If someone were to give you negative feedback and positive feedback on something you've done, which one would you care about more? According to “Praise is fleeting ,but it brickbats we recall from New York times; “our brains are more prone to remember the negative associations more than the positive ones,’’ This is the theme of The Crucible. The characters, John Proctor and Abigail Williams make decisions that ruin their reputations.
Throughout history, authors have had a tendency to write characters that can follow general roles, called archetypes. Examples of archetypes are the hero, the trickster, the temptress, the villain, the innocent and the faithful companion. In Arthur Miller's classic play, The Crucible, the character Abigail Williams fills the role of the villain.
In the Crucible, by Arthur Miller, two of the most important characters are, Mary Warren and Reverend John Hale. The story takes place in Salem, 1692, when supposedly witchcraft ran rampant. John Hale gives us the knowledge of witchcraft and puritan beliefs, in the story, in order to decide whether someone was a witch or not, while Mary Warren assists Abigail Williams in the false accusations presented in order to alleviate the punishment they were facing for the actual practicing of witchcraft as well as dancing. In the story John Hale is intelligent while Mary Warren seems to want good, but is too nervous to take a stand on it.
In the Crucible, many of the characters go through changes because of the intensity of the situation. But there is only one character that I think changed the most, and that is John Proctor who is the protagonist of the novel The Crucible by Arthur Miller. I think that John Procotor changes the most in the Crucible because he is in every act and mostly in every scene, and throughtout the play I see more drama (Dynamic Character) in him than any other character in the Crucible and I will go through and tell you how John Proctor changes in the Crucible.
In my opinion John Proctor is the protagonist of the crucible, because there are some reasons. One reason for me is that John Proctor is starting the Salem witch trials indirectly. It is Abigail who starts the trials, but she only does it to kill John’s wife to be the only one John love and they finally can get married. Because of that the relationship between John, his wife and Abigail is in the foreground. Another reason why John is very important in the Crucible is that he has a strong voice in the community. Furthermore he is one of the leader who fight against the trials, he never stops criticize and saying his opinion out loud, so he gets some people to think about, if the trials are right and witches really exist.
A man of conscience is one who is aware of his moral and ethical beliefs and judgments and one who will prefer right over wrong. The life of such man is ruled by the desire to seek the truth and justice in all that surrounds him, including himself. These attributes are seen in both character, John Proctor from Arthur Miller’s play, “The Crucible”, set in Salem in the early seventeenth century and in Atticus Finch from Harper Lee’s novel, “To Kill a Mockingbird” set in New York in 1950.
Women of the 1600s had certain roles they played in their town or village. One particular role for young women was as a servant. In Arthur Millers, the Crucible, Mary Warren is a servant who has a pivotal role in the play. Mary Warren’s decisions throughout the play vividly show her final corrupt character.
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. So, she decides to manipulate the situation by saying that the Devil has come to her and she has resisted his commands to kill Mr. Parris.
Arthur Miller’s portrayal of a town in the midst of a downfall “The Crucible”, tells the story of how mob mentality and hysteria can significantly influence not only individuals but the whole town. This mob mentality leads to unthoughtful acts and false accusations. Two characters who demonstrate how mob mentality can lead to the demise of Salem are Abigail and Mary Warren. As Abigail begins to be accused she is pressured to deter from the truth. While Mary Warren gets pressured by Proctor to reveal the truth about Abigail, but the overwhelming pressure from the mob makes her turn from the truth. Thus demonstrating how mob mentality can impact an individual and ultimately drive the action of the play. This shows us how one person who starts
In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, Miller demonstrated that it was Abigail William’s flaws: lust, vengeance, and jealously that led her to be responsible the most for the tragedy of the witch hunts in Salem. Abigail Williams started the entire suspicion of there being active member of witchcraft throughout Salem, Massachusetts. She did this for her own benefits and used trickery to get what she wanted. Abigail was corrupt and only cared for her own desires. There are many reasons that these flaws are crucial to the outcome of the play. These flaws will be her downfall.
The Crucible had so many lessons and purposes throughout the play, but only three main things stood out: Weakness, Courage, and Truth. Which all had huge impacts in the play.
The Crucible by Arthur Miller has many lessons to learn from. One of The major lesson I thought that is important is honesty. The accusations throughout the story were built on lies from those trying to protect their own name, and putting the town into confusion. Nobody in Salem, Massachusetts felt like they could trust anymore, after all of the false allegations made. If Three characters in the story would have been honest from the beginning, the town would not have been in such confusion. If Abigail, John, and Elizabeth would have been honest to begin with then many innocent people would not have lost their lives and left the town in despair.
In what ways are women abused and discriminated against inside literature and throughout history? In many patriarchal societies, men have held authority over women due to gender. This power imbalance between men and women sometimes led to unjust treatment of women; men exert their authority over many women in the play, The Crucible. In The Crucible¸ male characters intimidate women to achieve specific outcomes and mark their superiority.
In the beginning of the play all John Proctor cared about was his reputation. However, ultimately he sacrificed his reputation by telling the court he committed adultery. John telling the court he was guilty ruined his reputation, which made all hell break loose. He explains to the court that Abigail is involved with his crime, adultery. He admits to Danforth that he had an affair with Abigail during his marriage with Elizabeth. Although he confessed, he wasn’t straightforward when he did but sadly Danforth knew exactly what he meant. John yells, “It is a whore! – I have known her sir, I have known her” (110). John Proctor never settles for keeping his opinion or what he thinks is right to himself. He knows telling Danforth that he is guilty for adultery won’t help his cause but it shows his desperation to win the case in order protect his wife, Elizabeth. John Proctor was sick and tired of watching Abigail win with a lie, in this case he spoke the truth knowing his consequences. John states, “Excellency, forgive me, forgive me. She thinks to dance with me on my wife’s grave! In well she
Characters are faced with struggles all the time in books. What makes a character great is how they deal or react to these situations. In the Crucible John is faced with many life changing events and he has to decide what kind of man he wants to be. In the Great Gatsby Daisy is faced with a lot of different situations where she has to decide to do what’s right for herself or what’s really right.