Examples Of Persecution In The Crucible

Mary Warren is a young girl who is a servant for the Proctors. Mary is the one who made the poppet for Elizabeth and put the needle into the poppet. Because she is the only one who can prove that Elizabeth is innocent and get her out of jail, John Proctor forces her to testify in court despite the fact that Mary is terrified of Abigail. Due to the actions of Abigail that pressure Mary to lie, she accuses John Proctor as she says “‘my name, her want my name. I’ll murder you, he says, if my wife hangs! We must go and overthrow the court, he says!’” (Miller 119). Miller gives insight into how the accusations around 1950-1954 may have also included the pressure of higher authority forcing someone (of the lower authority) with power, money, and etc. to testify false accusations. The author presents an interesting story that mirrors and represents a different time period, displaying the social injustice of people as they are motivated by fear, jealousy, hatred of one another, and more.

During the late seventeenth century in Salem, Massachusetts Bay, Elizabeth Parris and Abigail Williams were found dancing in the forest by Samuel Parris (minister of Salem). Later on, both of them started to do violent movements and to scream randomly. A doctor theorized that the young girls were acting strange because they were bewitched. Afterwards, different young girls in the area started to have resembling behaviors. After all of this chaos, Tituba (Reverend Parris’s slave from Barbados) and two other women were charged for witchcraft.

John Proctor’s affair with Abigail Williams, a seventeen year old girl in the town of Salem, serves as his tragic flaw. The people of Salem respect John as a hard-working farmer and a good person. However, only his wife, Elizabeth Proctor, and Abigail know about the affair. John’s pride and reputation keeps this affair hidden from the rest of the town. When Abigail starts to accuse people of witchcraft, this secret catches up to John. In an attempt to take John for herself, Abigail accuses Elizabeth of witchcraft. At the end of Act III, Abigail finally accuses John of witchcraft. All of this happened because of John’s secret affair with Abigail: “God help me, I lusted.” Therefore, John must suffer the

“She thinks to dance with me on my wife's grave! And well she might, for I thought of her softly. God help me, I lusted, and there is a promise in such sweat. But it is a whore's vengeance, and you must see it now” In this quote, John tells the governor the truth about the affair and that Abigail’s actions are because she is jealous. Abigail encouraged a group of girls to pretend to be sick, Including Mary Warren, Elizabeth’s servant. Abigail stated that she saw a ghost of Elizabeth, basically that Elizabeth had done witchcraft on her. Elizabeth was given a poppet by Mary, and that poppet had a needle in the stomach under the dress. Abigail stabbed herself in order to make believe that Elizabeth was bewitching her. When they went to search the proctor’s house they found the poppet and they took Elizabeth. John threatened Mary that she would be whipped if she did not coame forward with the truth to the jury.

Mary Warren, a teenage girl from the story, supposedly Abigail’s friend, was making a poppet for Goody Proctor, John’s wife, in the courtroom beside Abigail. Mary stuck the needle in the poppet’s stomach for safe keeping. Abigail saw the needle and soon stabbed herself with a needle as if the doll were a voodoo doll and accused Goody Proctor of witchcraft out of pure jealousy that Elizabeth is married to John, and wanted her to be hanged. Cheever stated, “She sat to dinner in Rev. Parris’ house and without a word she falls to the floor. He goes to save her a finds a needle two inches in the flesh of her body” (Miller 78-79).

Abigail was one of the first to be accused of witchcraft, but she dismissed the accusations by accusing and blaming others. She and the other girls first blamed Salem’s pariahs: Tituba, Sarah Good, and Goody Osburn because they were afraid of the consequences and saw the three outcasts as easy targets. The girls are considered to be an important catalyst for the witchcraft hysteria. The girls did not want to be punished for lying and doing things the society would not condone, so in order to take the attention away from them, they confessed and accused others of witchery. In the play, Mary Warren betrayed the other girls when she claimed that they are all pretending and lying about the involvement of witchcraft. Using self-preservation as a motive, Abigail pretended that Mary Warren was possessing an imaginary bird who was going to attack her and the other girls. The other girls caught onto what Abigail was doing and followed Abigail’s improvisational acting. In a panic, Mary Warren realized that there was a better chance for self-preservation if she goes along with the girls’ acts and accuses Proctor, so she plays along with the girls. During the trial, Danforth became suspicious of the girl’s integrity. In order to save herself, Abigail threatened Danforth with accusation of witchcraft. In a moment of panic, she stole money from Parris and ran away from Salem later on. Abigail decided to run away from the consequences

Abigail believed that Proctor actually loved her and she waited every night for him. She was brainwashed to think he would leave his wife for her. The witchcraft accusation came from the beginning of the story when Abigail and the girls were dancing naked in the woods and chanting. She made false accusations that people in the village were worshipping the devil to cover what she had done. Many lives were taken but Abigail had no empathy for anyone who was hanged. Proctor realized the truth behind everything and decided it was time to come forward and tell Danforth, “She thinks to dance with me on my wife's grave! And well she might, for I thought of her softly. God help me, I lusted, and there is a promise in such sweat. But it is a whore's vengeance, and you must see it now” (Miller ). John tries to reveal who Abigail really is but it does not help the lives of those who are to be hanged. Abigail uses her own personal desires to get to what she wants even though many people died in the

