Katherine Gooch Ms. Silver DC American Literature 4 November 2022 Critical Analysis The Crucible by Author Miller What would you do if the power of evil won over the power of good? In the book The Crucible by Author Miller, good is bad, and bad is good. The Crucible takes place in the time of the Salem Witch Trials. Abigail, a teenage girl, is caught doing witchcraft in the forest. During this time period, the people of Salem are Puritans and believe she should be hung for her actions. Because she is considered a child, they let her argue her side of the story. She accuses other people of doing witchcraft and even deems herself innocent. The Court of Salem decides to listen to Abigail. Because of the Court’s decision, many innocent …show more content…
John hoped that the court would understand that Abigail is not an innocent child, as they think she is. His sin was adultery against his wife Elizabeth with Abigail. He told the court to show that Abigail was not an innocent child if he was willing to tarnish his name. The court held John and Elizabeth accountable but dismissed Abigail’s sin because she was just a “child”. John knew of Abigial’s uninnocnet mindset before she started to accuse people. “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. Wipe it out of mind. We never touched, Abby” John speaks these words in a conversation with Abgail after the effects of their affair. John knows she is and evil women and up to no …show more content…
An example of this is when Elizabeth Proctor was sentenced to death. Elizabeth was telling Abigail's affair with her husband, John in court. Elizabeth was not trying to get John in trouble, she was trying to be a good wife. Eliazevth loves her husband “I want you living John. That’s sure” (Miller 236) Elizabeth tried to do the right thing and not blame anyone else. The court decided that John was guilty and so was Elisabeth for lying to them. Elizabeth knew that if she told the truth and did the right thing, her husband would be sentenced to
However, this is inaccurate because he avoids Abigail and risks everything for his wife. Elizabeth was taken by the court because she was accused for being a witch, but John knows she is a good women and fights for her. Elizabeth is worth the trouble of going to the court and defying the government. It is honorable for a husband to protect his wife after all they are family. John is talking to the court and tell the court a secret that no one knows about, John’s reputation is on the line.
Every person in Salem was a normal person, non of them were really witches even if they confessed, but not all people were innocent. In “The Crucible” one character makes a very bad reputation for herself by starting what was known as the Salem witch trials. Abigail Williams was a young girl
Abigail Williams' remorseless behavior cruelly ended the lives of 19 in Salem. An example of this is when the girls are discovered in the woods,” Parris caught them dancing, with Tituba singing and one of the girls being naked ”(Miller,10-11). Once Abigail was caught, she desperately tried to conceal her actions of that night because Her option to kill his wife would reveal her affair with John Proctor and Have her accused of witchcraft. To deflect the blame from herself she accuses many of witchcraft. Abigail’s remorseless behavior caused deaths because the accused were arrested and many were hanged or died in the jail.
This time, John doesn’t sit back and allow Abigail to mess with his life and family. Instead, he gathers other husbands and provides evidence of Abigails foul play. As if that wasn’t enough, he confesses his adultery to the courts in the name of saving Elizabeth. However, instead of this helping, Elizabeth is scared because she’s pregnant and John is sent to jail for his “crimes.” Many times, the poeple try to tell him to say that he didn’t mean it, that he’d lied in the name of saving his wife, but nothing they said would get him to lie.
Abigail is vengeful, selfish, manipulative, and overall a magnificent liar. Arthur Miller’s The Crucible American play from the 1990s reveals how hysteria supplants logic and enables people to believe false claims. In The Crucible mass hysteria is shown to allow the people of Salem to believe that their neighbors who they considered outstanding people are now committing absurd and unbelievable acts. I believe that Abigail Williams could have ended the mass hysteria in Salem by coming forward and telling the truth about what happened in the woods with the other girls, not accusing innocent people of witchcraft, and admitting to pretending she was bewitched.
Abigail was the whole reason any of the drama in Salem started, she was caught dancing in the forest, and accused of witchcraft soon later. With this accusation and the whole town of Salem focused in on the case Abigail had quite that platform that was willing to hear what she had to say, but instead of setting the record straight she danced around the truth and fled before anything bad could happen to her. “Thirty-one pound is gone. I am penniless. ”(Miller act IV para 74).
John felt like admitting to his affair, ultimately revealing Abigail's true intentions would finally prove to the court that Abigail was lying all along. He tells them that Abigail is making up lies about witchcraft all in order to get Elizabeth hanged because Abigail longs to be with John and believes that they are in love. Admitting to this is a big deal, not only because Abigail is a child, but also because their society is run by a christian government and adultery is considered very wrong. Abigail diverts from answering whether she denies the accusations or not, and John pleads for them to believe the truth. John claims that his own wife will tell them about the affair.
In the small Puritan town of Salem, Massachusetts during the 1690s, hysteria and fear run rampant as accusations of witchcraft spread like wildfire, tearing families and communities apart. But as the trial proceedings heat up, the true motivations behind each character's actions become clearer, revealing a tale not just of witchcraft, but of power, jealousy, and the corrupting influence of fear. Although many readers would argue that Thomas Danforth is the judge and the head of the law and religion, it can be argued that Abigail Williams, a young Puritan girl, has more power and significant influence over the society as she accuses many innocents of witchcraft and questions Danforth’s authority. During the heated argument between Danforth and Abigail in the court,
Abigail Williams: The Victim Upon the entrance of Abigail Williams one might think she appears as a behaved, but occasionally deceptive child, on the edge of maturity. One might be right, but there be more than what meets the eye. Is Abigail a victim or the culprit? It is evident that Abigail Williams is a victim of Salem due to her emotional scars from her past, the strict, overwhelming environment of the Puritan community, and the symptoms of insanity and power hunger she displayed. It is shown in the text that there are many underlying factors that created her to be a victim.
Ultimately, her attempts to preserve her husband’s life is the very thing that gets them both an appointment in the gallows. “She only thought to save my name!” (Proctor, 1083). To the point that she cares for him, after all of the three months of imprisonment and torture John cared more himself more than for his wife. He wanted to preserve himself.
An abundance of people lost property and their reputation because of Abigail and her group. Nonetheless, Abigail’s past and present experiences caused the witch trials and consequently, she is to blame for
Shawn Jande Ms. Clancy American Literature B3 15 November 2015 The Crucible Analytical Essay Imagine, being accused of a crime you didn’t commit by your neighbors and friends out of jealousy, and desire. This is what many people in the town of Salem had to go through during the time of the Salem Witch Trials. People's motives such as: gaining and maintaining power, and aspirations for what other people had caused them to make irrational, and atrocious decisions. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, desire and power drive characters to create chaos in the community.
In a small village called Salem, witchcraft and sorcery exist, however everyone is pointing fingers but not a single soul knows who is actually to blame for this nonsense. During this time period of hysteria, there are multiple scenes that are very questionable due to one person and one person only. Abigail is the one most responsible for the hysteria and witchcraft in Salem. She threatens the group of girls that accompanied her in the woods while they all danced. She has also lied about many things on multiple occasions in which causes an extreme amount of suspicion.
Her lie then backfires; she tells the court that John never had any relations with Abigail after John had already confessed to his sin. She takes blame for the affair when she tells the court “... But in my sickness... I were a long time sick... I thought I saw my husband somewhat turning from me...”
One of the innocent characters that are accused is Elizabeth