Mary Warren In The Devil's '

Some may say money is the root of all evil but in ,The Crucible by Arthur Miller, fear was the root of all evil. The Crucible showed how characters crack under pressure. The cause of the hysteria in 1692 Salem that lead to the executions of twenty innocent villagers was fear. The characters that displayed this characteristic were: Mary Warren, John Proctor, and Abigail Williams. One character that showed fear in The Crucible is Mary Warren.

This led Mary to be asked to go to court again to be a witness during testimonies and for accusations. She went to court against John’s wish. Several days later, on the day of April 4th, a group of people, mostly the younger girls, accused Elizabeth Proctor of witchcraft, then accused John also a week later. Mary was not one of the original accusers of John or Elizabeth, but she was willing to testify against both of them by saying that they made her touch the devil’s book. John’s attitude toward Mary did not help his situation either, he often said vulgar things about her and threatened to beat

Mary Warren is a selfish fearful liar. Exposition (Background Information): In the 1950s, Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible because he was inspired by the Red Scare and the mass hysteria it caused. During the Red Scare Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin, would target and accused American citizens of being communists, including Arther Miller. Thesis:

First, Mary Warren, the 17 year old servant of the Proctors, is to be held accountable because she also alleges people to protect her prestige and to try to get more respect. At the end, Mary, in a final effort to save her name in the town, arraigns John Proctor. She says, “You’re the devil’s man!” (Act IV, Line 1108-1109). Although this may be true, Mary Warren did accuse John Proctor to save her prestige, Abigail charges more people with witchcraft to protect her notoriety.

This put him in a disadvantage when in court. Another disadvantage was when he forced Mary Warren to sign a deposition claiming that everything was “pretense.” This led the judge and the officials in court to be suspicious of him as an abuser. Although Abigail had no intention of letting John die, she changes her mind when he confesses that he had committed adultery with her, and that “she thinks to dance with [him] on [his] wife’s grave” (102). So that she can save her reputation, she starts to act against him, which leads him to be executed and

Zi Liu Ms. Elder College English 11 The Crucible Break Assignment ACT ONE 1. Why did the Salem settlement need a theocracy? Why had the settlers begun to turn toward individualism?

After continuous pressuring Mary Warren replies with ‘I cannot, they’ll turn on me— “showing us the mob has driven fear into people and how Marry is afraid to tell the truth in the case everyone will turn on her and blame her. Mary’s feeble attempt to recompense backfires, so when Abigail uses the poppet to blame it on Elizabeth, making Mary feel even worse thus she agrees to go with proctor to testify against Abigail in court. Later after agreeing to go to court to support Proctor Mary is asked who is at fault and in fear replies pointing to proctor “You’re the devil’s man!” (act three, page 119). This demonstrates how the fear of the mob and the overwhelming pressure from the Abigail makes her turn from the truth.

Adolescent minds are the most intelligent kind of mind. A young brain is filled with creativity, imagination and innocence. Though the thought process of a teen is assumed to be selfish there are other factors involved. A combination of these characteristics seems almost dangerous. One would undermine a juvenile to use these qualities to manipulate the court for their own selfish wishes or pleasures.

Later, Mary broke down and accused John Proctor, who forced her to testify. “You’re the Devil’s man!” , “He wake me every night, his eyes were like coals and his fingers claw my neck, and I sign, I sign…” (page 110). The girls turned against Mary Warren simply due to the reason that she confessed the truth and it could have gotten them in trouble.

Mary Warren comes to the court in an attempt to explain that she and the other girls had made false accusations, which were based on their fear and mass hysteria. It started with wanting to get out of trouble for dancing and conjuring spells, but continued because their fear of retribution from Abigail. Danforth is also caught up in her act, with just a few screams to make him believe that he is witnessing witchcraft. Mary believed she had seen spirits earlier because she was caught up in the hysteria of those around her.

Tituba, the slave of Reverend Parris, is the first to admit to dancing with the devil. Based on the background knowledge of the time, slaves were not considered part of the class system, so she was not valued as a community member. Tituba is conscious that she is in danger, “she is also very frightened because her slave sense has warned her that, as always, trouble in this house eventually lands on her back” (Miller, pg. 6). Tituba attempts to tell the truth about Abigail when she says, “You beg me to conjure! She beg me make charm” (Miller, pg. 44) but realizes that her word against Abigail will not stand.

(Miller 18). Mary was afraid of Abigail Williams and didn’t tell the truth fearing that Abigail would hurt her. While, she developed as a character and made better choices for herself. Acts 3 and 4 she attempted to help John try to accuse Abigail Williams of lying about witchcraft in the court. “I-I promise you, Mr.Danforth, I only thought I saw them but I did not’.

Mary Warren is a young girl who is a servant for the Proctors. Mary is the one who made the poppet for Elizabeth and put the needle into the poppet. Because she is the only one who can prove that Elizabeth is innocent and get her out of jail, John Proctor forces her to testify in court despite the fact that Mary is terrified of Abigail. Due to the actions of Abigail that pressure Mary to lie, she accuses John Proctor as she says “‘my name, her want my name. I’ll murder you, he says, if my wife hangs!

(I.465-472). Seeing Abigail cry, it suggests that Abigail’s affair with John Proctor has influenced her behavior in jealousy and lust as she strives for nothing more than her love for John Proctor. By only being heartbroken, Abigail is not to be fully blamed for the hysteria within the town as her actions are only based on desperate attempts to win John Proctor over, and no intentional harm whatsoever. However, on the other hand, Abigail cannot be excused with outside forces making her the way she is due to the fact that she has clearly had a choice in most of her decisions and actions throughout the witchcraft crisis. When Mary Warren, another girl involved in the forest incident, enters the court, she explains to Danforth, the judge, that the girls are lying and are only pretending to see spirits.

Mary desperately wants to tell the truth because she believes their punishment will be less severe if they are truthful. Because of this Abigail threatened her and the other girls, saying they will not tell the truth, so the girls decide to use the two afflicted girls to their advantage and claim witchcraft. Their claim of witchcraft leads to an entire mess of people being falsely accused. John Proctor knows that the girls are lying but doesn't do anything about it until his wife is arrested. Whereupon he forces Mary Warren to tell him the truth and say that she will tell the truth to the court to save all of the innocent people.