The story, "The Crucible," takes place during the witch craze in Salem, Massachusetts 1962-1963. The witch craze or the Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft. This was a period of paranoia as more than two hundred people were convicted. In the story, it makes connections to actual history while being fictional at the same time. The story begins with a group of girls dancing in the forest and got caught by a man named Reverend Parris, a local minister. Not long afterward one of the girls, Betty, falls into a coma-like state. Parris, who is also Betty's father, questions the leader of the group and his niece Abigail Williams while waiting for Reverend Hale. Abigail claims they were only …show more content…
dancing and nothing else. While Parris talks to others, Abigail tells the rest of the group not to admit to anything. A man named John Proctor, a local farmer, talks to Abigail alone. In the previous year, both Proctor and Abigail had an affair which leads to her being fired by Elizabeth Proctor, John Proctor's wife. Yet Abigail is still in love with John. Soon Betty wakes up and begins screaming, everyone rushes over and argues whether she is bewitched or not. A separate argument between Proctor, Parris, Giles Corey, and Thomas Putnam soon ensues. As the men argue, Reverend Hale had arrived and examines Betty. Hale asks Abigail about the activities in the forest, grows suspicious of her behavior and demands to speak to Tituba. After interrogating her for a while, Tituba confesses to working with the devil to Parris and Hale, then starts accusing others in the town of doing so. Abigail joins in with Tituba's confession as to having seen the devil conspiring and cavorting with other townspeople. Then Betty joins them in naming witches, causing an uproar. John and his wife, Elizabeth Proctor, discuss the ongoing trials and the rising number of townsfolk who have been accused of being witches a week later.
Elizabeth tries to convince John to expose Abigail as a fraud; he refuses, and she becomes jealous, then accusing him of still suppressing feelings for her. Their servant and one of Abigail’s circle, Mary Warren returns from Salem with the news that Elizabeth has been accused of witchcraft, but the court didn't pursue the claim. John and Elizabeth continue their argument once they sent Mary to bed, only to be interrupted by Reverend Hale. Giles Corey and Francis Nurse come to the Proctor home with the news that their wives have been arrested. Officers of the court suddenly arrive and arrest Elizabeth. After they have taken her, Proctor threatens Mary, telling her that she must go to Salem and expose Abigail and the other girls as frauds. The next day, Proctor brings Mary to court to testify that the girls are lying. Judge Danforth is suspicious of Proctor’s motives. Proctor insists in his charge, convincing Danforth to allow Mary to testify. Mary tells the court that the girls are lying. When the girls are brought in, they turn the tables by accusing Mary of bewitching them. Proctor, furious, confesses his affair with Abigail and accuses her of being motivated by jealousy. To test Proctor’s claim, Danforth summons Elizabeth and asks her if Proctor has been unfaithful to her. Despite her usually being honest, she lies to
protect Proctor’s honor. Meanwhile, Abigail and the girls again pretend that Mary is bewitching them, and Mary breaks down and accuses Proctor of being a witch. Proctor rages against her and against the court. He is arrested. Autumn had arrived and the witch trials have caused unrest in neighboring towns. Abigail has run away, taking all of Parris’s money with her. Hale, lost faith in the court and begs the accused witches to confess falsely in order to save their lives, but they refuse. Danforth then has an idea: he asks Elizabeth to talk John into confessing, and she agrees. Conflicted, John agrees to confess, and the officers of the court rejoice. He refuses to incriminate anyone else, and when the court insists that the confession must be made public, Proctor grows angry, tears it up, and retracts his admission of guilt. Despite Hale’s desperate pleas, Proctor goes to the gallows with the other accused.
The Crucible was set in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. It was set in a little country town full of what everyone thought were good people. When we started reading The Crucible we were introduced to many people from this small town of Salem. There are many pros and cons to living in a small town, but this book shows us many of these pros and cons. The three main characters that we were introduced are Abigail Williams, John Proctor, and Reverend Hale. In this story these characters contributed some of the most irrational things that caused most of the problems in this small town.
