Guilt In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

Araya
4th period Ms. Shively
9/25/15
The Crucible Essay In plays human emotions are often captured in a compelling way. Emotions can be affected by an environment but not always in a good way. In this play The Crucible by Arthur Miller, guilt is a powerful agent in effecting vulnerability in an individual by being manipulative, lying, and showing betrayal. John Proctor betrays his wife Elizabeth Proctor by having an affair with a young girl named Abigail. "I am wondering how I must prove what she told me, Elizabeth. If the girl's a saint now, I think it is not easy to prove she's fraud, and the town gone so silly. She told it to me in a room alone- I have no proof for it" (Miller 57). This says Proctor doesn't have morals because this information

"I know you clutched by back behind your house and sweated like a stallion whenever I come near! Or did I dream that? It's she put me out, you cannot pretend it were you. I saw your face when she put me out, and you loved me then and you do now" (Miller 838)! This portrays Abigail as to be demanding because she doesn't take no for an answer. This also shows that love is blind because she's in denial about the whole situation about being fired from the Proctor's house. This shows how she tries to seduce him because of the way she gently touches him. "I have a sense for heat, John, and yours had drawn me to my window, and I have seen you looking up, burning in your loneliness. Do you tell me you've never looked up at my window" (Miller 839). Through this passage it shows that Abigail has much compassion toward Proctor because of how she talks to him in such a compelling way. Abigail is also seductive by telling him he hasn't given up on her when she knows he's trying with all his heart to do so, for his wife. She is a scheming young girl and knows exactly how to work

"Reverend Parris says that he saw Abigail and Betty dancing "like heathens," Tituba moving back and forth over a fire while mumbling unintelligibly, and an unidentified female running naked through the forest"(The Crucible act l). This shows the girls are corrupt because they are disobedient to their belief system. This also says they are reckless, since they knew what they were doing was wrong, but did it anyways. Abigail leads Tituba, and Betty to make accusations on innocent people. She does this to get herself out of trouble because she doesn't know how to take ownership for her actions (Miller, Arthur. Timebends: a Life. New York: Grove Press). The other girls listen to her because she's older and they feel peer pressured. These girls are heavily influenced by the idea of witchcraft stemming from Tituba's