Fear pushes people to do bad things, to better themselves, and to keep them safe. But sometimes this makes it worse for people around. Throughout history, there were many driving forces on what people had feared. This was through mass hysteria. In the story, “The Crucible,” by Arthur Miller, he was able to show this fear and hysteria being his driving force. Throughout the play and during the time it was made. This was during the Mccarthyism era which publicized dishonest accusations, which is ironic because this happens all throughout The Crucible. To begin, during the time period this was written, there was a huge outbreak of fear about witches and the Mccarthyism era. The crucible was written in 1953, this was the same time period as Mccarthyism. This was a time of fear and distress. It sent people into a state of knowing if they were to be accused, then there were consequences. John Proctor, a character who held great amounts of power, was in fear, just as much as anyone else."ll tell you …show more content…
The characters in the story were all in such a great state of fear, and even if they had known that they did nothing wrong, they would do anything to keep the blame off of them. While others knew that they had done bad and confessed. “I go back to Jesus; I kiss His hand. I saw Sarah Good with the Devil! I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil! I saw Bridget Bishop with the Devil!” (1.481-482). Abigail started to accuse others to keep the blame off of herself, and not make her the suspect, even though she was in the center of it all. “There be no blushing about my name…she hates me, uncle, she must, for I would not be her slave.” (1.65-66). This is also said by Abigail and it shows how she was blaming an innocent woman, because she wanted her husband, because of a past
Abigail is the young girl who leads the charge against the supposed witches of Salem. She uses her position as one of the accusers to manipulate and control the people around her. She is able to convince the court officials that the accused are guilty, and is able to turn the community against those who oppose her. Abigail's power over the other girls is demonstrated when she threatens them with physical harm saying “Let either of you breathe a word, or the edge of a word, about the other things, and I will come to you in the black of some terrible night and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you. And you know I can do it; I saw Indians smash my dear parents’ heads on the pillow next to mine, and l have seen some reddish work done at night, and l can make you wish you had never seen the sun go down” (575).
I saw goody Osburn with the Devil! I saw Bridget Bishop with the Devil!”. She proceeded to go on and accuse more women of witchcraft. All in an effort to save herself from getting in trouble for dancing in the woods. As time went on, Abigail had to accuse more and more people to keep the blame from coming back to her.
Fear is an upsetting feeling of distress or anxiety induced by a perceived danger or threat. The Crucible is a play written by American playwright Arthur Miller. This play is a dramatized and partially historically accurate play inspired by the witchcraft hysteria that took place in 1692. The British colonists of Massachusetts were victims of a series of trials, prosecutions, and hearings that eventually led to the wrongful jailing of over one hundred people and the execution of twenty people. Farewell to Manzanar is an autobiography written by a Manzanar camp prisoner, Jeanne Wakatsuki and her husband, James D. Houston.
“She is blackening my name in the village! She is telling lies about me! She is a cold, sniveling woman, and you bend to her!” (Miller 1247). Abigail is concerned about what Elizabeth Proctor is saying about her around Salem.
Abigail always tries to shift the attention to everybody else except herself. She stated pointing the finger and accusing the other of witchcraft. When all of the
In the play, characters such as John Proctor and Rebecca Nurse are ruined by the accusations against them, and many are never able to fully recover from the damage to their reputations and careers. Similarly, during the McCarthy era, people who were falsely accused and punished suffered long-term damage to their reputations and careers, and many were never able to fully recover. At the same time, the sense of fear and mistrust that pervaded both the Salem witch trials and the McCarthy era created a climate in which people were hesitant to speak out or to question authority, which had a terrifying effect on free speech and political
She is a cold, sniveling woman, and you bend to her! Let her turn you like a-”(151) which is a great example on how Abigail was vindictive and would stretch the truth and everyone would believe everything she says; everyone in that time was very gullible even though they knew deep down that Elizabeth Proctor was innocent. Abigail planned on ruining Elizabeth’s
After admitting to ‘dancing with the Devil’ Abigail reveals, “I saw Sarah Good with the Devil! I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil! I saw Bridget Bishop with the Devil!” (1.481). Abigail chooses to blame others to take the blame off of herself.
In the background of the Salem witch trials, Arthur Miller's timeless masterpiece "The Crucible" explores the themes of hysteria, power, and truth. The play, which is a metaphor for the McCarthy era of the 1950s and is set in the puritanical culture of Salem, Massachusetts in 1692, was written by Arthur Miller. " The Crucible" investigates how fear may proliferate like wildfire and result in devastating conduct, especially toward helpless people. Miller makes a statement in his writing on the perils of groupthink and the necessity of maintaining personal integrity in the face of peer pressure. The characters are captivated by their fear of the devil and the presence of evil throughout the entire play.
Abigail, knowing that she had done something wrong, started pointing fingers at people who had nothing to do with witchcraft. In addition
Abigail is connecting her name to being ruined. Miller uses this to refer to the accused during the Red Scare, and the way their names were blackened. Along with how all the American people saw them as guilty and dirty for their supposed
(Act 1. Line 160) This quote elucidates how traumatic a past Abigail had. Trauma such as
Abigail uses her ability to lie to others as leverage to keep herself safe from her wrongdoings. After being accused of witchcraft Abigail uses the fear of the unknown as her way to blame others for what she has done, in doing so Abagail fabricates her reality where she is in the right and those who have been blamed are in the wrong. Through her dramatic performances and “supernatural visions” she successfully convinces the judge and her entitled uncle that she is innocent. By blaming others she saw this as an advantage not only to
A notable example is John Proctor, who signifies the importance of maintaining self-respect and integrity in a time of societal fear and paranoia, and would rather die than betray his motives which ultimately represents those who refused to go against their beliefs during the Red Scare. Abigail Williams, who makes several false claims of witchcraft to gain control and power in the court, exemplifies those who used the Red Scare for personal gain. As an example of false claims of witchcraft, Abigail Williams scares the other girls in the courtroom to uphold her false accusations and have some control by saying “Let either of you breathe a word, or the edge of a word, about the other things, and I will come to you in the black of some terrible night and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you.” (1.575). This quote shows her manipulative and power-hungry character.
Many of these accusations were for the selfish purpose of achieving the accuser’s goals. Abigail Williams was the most notorious of all these accusers. Her first accusation came when Reverend Parris caught her, Tituba, and the other girls dancing at night. As she was being questioned, Tituba entered the room and Abigail immediately blamed her, “She made me do it! She made Betty do it!”