The focus of Miller’s The Crucible is an appalling witch trial that morfs the once-peaceful town of Salem into a cutthroat slaughterhouse. As a lucrative playwright and a not-so-subtle allegory author, Miller is a seasoned wordsmith who addresses people akin to himself, and is not secretive about that information. The Crucible best serves its purpose as a learning device and a social statement, especially at the time of its publishing. Miller‘s piece showcases the appeals in an easy-to-identify manner that is perfect for middle or high school students who are new to the appeals, or for English majors who have no problem pinpointing them, making this play ideal for a classroom setting.
John Proctor and Reverend Hale are similar as they have both detected the corruption beneath the witchcraft accusations and attempt to prevent false testimonies and innocent people being hanged. John Proctor easily realizes the truth of the witchcraft trials because of his affair with Abigail Williams, one of the leading culprits of the hysteria in Salem. Abby exclaims that “Elizabeth hates me, uncle, she must, for I would not be her slave. It’s a bitter woman, a lying, cold, sniveling woman, and I will not work for such a woman” (Miller 12). Abigail feels this way, not because Elizabeth has mistreated her, but instead because Elizabeth is Proctor’s wife, a nuisance to Abigail and Proctor’s relationship. Additionally, after Elizabeth found out about the affair, she fired Abigail, thus ridding Abigail
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
Elizabeth and John start to feel the tension when Elizabeth tries to convince John about going to court and persecuting Abigail but he refuses. When he disputes with his wife he argues, “you will judge me no more Elizabeth I have good reason to charge fraud on Abigail and I will think on it” (193). Proctor is not completely satisfied about throwing Abigail under the bus because he doesn’t want to initially hurt her and he would lose his respect in the town if he did. So he isn’t convinced about the fact that his wife is trying to get him to charge fraud at this point of the play. Soon afterward Mary the proctor’s servant comes home with news that Elizabeth has been convicted of witchcraft as well and was arrested by the sheriff in town to be brought to the trials.
The events that took place in Salem Massachusetts during 1692 through 1693, would forever define the colonial religious extremists, known as the Puritans. The Salem Witch Trials created a distinct nuance, that marked a dark period in American history. The dramatized version of the Witch Trials, The Crucible, resulted in a semi accurate representation of the historical events that occurred in Salem Massachusetts. The author Arthur Miller, wrote the playwright by incorporating factual content, as well as imaginary aspects that brought the characters of the Witch Trials to life.
The Crucible is set in Salem, Massachusetts, 1692. One night, a bunch of girls were caught dancing in the forest and people in the village start accusing the girls for being witchcrafted by a witch. In the progress of finding who the witch is, people start blaming on each other and lie. These lies and false witnesses confuse the entire town. Arthur Miller, the author of The Crucible, uses irony and paradox in the stories.
Elizabeth Proctor has many moments which show how she is changing throughout the play. When she is trying to persuade Proctor to tell the court that Abigail said the girls were not practicing witchcraft, Elizabeth blurts out, "John, if it were not Abigail that you must go to hurt, would you falter now? I think not." Elizabeth is confessing that she believes Proctor had an affair with Abigail. She is giving him no mercy by showing that she will never forget what happened. When Elizabeth is being accused of stabbing Abigail, she instructs Proctor to go to court, and tells him "Oh, John, bring me soon!" Elizabeth is gaining trust in John. She is forgetting his act of adultery and now has faith that he will defend her. At the end of the play, when Proctor is sentenced to death, Elizabeth says that "he [has] his goodness now. God forbid I take it from him!" Elizabeth is admitting that John was righteous to confess his sin of lechery, and she should have pardoned him. She considers herself impure for not showing mercy, and does not want to take away from his glory. Elizabeth has transformed from an ignorant victim of adultery, to a forgiving, loving wife.
