During the late 17th century a total of 200 people were accused of participating in witchcraft, while 19 people lost their lives to the mass hysteria. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, a group of girls start a huge uproar in Salem, Massachusetts when they start screeching about Salemites being associated with the Devil. Throughout the play write, it shows the consequences of mass hysteria and how it puts people's lives in danger. Abigail Williams causes a wave of mass hysteria and because of her trickery, innocent people have died by her and the other girl’s actions, for this Abigail is the most unforgivable character in The Crucible.
Fear that spread among a group of people in Salem during the Salem Witch Trials, that event in history is a prime example of Mass Hysteria. In Salem the reason why so many women were killed was because of Mass Hysteria. It caused many people, in Salem during this event to think fast, rash and jump to conclusions. “The Crucible”, a short play dedicated to these events in Salem shows us how hysteria was such a leading cause of why the Witch Trials had even occurred. Reverend Hale, Abigail Williams and Judge Danforth. These three characters can be the most to blame for the cause of the spread and start of hysteria in Salem during the Witch Trials. The cause of the hysteria was caused by Reverend Hale, Abigail Williams and Judge Danforth.
Society as a whole seeks to satisfy themselves. This may be at the expense of their peers or individuals they are associated with. Arthur Miller brilliantly displays this dark side of humanity’s side in his play The Crucible. This play is based on the Salem witch trials in the early 1690s. During the Salem witch trials over two hundred people were accused of witchcraft and twenty were executed. Miller best depicts the evils in people through the main prosecutor in the the play Abigail Williams. Abigail is undeniably the most destructive and corrupt individual in The Crucible. Through her vengefulness, threatening her peers, carelessness at others’ expense, and complete disregard for human life, she ensues a tumultuous event to Salem.
In the play/act The Crucible by Arthur Miller was a tragic and sorrowful play. The overall summary of the play was is about the Salem witch trials in 1692. A few young ladies claim to be burdened by witchcraft, beginning with Reverend Paris’s little girl Betty. The tormented young ladies blame individuals in the town for witchcraft, frequently picking casualties who they or their families hate. In this story the whole reason for the tragic ending is often thought to be just Abigale, but that is not true. Other characters such as Deputy Governor Danforth, Reverend Parris and Reverend Hale likewise share obligation regarding the various passings coming about because of the witch trials. This essay will be focusing on how Reverend Hale was also the reason for the tragic ending.
One of America’s greatest plays is “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller. The Crucible is based off of the true events of the Salem Witch Trials, which caused mass hysteria all throughout Salem; However, it was a satire that explained the hysteria during Arthur Miller’s time known as the “Red Scare”. During this satire, he uses characters that had real-life counterparts to explain how mass hysteria, which is exaggerated and uncontrollable emotions of fear, to show how people of his day were doing the same things and how they needed to stop it before it got worse. In the play, two characters who could have stopped the hysteria that plagued Salem were Abigail Williams and Reverend Hale.
The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, relates the events of a witch trial taking place in Salem, Massachusetts, in the spring of 1692. The spark that ignites this story begins with a mediocre offense of the time: young maidens dancing in the woods. However, the events become hyperbolized and spun to a point that order devolves into chaos and truth devolves into lies. Such a progression of corruption throughout the book is representative of the major theme of The Crucible, which is the religious fanaticism that plagues the settlers of Salem from logical thought throughout the four acts. Another literary aspect accompanying the religious corruption is the general archetype of logic who is represented by a number of characters, though most notably through
In 1692, the theocratic town of Salem fell apart. Neighbors began accusing one another of Devil-worship and the illegal act of witchcraft. Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, reenacts the horror that took place in this Puritan society. One dark night, a group of girls went out into the forest to perform a ceremony. The leading antagonist, Abigail Williams, drank blood as a charm to kill the wife of John Proctor, the protagonist with whom she was infatuated. Reverend Parris discovers the girls who blame the night’s events on one of the women in their party, knowing that witchcraft is punishable by death. After this first accusation, more and more began to occur. Arthur Miller conveys the struggle of justice through integrity with accusations of Giles Corey, John Proctor, and the evil Abigail Williams.
The Salem Witch Trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft between 1692 and 1693. It occured in colonial Massachusetts, relying on a theocracy. The government and religious authority inseparably rule together, and individuals who question authority are accused of questioning God and his authority. There are multiple characters who played major roles in The Crucible but each of them contributed to the play in different ways. Abigail Williams is a major character who was one of the main reasons the Salem Witch Trials took place. These trials ended in a gruesome manner and there were multiple conflicts that led to these trials. Abigail Williams was largely to blame for the actions of the Salem Witch Trials
In the final analysis, three important characters from The Crucible John Proctor, Rev. Hale, and Elizabeth Proctor share a bond together when it comes down to change. Initially, John was exceptionally blameworthy over the way that he deceived Elizabeth by cheating on her. As everything progress toward the end of the play, Elizabeth forgave John for his transgression triggering John to excuse himself for the wrongdoing as well. Afterward, John understood that despite the fact that he will die, he will always be a superior individual. While on the other hand on the first sight of Hale he seemed very cocky when to trying to take out all people using witchcraft for good but instantly leaves the court when innocent people are killed because he couldn't
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. Also, throughout the play Abigail accuses many people of witchcraft in order to save herself. An example of this is when Hale questions Abigail in act 1, and Abigail accuses several girls of
Elizabeth was imprisoned when she was accused of being a witch and the conditions were not good. She could be related with, “I live in a hallway with no doors and no rooms”, because she could not escape the jail. She could not talk to anyone on the outside unless she was told to by the authorities.
Power is a very fluid thing in The Crucible. The court by extension of religion - since Salem was a theocracy - has final say, but who influences and wields the power within these institutions, and how that changes is what is worth examining. If most people in Salem had used their power differently, the town might have ended up in a much better situation.
More than 20 people were executed during the Salem Witch Trials between 1692 and 1693. The play The Crucibles written by Arthur Miller a historical fiction piece based on the Salem Witch Trials. The play shows the struggles of a small town with a big controversy with mob mentality and justice themes throughout the play.
The Salem witch trials are remembered as one of the most disgraceful acts a village has ever committed. One of the main causes of these events are the bibliocentric views of the community at that time. People often called witch on their neighbors to get more land, or cried witch at someone they simply didn’t like. There were 19 hangings during the Salem Witch Trials and one of the main reasons for this was Reverend Parris. At the start of The Crucible, By Arthur Miller, you see that one of the central causes of the witch trials was because he was more concerned with his own reputation than the lives of others. He uses his bibliocentric views and high status to justify his selfish motives and protect his reputation.
According to the Webster Dictionary, the definition of adultery is, “voluntary sexual intercourse between a married man and someone other than his wife or between a married woman and someone other than her husband,” which happens to be what Elizabeth Proctor drove her husband to do. In The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, Elizabeth Proctor continues to show her deficiency as a good wife throughout the play. Elizabeth is to blame for the tragic outcome of the play because she was a cold wife, she led her husband to commit adultery, and Abigail Williams feared her.