More handpicked essays just for you.
What relevance does the crucible have for modern society
The human experience in the crucible
The human experience in the crucible
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Performance Based Assessment The Crucible How would you react to hysteria? Would you join or stay far away from it? In the 1960s, people were accused of being communists. Arthur Miller publicly stated he was a communist. When a was a communist, he use to attend communist meetings. Miller was also on the Hollywood Blacklist because he refused to confess other people that could be potential communist. He was inspired by what had happened in the 1950s and personal experiences. This drew Miller into writing the Crucible. The Crucible was based on some real events, but the story is not non-fiction. Parris could have done more to stop the hysteria because he should have left his bad feelings about his neighbors. He also could have been stricter …show more content…
with Abigail and stopped her from lying to the whole town. He just let her say what she wanted and did not correct her or tell the truth. As long as the person he did not like was accused he was fine with it. During The Crucible, Parris saw Abigail, Tituba, and the girls dancing in the forest late during the night. He knew they had to be involved with witchcraft. However, when Parris addressed his concerns and what he witnessed that day Abigail denied everything. She had said that they were simply just dancing. “And what shall I say to them? That my daughter and my niece, I discovered dancing like heathen in the forest?” (Miller, 567) Parris is considering lying to the citizens of Salem about what actually happened in the woods involving Abigail, Tituba, and the girls. However, he realized what he could say may not be believed by the people. He was mad at the fact that Abigail acted so foolishly in public and made it looks like she had connections with witchcraft. John Proctor’s wife, Elizabeth Proctor was accused of being associated with witchcraft. At this moment of the story he was now in court with Danforth the judge trying to explain that everything that was said is not true they are just rumours. “Excellency you surely can not think to let so vile a lie be spread in open court.” (Miller, 633) Parris is now trying to convince Danforth that John Proctor is lying in court. He knew this was not true, but he could not see his niece getting into any more trouble that what she has already been in. After, John explains Danforth that he has done some of the things that have been stated about him. He then is notified that his wife is pregnant and needs to decide what is going to happen with her. Abigail definitely could have done more to stop the rumours.
She started all the accusations about witchcraft and she blamed innocent people because she wanted revenge on those who hurt her. She also framed Marry Warren and Elizabeth Proctor for being involved in witchcraft. She framed Marry into giving Elizabeth a poppet. Little did Mary know that it was a poppet that had a needle in it which represented a form of unacceptable witchcraft. Before this happened, Parris and Abigail talked about what happened in the forest she denied the harsh allegations she wants to lie to the citizens so she cannot be punished by anyone. “My name is good in the village! I will not have it said my name is spoiled! Goody Proctor is a liar!” (Miller, 570) Abigail is now starting to lie about how things occurred, she is now blaming it on Goody, Proctor who had nothing to do with the witchcraft that has happened in the forest. She also tried to make it clear to Mrs. Putnam that she did not see any signs of witchcraft at her house or with Betty. She was with Betty and Parris. Betty starts showing evident signs of witchcraft. She attempted to fly, but was held back by Parris. After Abigail found John Proctor outside.”She is a cold, sniveling woman, and you bend to her.” (Miller, 578) Once Abigail finds John Proctor she talked to him and things did not go well. John said he never wanted to see her again. She does not believe him she thinks anything to do with her. He makes it clear he does not …show more content…
want anything to do with her. After, she accuses Elizabeth about talking bad about her before he leaves. The last people who have stopped it was the girls. The girls just agreed with everything Abigail said to do. They never confessed even if they knew it was not true. They are as guilty as her because they were involved in it too. The girls were brought into court and stayed quiet because they were scared of what could have potentially happened if they said the truth. Danforth begins the case by asking Marry Warren and the other girls if they were connected with witchcraft. Marry is the first one who responds. “Never, Never.”(Miller, 652) The girls just repeated after Mary Warren. They did not confess about actually happened. Danforth became suspicious about the girls doing that. After Abigail claims she had just seen Mary’s spirit. Proctor tries to persuade the judge that she is lying. Then the girls react the way Abigail would have wanted them too, even though they have not seen anything in reality. Mary Warren continues to answer Danforth's question and while she does the girls continue repeating Abigail. Proctor calls them out for being liars. “I have no power!” (Miller, 653) The girls say they have no power after Danforth asks Mary were the power could be found. Proctor now directly calls out the girls for lying to her. After, Abigail claims she just saw Mary spirit’s wings opening up. The girls, Proctor, Abigail are now trying to dodge the spirit that is supposedly flying around rapidly in the room. Abigail and the girls never saw this they just pretended it was there to convince everyone. Some people may say that no one could have possibly stopped all the hysteria that was going on in Salem.