The crucible’s setting was in the year 1962, in the small Puritan society of Salem. One night some of the girls in the village were in the woods doing love potions when they were caught. The girls lied and said that witches made them do it. In an extremely religeous society the influence of witches was immensely frightening and as the thought to identify witches arose, so did mass hysteria of the...
The play takes place in Salem, Massachusetts. The event takes place in the Puritan society. The community is portrayed as superstitious and gullible. The Crucible is based on a true story so the setting is real.
When Proctor is put on trial, Danforth brings in Elizabeth to questions about the affair. Elizabeth must feel her heart racing because his life is in her hands. The words that came out of Elizabeth’s mouth is taken seriously. When Danfourth questions Elizabeth he says “Look at me! To your own knowledge, has John Proctor even committed the crime of lechery?”(Miller 105). Elizabeth answers faintly and says “No, sir”(Miller 105). At that moment, things went terribly wrong. Elizabeth tries to protect Proctor’s name, so she does not tell the truth. Little does she know, Proctor confesses beforehand. Obviously, she does this because no matter what, she still loves him. After the trial, Elizabeth talks to John about the situation. When Elizabeth soothes John about the situation, she says “John, it come to naught that I should forgive you, if you’ll not forgive yourself” (Miller 126). Elizabeth’s forgiveness makes John want to keep lying. If he knows she is okay with it, he will deny it to others. Her opinion is so important to him because he wants the best for her. Although, he decides to confess. This proves Elizabeth does not want him to die. Finally , after everything Proctor has been through, she lies to the court, so they do not hang him. This proves Elizabeth is a loyal
The Crucible, takes place in the small Puritan village called Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. The witchcraft trials grew out of the moral system of the Puritans. This split the town into two, those who were considered witches and those who wanted good.
When we are first introduced to John Proctor, we learn of his affair with Abigail Williams, Abigail's involvement in the accusations of witchcraft, and of John's desire to do what is honorable. Because of John's desire to do what is honorable, he ends the affair with Abigail and begins to attempt to repair his broken marriage. Abigail's jealously of Elizabeth and desire to be John's wife leads to Elizabeth's name being mentioned in court. Abigail's mention of Elizabeth's name in court reveals her attempt to get rid of Elizabeth for she knows Elizabeth will claim innocence and be hung if she does. When word reaches the Proctors, about Abigail's mentioning of Elizabeth's name in court, John concludes that Abigail's motive is to kill Elizabeth. Knowing this information, John is faced with his first difficult decision, save his reputation, keep his affair a secret, and let the accusations continue, or ruin his reputation, tell of his affair, and end the girls' accusations. Not wanting to ruin his good name, John decides to hold his tongue and because of this the trials continue and more accusations are made, some of which lead to his wife's and his friends arrest for witchcraft and bewitchment.
The Crucible is considered the outline of the real life events during the Salem Witch trials in 1692. Abigail Williams, the niece of Reverent Paris was found conjuring in the forest along with his nine year old daughter Betty and other girls. After that event the witch trials began. In real life, Abigail was the one who began the witc...
All the girls confess and accuse other women in the village as “witches”. Proctor and his wife Elizabeth know that Abigail is behind these accusations, and know that Elizabeth will get accused. Elizabeth still doesn’t trust Proctor after his affair with Abigail so she’s bitter towards him. Mary Warren comes home to the Proctor’s and gives Elizabeth a poppet and claims she saved Elizabeth’s life because her name came up in the trials that day. Reverend Hale comes to the Proctor home looking for proof to arrest Elizabeth because Abigail says she was pinned with a needle and had accused her. Mary’s gift is found with a needle in it and Elizabeth is arrested. John Proctor takes Mary to the courthouse to confess that she never saw the Devil and the other girls have been pretending and following Abigail. Abigail get the girls to turn on Mary and accuse her of witchcraft. They act like Mary is possessing them and then Proctor yells that Abigail is making this all up because she is a liar. He confesses that they had an affair to show she’s not credible but Abigail denies. They bring Elizabeth to clarify because John says she will not lie. Yet, she lies. So they still believe