The Salem Witch Trials In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

Mrs. Proctor says she fired Abigail because she suspected that Proctor had been seduced by the 17 year old to commit adultery that he later admitted to. As a result, Abigail became jealous and set out for revenge, after all the earlier woods action and Mary Warren brief support she had Mrs. Proctor arrested for witchcraft claiming that she crafted a poppet of her and used it to physically hurt her. On the stand, Abigail says she never intended to hurt John Proctor even though he ended up getting him killed. We later find out during the defendants questioning of Mr. Proctor that Abigail had no ill will against Mrs. Proctor until the trial. The two had not spoken to each other again until the trial and in his own words says, “Abigail confessed the truth to him, and wanted to run away with him”.

Elizabeth thinks then realizes what she has just done and has been caught in a lie and John tells the court she was only trying to save his name. Elizabeth’s test would’ve been doing the right thing. Although John is her husband, she should’ve told the truth for not just their sake but everyone else’s. If Elizabeth told the truth she would’ve put an end to all the false accusations being made against John, Abigail, and many others. As time goes on and both Elizabeth and Proctor are in jail, in their last conversation Elizabeth was with a child, and she told John she could not judge him and that she realized he was a good husband.

In The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, A strange phenomenon takes place in the town of Salem Massachusetts. Innocent people were killed because they were accused of being a witch. A man by the name of John Proctor gets thrown in to this event when his wife Elizabeth is accused of witchcraft. Salem was a very small and quiet New England town, this of course didn’t last very long.

Towards the end of the plot, the villagers begin to suspect that there could be a fault in some of the accusations. Mary Warren is one of the girls that were previously threatened by Abigail Williams, but once Elizabeth Proctor is arrested, she comes forward to the court.

However, her self-pride overlooks these consequences and she experiences no fear, continuing to urge Proctor to tell the truth about his affair. Proctor, the protagonist who isolates himself from Salem and the church in order to not get caught up in hypocrisy, ironically is more aligned with society than his wife. That elevates his status over Elizabeth’s in the town, but not in Elizabeth’s perspective. She notices this aspect in Proctor and individually elevates herself higher than his status in their home. Hence she goes against Proctor and society’s belief that women should be submissiveness.

It becomes obvious that Proctor feels immense guilt for what occurred between them. He wants nothing to do with Abby, but she still loves him and is willing to do whatever it takes to keep him for herself. Ultimately, Abby decides to charge Elizabeth, Proctor’s wife, with witchcraft. This is revealed when Cheever says, “Why, Abigail Williams charge her” (Miller, 77). Abigail accuses Elizabeth of witchcraft, in the hopes that Elizabeth will be killed for compacting with the devil.

The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, is a play about a girl named abigail williams who wants a man named John Proctor and will stop at nothing to get what she wants even if she accuses every women in town of witchcraft and get them hung. Elizabeth Proctor is accused of witchcraft and gets sent to jail for having a poppet with a needle in it. All of the town is convinced that abigail is telling the truth about the devil and witches and they all panic. John admits to have fallen for her to show that she is a dishonest person but, when they call in Elizabeth to confirm she lies and tells them that john would not do that to protect his name. The author's purpose for this play is to inform us about the salem witch trials.

Arthur Miller’s book, The Crucible, tells the story of the Salem witch trials that took place in Massachusetts in 1692. Many still consider this as one of the greatest tragedies in American history, as many innocent people lost their lives as a result of false accusations. In this novel, the characters Abigail Williams, Judge Danforth, and Reverend Parris all contribute a significant amount to the continuation of this disaster. Miller describes Abigail Williams as a teenage girl with an “endless capacity for dissembling.” As a result of her attachment to John Proctor, the protagonist, after their brief affair, Abigail tries her hardest to condemn Elizabeth Proctor as a witch.

Because of this, logic behind his actions become lost since he begins executing them with a desire to reform the corruptness of his crime. Elizabeth suggests to Proctor, that by telling the court that Abigail and the other girls bewitchments are of pretense, all women who were sentenced to death would be given their lives back. He knows that telling the judges is the most rational, but he pauses before making a choice as he responds “quietly, struggling with his thought” (53). His uncertainty shows his conflicting emotion because Proctor feels he cannot accuse Abigail because his guilt will not allow him to. But he coexisting feels the priority to accuse her in order to keep Elizabeth in high spirits.

This affair was never fully proven, but Proctor did say, “Abby, I may think of you from time to time but I will cut off my hand before I’ll reach for you again” (Miller 1140). Abigail was madly in love with Proctor and wanted Elizabeth out of the picture so she could have Proctor all to her self. Abigail was very jealous of Elizabeth. She thought that if Elizabeth would die, she would get Proctor all to her self. She accused Elizabeth of being a “cold, sniveling woman”(Miller 1140).

In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, the setting is Salem, Massachusetts during the late 1600s where the town’s pious Puritan beliefs directly influence their government. A 17-year-old girl named Abigail Williams had an affair with John Proctor, a wealthy, married man. Abigail is told by John to move on but instead, Abigail starts accusing the townspeople of witchcraft, including John Proctor’s wife Elizabeth. As this hysteria begins to rise, other people such as Thomas Putnam, a rich landowner, start to also allege Salem villagers. In this play, the author illustrates the central idea that people should not allow jealousy to control their actions.

The Crucible - Conflict Analysis John Proctor Internal: John Proctor’s most eminent internal conflict is over the sin he has committed, adultery. Proctor cheated on his wife with Abigail Williams, and this makes Proctor feel incredibly guilty because in the town, he is “respected and even feared” (19). He tried very hard, and succeeded, with keeping this moral crime to himself. He still walked about Salem as if he was “an untroubled soul,” (21) however, avoiding the sin again would be a difficult task. Abigail flirts with him, in attempt to have him for one last night, and it’s obvious Proctor has an arduous time pushing her away.

As the trial comes to its end John Proctor is faced with two choices, make a fake confession and be free but ruin his name and others, or be hanged under his good name. John is prompted to sign a confession for his life, he proceeds to sign it. After a few moments, he decides to rip it half, saying he will not ruin his name. This was a good choice, in doing this he lives up to his good name. When Proctor does this it makes Elizabeth sad and she starts to cry.

Likewise, when Elizabeth is brought before Danforth to verify Proctor’s confession, she lies to protect her husband, whom she refers to as a “goodly man,” from suspicion (Miller, 113). The affair may have caused Elizabeth to doubt Proctor but both parties still care deeply for each other and try to protect each other from harm. Even in his last moments, Proctor’s last words- “Show honor now, show a stony heart and sink them with it!”- were directed toward Elizabeth and were full of love and care (Miller, 144). Proctor may have sinned but his regret over his affair with Abigail and the trouble he had brought upon his wife justifies his

John Proctor’s words towards Elizabeth signal irritation and annoyance. John Proctor, the main character of The Crucible, has an affair with a much younger girl, Abigail Williams, breaking his wife, Elizabeth’s trust in him. Her suspicion of him rises when he tells her he was in a room alone with Abigail. Elizabeth’s growing mistrust begins to aggravate John, which is revealed when he says, “I’ll not have your suspicion any more” (489). Elizabeth is doubtful after learning about John’s affair with Abigail and her lack of trust in her husband begins to anger him.