The author of The Crucible is Arthur Miller. In the play, there is a mass hysteria, which was that the people of Salem believed witchcraft existed. There are two characters that could have stopped the hysteria. Abigail and Tituba could have taken different steps that would have ceased the existence of the tragedies.
Parris’s niece Abigail is one of the main characters that could have ended the hysteria. She should have told the truth in the beginning and shouldn’t have put all the blame on Tituba. But, instead she decided to tell the other girls to lie and say that they only danced. Abigail tells the girls “Listen, now: if they be questioning us tell them we danced- I told him as much already” (Miller 574). This passage shows that she told the others to lie so that they did not get in trouble and to make Tituba sound like
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She should have spoken up when Parris was asking questions, instead of accusing Sarah Good and Goody Osburn. Tituba tells Parris “Aye, sir, and Goody Osburn” (Miller 595). This passage shows that she felt scared and agreed to the lies that Parris was harassing her with. The women accused of witchcraft had nothing to do with the dancing, the witchcraft, and the charming in the woods. Tituba was only worried about saving herself, if she would have told the truth their lives would have been spared. Some may say that Abigail could not have stopped the mass hysteria because it had already gotten out of hand. They may also claim that she was only a child and no one would have listened, but the children had a lot of power over the adults. They were listening to her lies so they would have listened to the truth as well. If she would have told the truth, then the other girls would not have felt obligated to play along with the lies. Abigail was the leader of the young girls because she was the bossy type. Mary and the others would have agreed to anything Abigail would have said
Out of all the characters in the book, there are many that contributed to the hysteria of the witch trials, however, of these characters Abigail Williams contributed the most. In the beginning of the play, we see Abigail and a collection of other girls dancing and making a charm in the woods. Abigail made this charm in order to kill Mr.Proctor 's wife. If Abigail wasn 't so crazy in love with John this scene in the woods probably wouldn 't have taken place. Therefor, Parris would have never caught the girls and there wouldn’t be rumours of witchcraft.
Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible in 1953. Arthur Miller wrote the play because he was inspired by McCarthyism. McCarthyism was the hunt for communists that was taken too far. In The Crucible he presented a universal message. He was comparing how communists did exist and witches did not, but yet they were both taken as serious.
She could have stopped the hysteria by telling the truth from the very start by being honest and telling them that they were casting love spells. When Abigail’s uncle stumbled upon them in the woods, Abigail
Hysteria in Salem The Crucible is a play written by American author, Arthur Miller, in 1953. It is a somewhat fictional play about the Salem Witch Trials. Miller wrote it as an allegory to the Red Scare, the promotion of fear of a potential rise of communism. Miller himself was blacklisted for refusing to testify in front of the HUAC, a committee that was created to investigate any person who might be a communist.
To begin, it is a popular belief that Tituba, a slave in the story, was justified in her confession to witchcraft in order to save her own life. After the girls of Salem peg Tituba as the culprit for corrupting their souls and torturing them, she is interrogated and accused by characters such as the esteemed Reverend Hale and town’s Reverend, Mr. Parris. Finally, Parris exclaims, “ You will confess yourself or I will take you out and whip you to your death, Tituba!” (1.941-942). Tituba instantly confesses, and saves herself from a terrible death.
Abigail blamed Tituba for witchcraft because Abigail did not want the blame and Tituba was an easy scapegoat since she is black. Abigail yelled at Paris, “She made me do it! She made Betty do it!”(1.905). This is just one of the victims of Abigail scapegoating. The main purpose, scapegoating, occurred more than vengeance did.
Abigail defies all judgements against innocence as she is the driven evil force in The Crucible. Arthur Miller shows Abigail Williams to instinctively defend herself, as it is the humane reaction when accused of wrongdoing. It is common to tell a lie but, the intention of sabotage is a different story. Abigail had many tricks up her sleeve to manipulate the court. Her purpose to convince the town of her innocence was one of many.
She was the epitome of an immoral, self-centered person. Many people were executed on her behalf and even more were damned. Everything she did agonized someone else. Through tyranny, she forced her friends to protect her. In the end, though, Abigail had no choice but to run away from where she had previously
The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a dramatic play that expresses a very important message and that is how far people would go to save themselves from the hands of death. There are many characters in the Crucible who are guilty of taking innocent lives, but there are three major characters who, without a doubt, are the most at blame. The play takes place in the city of Salem, a city filled with people that would do anything to keep their reputation clean. Throughout the play, Miller is introducing multiple characters that experience changes in their decisions and negatively influence more people eventually leading up to the witch trials. The main point that the story revolves around is that people would rather lie and blame someone else instead of confessing and accepting the punishment.
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.
Although Abigail Williams does not physically appear in Act 2, her presence is felt throughout The Crucible. She affects and hurts the lives of her family. She is the main source of trouble. If she wants something, she'll get it. At the beginning, there is a lot of closeness between her and the proctor family.
What role did repressing women play in creating the Salem Witch Trials in Puritan society? Repression of women by the church in Puritan society lead to the women wanting power. The church was the powerhouse of the Puritan society, so if you were to get in trouble with the church you would be banished or hanged. Also, getting in trouble with the church could cost you your spot in heaven. Keeping women and young girls from the bulk of society and power made them seek power and rebellion.
The way someone sees another may reflect upon themself more than anything; showing the hidden through judgements of peers. One’s own dilemmas within their lives can be shadowed by misguided hatred for others, thus creating unwanted problems for all parties involved. This can be seen in real life as well as in novels, but specifically between Abigail Williams and Elizabeth Proctor. In the play titled “The Crucible,” Abigail and Elizabeth illustrate that contrasting personalities can reveal who a person truly is; essentially removing the mask of perception.
One of the main elements that eventually build up to the main plot in the play is power. Many of the characters in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible have a strong desire for power. The Salem witch trials empowered several characters in the play who were previously marginalized in Salem society. It gave them the chance to misuse it leading to horrible suffering and even deaths of some innocent people in the town. Some of these characters are Abigail Williams, Deputy Governor Danforth and Reverend Parris.
In the play Abigail only cares about herself and what she can do to protect herself. When the girls talk in Betty’s room and Mary shows weakness and wants to tell everyone about what they did in the forest, Abigail gets really angry. She threatens the girls and is not afraid to show what she is willing to do. “Now look you. All of you.