In every society there's events that can cause one to be outcast and thought of as strange. The play “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller explores the beliefs of punishing witchcraft through the eyes of a puritan society. The time period of the play occurs during a mass hysteria about witchcraft which is a sin in Puritan society, but the real sins being committed by many of the people in Salem use the excuse of witchcraft to mask what they really are. The real enemies in the play are the sins of lust, wrath, greed, sloth, gluttony, envy, and pride. These sins are crimes that are considered offensive and are seen as heinous acts within most sects of Christianity. Puritan society, in particular, tends to go to the extreme to incarcerate the doers …show more content…
Abigail Williams, the young ring-leader of the witchcraft accusations within Salem, used her influence to help maintain a better shot at claiming John Proctor as her man. She at the time had gotten with him but once she got a taste of John Proctor, she desired more. On page 21 of the play, the exchange between Abigail and Proctor displays her desire for the man. “Since Proctor’s entrance, Abigail has stood as though on tiptoe, absorbing his presence, wide eyed. He glances at her, then goes to Betty on the bed. ABIGAIL: Gah! I’d almost forgot how strong you are, John …show more content…
The one that committed this sin the most would have to be Elizabeth Proctor. Throughout the entire play, she despises her husband for the affair he had with Abigail. It haunts her in a way, the feeling of being not good enough hanging above her head and messing with her actions. This causes many disputes between John and herself. On page 61 of the play, the conversation between Elizabeth and John displays her envy of how John had felt for Abigail, “ELIZABETH: John…grant me this. You have a faulty understanding of young girls. There is a promise made in any
As the book nears the end, John Proctor hesitates numerous times to expose what has happened between he and Abigail Williams because he is afraid of his name being ruined. Abigail Williams was one of the Reverends, that the town has, nieces. She served as the Proctors household servant. Abigail is a young and witty girl who could talk just about anyone into doing whatever she wanted them to do. She uses this ability throughout the whole drama.
Continuously throughout the play greed is a main cause of persecution. Putnam is a wealthy man with much land but wants more. George Jacobs happens to have a lot of land that Putnam wants, using his daughter Putnam gets Jacobs accused of witch craft and put to death. Jacobs death results in Putnam being able to buy his land. Giles knows the truth behind Jacobs being accused, he makes that clear when he exclaims “If Jacobs hangs for a witch he forfeits his property – that’s law!
Abigail Williams, the antagonist, and John Proctor, the protagonist, carry opposing viewpoints concerning their strict and somewhat suffocating Puritan principles; Abigail secretly disobeys them, while John fights against the wrongs enveloped in their standards during the witchcraft trials, which leads to timeless, crucial comprehensions. To begin, Abigail has a poor relationship with the Puritan standards as she goes against the Puritan values and practices in a completely outrageous and betraying fashion. She has neither respect nor loyalty towards Puritanism and allows the excitement and hype of “crying witchcraft” go to her head. Abigail is able to manipulate those around her into believing she is the victim in every situation. In The Crucible, it is stated that Abigail is “a strikingly beautiful girl, an orphan, with an endless capacity for dissembling.
She and the other girls were trying to find a way out of trouble. They began to start accusing people of witchcraft. Abigail Williams saw this as a golden opportunity to accuse Elizabeth Proctor of witchcraft. Once Elizabeth Proctor was convicted, she would most likely be killed. Then Abigail would have John Proctor all for herself.
“Greed makes men blind and foolish, and makes him an easy prey”- Unknown. Greed, is one word that comes to mind when I think of Thomas Putnam. He is a flank character who stays a bad guy throughout the play which adds to how he portrays the theme. In The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, Thomas Putnam helps to show the theme of how far someone will go to make sure they get what they want. He does this in many different ways and he does it very well.