I disagree with those saying this. Characters such as Parris, Abigail, and the girls could have stopped the rumours that were spreading rapidly. It did not even have to be more than one person if at least one of the girls confessed what she had actually seen the day Elizabeth Proctor was framed the trial would have shut down. Abigail could have also came clean about the rumours she started and the people she framed. Parris could have made the situation better by not contributing to the rumours and false accusations
made. I believe Reverend Parris, Abigail Williams, and the girls could have done a lot more to stop innocent people from being accused and persecuted.What happened in the story could have stopped or prevented if one these characters would have taken action at the right moment. In the 1960s McCarthyism was a common practice similar to what happened in The Crucible. Innocent people were being accused of being witches. However, in McCarthyism people were being named as potential communists even though they had nothing to do with it. In both cases these situations could have been stopped if people did not give into the hysteria and thought reasonably.
In the article, Miller discusses the rise of McCarthyism, and how it affected the American people and him personally. Being that Miller lived in the time of McCarthyism and was interviewed by the committee in charge of “Un-American Activities”, Miller is a very credible source on the effects of mass hysteria and paranoia. The article “Are You Now or Were You Ever” can be used as a source when discussing McCarthyism and its effects, and other studies of the era. This article is a valuable resource for studies of The Crucible and studies of Arthur Miller
She was put in the middle of the situation because she lied to the court about the affair with Abigail not knowing that John already admitted to it. That situation made both Elizabeth and John look bad. Some say that the truths will you set you free but in this case all it did was digging a deeper hole for the Proctor’s. Abigail tried to say that Elizabeth was dancing with the devil and the people believed it and started prosecuting every potential
She does everything that is physically possible to get rid of her. She drinks a charm to kill Elizabeth, she stabs herself with a needle to accuse Elizabeth of a crime, Abigail also accuses Elizabeth of being a witch. The whole play, those were the only intentions that Abigail had, exterminate Elizabeth Proctor. Even though John decided to attempt to make the court look differently at Abigail and see what she has done to many people in the city of Salem. The misleading trait that Abigail has, helps her get out of a rocky situation without harm. The threatening of the girls, drinking a charm, stabbing herself with a needle, and accusing Elizabeth Proctor of witchcraft are all the reasons that Abigail is also an evil individual. Abigail was the most misleading and evil character in the play written by Arthur Miller.
In The Crucible, two characters that serve as a foil for each other are Elizabeth Proctor and Abigail. Elizabeth Proctor is known as an honest woman, while Abigail is consistently seen as a dishonest person whose lies result in the widespread paranoia of the Salem witch trials. For instance, after she dances in the forest with other girls, she forbids them from telling the townsfolk about it and accuses other people of witchcraft, which leads to their deaths. Another example is the fact that she had an affair with John Proctor, Elizabeth’s husband, and tries to conceal it because she does not want her reputation to get ruined. Her motive for accusing others of witchcraft is because she wants to get rid of Elizabeth so that she could be John’s “perfect wife,” and because she does not want to get in trouble. Abigail is the perfect foil for anyone who is even slightly honest.
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.
Mary realizes that what Abigail is doing is wrong and she’s the only one who can put a stop to it. Abigail’s frustration grew as Mary announced to the court that, “She [Abigail] sees nothin’!” (121) and tried to accuse her of murder. Abigail saw Mary’s confidence building up as Mary kept denying using witchcraft after she repeatedly accused Abby of it. Transition here Abigail screaming at the “bird” on the ceiling because she thought it was Mary, Mary supposedly sent to attack her as Danforth asks Mary, “Have you compacted with the Devil? Have you?”(121) and Mary replies with, “Never, Never” (121). Mary Warren knows that if she does not admit to using witchcraft she could be hung, but she knows she must put an end to Abby’s manipulation. Earlier in the novel, Mary was too intimidated by Abigail and would never have had the courage to accuse Abby of lying about the events in the woods. To successfully accuse Abby, Mary had to admit that, “I never saw no spirits” (112) which put her own life in danger as well. Until accusing Abby of witchcraft and murder in the court with John Proctor, Mary Warren had no confidence in herself and did what everyone else wanted her to do. At the end of the play, Mary made decisions for herself and wasn’t afraid to go against what everyone else was doing.
