Mary Warren Character Analysis

“My wife will never die for me! I will bring your guts into your mouth but that goodness will not die for me!” Proctor is frustrated with Mary Warren denying to come to the court to testify with him. Giles Corey wife is convicted and also Rebecca Nurse which goes back to the beginning of the play when accusations of witchcraft were due to Abigail. Proctor realizes that he could be the reason why all the people in Salem are being prosecuted or being hanged.When Proctor shows up to the court he is pleading on the behalf of his wife claiming that she is innocent and the children are pretending to being bewitched. Eventually he becomes desperate using his own affair as means to use against Abigail claiming she is a liar. Proctor is showing characteristics of a tragic hero in this scene because he is willing to do anything to save his wife even to risk his own reputation from the town. Judge Danforth therefore questions Elizabeth if John is an adulterer and she refuses this claim. Ironically this shows John’s goodness, willingly to acknowledge his own sins in order to save his wife. Proctors last line of defense is to use Mary Warren attest for evidence against the supposed bewitched children. Proctor is angered with Mary Warren because her weakness is what is costing him his argument and that it is a reflection of himself. Mary Warren eventually

Although, many people that were condemned weren’t actually apart of the Communist Party, (under McCarthyism around 1950-1954) they got blacklisted or lost their jobs. This social injustice is also portrayed in The Crucible as its characters face the Salem Witch Trials. Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible as his own reaction to the injustice of McCarthyism. Miller’s purpose was to show how people accused each other with false denunciations because of their fear, jealousy and solely hatred of one another under McCarthyism.

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.

“Nobody, but he who has felt it, can conceive what a plaguing thing it is to have a man’s mind torn asunder by two projects of equal strength, both obstinately pulling in a contrary direction at the same time (Laurence Sterne).” In The Crucible, playwright Arthur Miller wrote the character of Mary Warren to be coerced into two differing conflicts driven by her obligations and influences in acts two and three, just as Sterne’s quote describes. Throughout the play, the character of Mary Warren was pulled by the compelling influences and obligations put on her by John Proctor and Abigail Williams; this relates to the theme of power and what people do for it that was presented throughout the play.

The desire to fit in is within everyone to some degree. Although it is not morally correct, the people go along with the majority to feel as though they belong. In this case, society as a whole gives into their fear or goes along with the majority because if they do otherwise, they will be seen as an outcast. To be an outcast in this time will very nearly get one killed. Outcasts are easily seen as dangerous and could effortlessly be accused of witchcraft. Mary Warren is a character who is faced with a choice to either make the right decision, or give in and confess. If Mary makes the right decision to tell the truth, her chance of getting hanged increases. However, if Mary gives in and confesses, she will not be an outcast and her chance of living becomes more prominent. In the end, Mary Warren confesses and goes against Proctor’s word. The pressure of her imminent fate breaks her and she blatantly lies in order to save her own life. To Proctor, she says, “You’re the Devil’s man!” (Miller 110). This corroborates Proctor’s impending death.

Although Abigail Williams does not physically appear in Act 2, her presence is felt throughout The Crucible. She affects and hurts the lives of her family. She is the main source of trouble. If she wants something, she'll get it. At the beginning, there is a lot of closeness between her and the proctor family. Now we learn that all of the problems lead directly to Abigail. She is not to be trusted and would just bring pain.

One of the most powerful human emotions is desire. Everyone is constantly trying to fulfill their own desires. A desire or passion may be so strong it can conflict with morality. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, Abigail Williams, is driven to go against her moral duty and pursue John Proctor. She will stop at nothing to see her plan through. Abigail is willing to accuse any one in her path of witchcraft even if it means taking the lives of those close to her. Abigail Williams’ emotional desire guides her actions even if it conflicts with morality.

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.

In the beginning of the play Mary Warren believes that there are actually witches and the devil in Salem. When she returns from court she talks to Elizabeth and John Proctor. She says, “I feel a misty coldness climbin’ up my back, and the skin on my skull begin to creep, and I feel a clamp around my neck and I cannot breathe air” (Miller 147). Mary Warren is trying to explain to the Proctors that she was possessed by the devil in court and he made her accuse the old

In The Crucible, the protagonist John Proctor was. In the town of Salem, in 1692, a group of young ladies by the names of Betty Williams, Abigail Williams and Tituba were found dancing in the forest naked by Reverend Parris, Abigail’s’ uncle. Reverend Parris assumed that they were participating in witchcraft. This idea of witchcraft spread through the city of Salem and the citizens began accusing each other of being witches. This started a series of court cases known as the Salem Witch Trials. Abigail Williams accused John Proctor of participating in witchcraft. Seven months earlier Proctor had an affair with Abigail who worked as his maid. When John’s wife Elizabeth Proctor found out, she fired Abigail immediately. This left Elizabeth feeling doubtful of John.

Now John Proctor stands before you, an innocent man. He only wished to save the lives of his friends and show us the extremity taken to unrealistic events. Instead, for his courage he is said to be overthrowing the court. Mary Warren’s word, the word of a young girl who sided herself with satan is taken higher than that of a grown man’s? The court has no clear evidence that anyone here has sided with the devil! Yet, with all the evidence pointing towards these girls being liars, we take advantage of the situation. Salem has turned criminal, prosecuting others for land, vengeance, and their own health.

By looking at The Crucible by Arthur Miller one can see that the characterization of John Proctor reveals the theme of reputation and integrity, which is important because refusing to tell lies to protect his reputation and stop delirium from spreading throughout Salem.John Proctor states that the woman of Salem who have been locked up for witchcraft:”Excellency, does it not strike upon you that so many of these women have lived so long with such upright reputation”(3.1.305-309). Proctor represents reputation because he would rather die than have his reputation downed to a victimizer. Protecting his reputation motivates John Proctor to deny that witchcraft exists in the village. All he hears is crying out of screams and wailing which is a cause of the Devil 's work: “What 's she doing? Girl what ails you? Girl what ails you? Stop that wailing!” (1.1 620-621). John Proctor is saying that Abigail is crying out in nonsense to protect her by making people think she was cast over by witches rather people finding out about the adultery that she committed . Proctor motivates to learn how the truth can still not matter if it is not what the court wants to hear causing people to be killed and put in jail.

Who knew one seemingly innocent lie could cause 19 deaths and pit an entire town against itself? That’s exactly what happens in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. Authors often use similar plot devices, and their favorite one is having their characters face a test. In a small town called Salem in early America, something terrible is happening. A small group of teenage puritans broke several rules and lied a seemingly innocent lie. That lie turns into a series of hearings where the defendant has two terrible choices. They can either lie and confess to witchcraft that they didn't commit, or hang. That one lie leads to 19 deaths. In Arthur Miller's The Crucible, many characters made crucial decisions that led to the disaster

Anyone who tried to bring any changes were excluded and under accusation. Mary Warren was excluded from the group of girls, just as she tried to make changes in the situation by telling the truth. The girls accused Mary of sending her spirit on them, in page 101 “Mary, do you send this shadow on me?’ and page 107 “Oh, please, Mary! Don’t come down.” Later, Mary broke down and accused John Proctor, who forced her to testify. “You’re the Devil’s man!”, “He wake me every night, his eyes were like coals and his fingers claw my neck, and I sign, I sign…” (page 110). The girls turned against Mary Warren simply due to the reason that she confessed the truth and it could have gotten them in trouble. Nobody believed since she was the only one

Mary Warrenn is the weak one who folds under pressure, the most courageous character would be John Proctor because he will speak against people.