Throughout Unit 1, the stories have had a similar story line, which greed and power trumps doing what is right. Christopher Columbus found new land and stripped from those who rightfully owned it, slave traders ripped Equiano from his home to make money off of him, and Salem citizens accused honorable people of witchcraft for personal gain. The stories of Columbus, Equiano, and John Proctor all relate back to show that being an American can be described by the urge for power and the temptation of greed. When Columbus took off to find a quicker route to Asia, he had no idea what he would eventually find.
“It must come out-my enemies will bring it out. Let me know what you have done there. Abigail, do you understand that I have many enemies?” (Miller 10)(direct characterization).
The Crucible is filled with many evil people who do many horrid things to forefeel their own goals but, the man that controlled Abigail to do as he pleased from behind things to complete their corrupt Mr. Parris, whose arrogance of worth over the town and his pride that could rival any other man’s clouded his judgment till the bitter end. Even from the start of the story you get strong sense of his most prolific Sins such as pride, arrogance, and his blatant mendacity when anyone suspected him or his family of any wrong doings or lies. It all started when the Noble Mr. Parris wondered upon the local girls of the village dancing in the woods but couldn’t confront them because when they heard his approach they ran vanishing into the woods. Parris
She spoke in tandem with Abigail and caused the Reverend to label her as a witch. This small act started a downward spiral in Salem, with their influence increasing rapidly with each conviction. Another test that happened was when John Proctor, a well known landowner, slept with Abigail earlier in the play causing her to gain an obsession with him. This started Abigail's hatred for Proctor's wife, Elizabeth, and it would not stop until she had John under her
During the late 17th century a total of 200 people were accused of participating in witchcraft, while 19 people lost their lives to the mass hysteria. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, a group of girls start a huge uproar in Salem, Massachusetts when they start screeching about Salemites being associated with the Devil. Throughout the play write, it shows the consequences of mass hysteria and how it puts people's lives in danger. Abigail Williams causes a wave of mass hysteria and because of her trickery, innocent people have died by her and the other girl’s actions, for this Abigail is the most unforgivable character in The Crucible.
John Proctor sinned and committed adultery. The girls sinned when they lied about seeing the devil around them and trying to place the blame on others for their actions. Mary Warren nearly confesses that she and the other girls were lying about witchcraft but the other girls started to pretend that they were seeing spirits in the
She was a savage, angry teenager who everyone thought was an angel. According to Shmoop, “Abigail flirts with John Proctor. She tries to get him to admit that he still wants her and expresses anger toward his wife for “blackening” her name in the village.” As we can see, Abigail Williams wasn't the kindest person out there.
A single brave voice could have monumental impacts. When victims come together to fight an injustice that has been occurring for too long, power is formed from bravery, from speaking out, from unifying. In Arthur Miller’s, The Crucible, it is evident that the opposite of this overpowered the puritanical town of Salem and ultimately led it to its spiraling into a tragic end. For decades since the events that transpired in Salem, the root cause of the demise of these innocent people has been analyzed by scholars; the darkest traits of human nature are to blame. Since then, various other historical events which mirror the amalgamation of injustice, scapegoats, and revenge of Salem have occured - and are thought to be repeating at the present time.
A question that’s been asked throughout the ages; are people good, evil or are they just misguided. The play “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller, is about the Salem Witch Trials in the late 1600’s, early 1700’s, where countless innocent people lost their lives due to false accusations of being a witch. During this time in the provincial town of Salem, Massachusetts, the mass hysteria over witchcraft had everyone in the small puritan town turning on one another. Their religious beliefs and intolerance during this time lead the puritans to extreme decisions about their neighbors. If one were to give into desires of any kind that did not follow the strict limitations of their religious faith, they were considered to be “evil”; they were doing the Devil’s work.
She is the most to blame for the actions made and the deaths that took place in Salem. The affair John and Abigail had caused her to fall hard for him. She has it set in her mind that she will go to unbelievable measures to try and get Elizabeth Proctor out of the picture so she can be with John. Abigail is found dancing in the woods with the other girls at night.