In Arthur Miller's The Crucible, the main character Abigail Williams is to blame for the 1692 witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts. Abigail is a mean and vindictive person who always wants her way, no matter who she hurts. Through out the play her accusations and lies cause many people pain and suffering, but she seemed to never care for any of them except John Proctor, whom she had an affair with seven months prior to the beginning of the play. John Proctor and his wife Elizabeth used to employ Abigail, until Elizabeth found out the affair and threw Abigail out. Although John told Abigail that the affair was over and he would never touch her again, she tried desperately to rekindle their romance. "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." (Page 23) She claimed that she loved John and that he loved her. Before the play began, Abigail tried to kill Elizabeth with a curse. She thought that if Elizabeth were dead John would marry her. Further into the play, Abigail accused Elizabeth of witchcraft. She saw Marry Warren, the Proctor's servant, making a poppet. Mary put a needle into the doll, and Abigail used that for her accusation. She stabbed herself with a needle and claimed that Elizabeth's soul had done it. Although Abigail claimed she loved John, she may have just loved the care and attention he gave her. John cared for her like no one else had. In a way he could be described as somewhat of a father figure to her. When Abigail was just a child, she witnessed her parents' brutal murders. "I saw Indians smash my dear parent's heads on the pillow next to mine..." (page 20) After her traumatic experience, she was raised by her uncle, Reverend Parris, who is somewhat of a villain. In the play it was written, "He (Parris) was a widower with no interest in children, or talent with them." (Page 3) Parris regarded children as young adults who should be "thankful for being permitted to walk straight, eyes slightly lowered, arms at the sides, and mouths shut until bidden to speak." (Page 4) Therefore, it is obvious to see that Abigail grew up without any love or nurturing.
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...
One of the most important conflicts that transpire is between Abigail and John, and Abigail’s jealously towards John’s wife Goody Proctor. The first case of jealously and conflict between these characters is when John has called Abigail to the woods to confront her about the accusations her and the other girls have been making. Abigail thinks differently; she believes that John is calling her to the woods to tell her that he wants to be with her. This is not the case though, John says he comes in friendly but he later reveals his true intentions and tells Abigail that she is not to call out Elizabeth’s name. Abigail proclaims “: Oh, I marvel how such a strong man may let such a sickly wife be— Proctor, angered-at himself as well: You’ll speak nothing’ of Elizabeth.” Abigail: she is blackening my name in the village! She is telling lies about me! She is a cold, snivelling woman, and you bend to her! Let her turn you like a- Proctor, shaking her: Do you look for whipping’? Abigail refers to Goody Proctor as “ a snivelling woman” to make John believe that she is upset that Goody Proctor is vilifying her reputation in the town. The real reasoning behind Abigail insulting her is not because she thinks her name is being blackened but she is trying to cover up her unrequited feelings she has for John. Abigail is later brought up in the Proctor household...
One night the girls were caught dancing in the woods naked by Reverend Parris. Abigail threatened the other girls she would kill them if they ever said what they were actually doing, which was conjuring spirits. Abigail was the one who had done most of the wrong dong including drinking blood. Because of this event the start of the whole witch hunt and hysteria can be accredited to Abigail. Whenever she would be accused she would make up a lie, and threaten the other girls to say it was the truth.
The Crucible: Hysteria and Injustice Thesis Statement: The purpose is to educate and display to the reader the hysteria and injustice that can come from a group of people that thinks it's doing the "right" thing for society in relation to The Crucible by Arthur Miller. I. Introduction: The play is based on the real life witch hunts that occurred in the late 1600's in Salem, Massachusetts. It shows the people's fear of what they felt was the Devil's work and shows how a small group of powerful people wrongly accused and killed many people out of this fear and ignorance.
When Abigail first started to accuse people in her town of witchcraft, she was trying to protect herself. Blaming other people and
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.
...ad to avoid making close relationships to known communists. On the other hand instead of death as a punishment for crime, America blacklisted (prevented from getting jobs) or imprisoned those who refused to appear in trials or those who were determined communists. Behind it all was Senator Joe McCarthy, thus the name McCarthyism. McCarthy capitalized these concerns, becoming the standing figure for the anti-communist movement, aiming to hunt down the people he assumed to be infiltrators. In addition to his accusations, he also targeted writers and entertainers, whom he thought sympathized with the communists. Arthur Miller was one of the many questioned writers. His play, ‘The Crucible’, was a metaphor for McCarthyism, which therefore caught attention of both the public and the government, who questioned him on whether he has had any connection with communists.
I believe that Abigail Williams is to blame for turning the town of Salem against many people, and I think it is her fault that several people were killed. Abigail Williams sends the town into a state of hysteria by accusing men and women of practicing the satanic art of witchcraft. Abigail’s flaws - her lustful desire for John Proctor, her deceptive habit of lying in order to retain her good name in the town, and her selfishness and obsessive aspiration for power – led her to be ultimately responsible for the catastrophe of the witch hunt in Salem.