These accusations are effortlessly believed by the court. “and without word nor warning’ she falls to the floor. Like a struck beast, he says and screamed a scream that a bull would weep to hear. And he goes to save her, and, stuck two inches in the flesh of her belly, he draws a needle out. “(Miller 74). Abigail begins to execute her plan against Elizabeth. By using all the authority she obtains after accusing other, she is creating tangible evidence for the court to believe that Elizabeth Proctor was involved in witchcraft. Abigail voluntarily inflicts a stabbing wound upon her chest, demonstrates her manipulative characteristic and how far she'll go to eradicate Elizabeth. Abigail's action reaches further than just Elizabeth, she uses the Salem Witch Trials to put out all the resentment she has toward everyone. Similarly to how the lust overpowered Abigail morals, Elizabeth Proctor’s love for her husband slowly consumed her morality, which leads to her to lie in the house of court. After John Proctor and Abigail Williams lechery prior to the play. It had created the leading emotion of jealousy and mistrust Elizabeth has for Abigail. Elizabeth Proctor shows signs of jealousy because she still believes that some of her husband's reluctance is rooted in the fact that he still has feelings for

But the mainly because everyone thinks she is a witch. Due to the women in the court room continuously repeating it with details to support, making everybody believe Mary warren is a witch. Mary was the one caught in the dancing in the forest and being accused of witch craft. When Mary was in court she admitted she was witch craft but, also made everyone to think it was an act. In act 2 page 80 Mary Warren is pressured by Proctor to go to court and confess that Abigail is guilty. After continuous pressuring Mary Warren replies with ‘I cannot, they’ll turn on me— “showing us the mob has driven fear into people and how Marry is afraid to tell the truth in the case everyone will turn on her and blame her. Mary’s feeble attempt to recompense backfires, so when Abigail uses the poppet to blame it on Elizabeth, making Mary feel even worse thus she agrees to go with proctor to testify against Abigail in court. Later after agreeing to go to court to support Proctor Mary is asked who is at fault and in fear replies pointing to proctor “You’re the devil’s man!” (act three, page 119). This demonstrates how the fear of the mob and the overwhelming pressure from the Abigail makes her turn from the truth. Thus this shows us how mob mentality is evident in the crucible and encompasses characters to turn from the truth and ends in the demise of the Salem Community.

For example, Abigail Williams had an affair with John Proctor who was married to Elizabeth Proctor at the time and got discovered. However, Abigail Williams still “loved” John Proctor and was rejected. Later, she accuses Elizabeth Proctor for witchcraft, an action she uses as her revenge. These acts of cruelty ultimately affect all the victims and their families in this play as their consequence is to be hung. The vulnerability and sense of helplessness are all revealed in the victims as they are facing their

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.

In the novel the crucible, Elizabeth, wife of John Proctor, and Abigail Williams, mistress of John Proctor are two main roles. Elizabeth, a woman who is loyal and true, or manipulative and ruthless liar, Abigail. She pretends to see spirits and commands the other girls to pretend as well. Elizabeth is the victim of Abigail’s heartless actions and affair. These two women are almost complete opposites. Both characters struggle and fight through the story in their own ways.

In the beginning, Mary and her friends danced in the woods, but they are caught by Reverend Parris, and afraid they will get in trouble, two of the girls pretend to be afflicted by a witch. The two seemingly afflicted girls send widespread chaos through the town, and the remaining girls have to figure out what to do to get the attention away from their dance in the woods. Mary is understandably terrified as she is a rule follower and has never broken a rule in her life. Mary knows that “the whole country's talkin witchcraft!” (Miller 1107). Mary desperately wants to tell the truth because she believes their punishment will be less severe if they are truthful. Because of this Abigail threatened her and the other girls, saying they will not tell the truth, so the girls decide to use the two afflicted girls to their advantage and claim witchcraft. Their claim of witchcraft leads to an entire mess of people being falsely accused. John Proctor knows that the girls are lying but doesn't do anything about it until his wife is arrested. Whereupon he forces Mary Warren to tell him the truth and say that she will tell the truth to the court to save all of the innocent people. John gets her to the court and and tells the court that his wife and all of the other people are innocent and leaves Mary Warren to tell the truth. Mary tries her best to tell the truth, she wants so badly to be free of sin,

Telling the truth may seem like the right path to take, but in the Puritans’ society it leads to nothing but consequences. In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, reasoning and logic play a huge role in the society’s fear and paranoia. Proctor, Hale, and Giles are the main characters who have reasonable explanations for the chaos that has occurred.

The Salem Witch trail took place in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. A group of girls accused of witchcraft, when Reverend Samuel Parris niece and daughter were ill and rumors spread that it was witchcraft. Sarah Osborne, Sarah Goode and Tituba were accused of being around when the girls were doing rituals and made the girls do the rituals. Abigail’s allegations began to grow blaming many innocent people. Tituba confessed which then assured the people that they have indeed the meet or seen the devil and are witches. People all throughout the town started accusing each other for ridiculous unreasonable explanations. Even kids were accused of witchcraft from all ages. John Protors wife was accused of witchcraft about a week later he