nineteen innocent lives. The many people that have fallen

under Abigail’s spell believe that children in that time were seen as

innocent and pure therefore not corrupted by the devil. Abigail is a

scheming character and although she may seem to want many things in

the play, her only desire is to have revenge on Elizabeth Proctor,

wife of John Proctor with whom she had an affair with.