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.
Proctor explains how these girls are frauds and have caused this whole mess and how now his wife, of the best people in Salem, is now being accused of witchcraft from a puppet (poppet) placed in their home by one of the girls. He allows us to infer from his rhetorical inquiry that the people judging are of those who should really be judged and mistrusted. This will further John’s
He threatened excommunication and hell fire in my last moments if I continued obdurate.” (Shelley 94) The Crucible featured a trial in the third act where several characters accuse Abigail Williams, the main antagonist, of deceiving the court by falsely accusing people of witchcraft. As their evidence they present a follower to one of the girls, Mary Warren, to provide witness testimony to this. Abigail interferes by accusing her of witchcraft. As the trial goes on Mary Warren collapses under pressure and continues to go along with the game since she feared death. (Miller, Act 3) Both of the locations of the trials mattered to the outcome of the verdicts.
Even though there could be a refute with the evidence saying Adnan was guilty, there is too little to make a strong case with no question or hard evidence counteracting why he is innocent. There are crossroads with the Jay Wilds- a friend of Adnan 's at the time hearing, along with the cellphone records. “Jay 's story wasn 't just the foundation of the state 's case against Adnan. It was the state 's case against Adnan”(Sarah Kenick). Adnan Syed was wrongfully convicted due to unsettled answers and evidence in the hearings of Jay Wilds and contradicting cellphone records.
The real causes of the Salem witch trials were quite the antithesis from the handiwork of Satan and his “employed witches.” Today, the origin of the calamity is believed to be a combination of a few different factors. The Crucible is a play written about the Salem witch trials by Arthur Miller. It focuses on a young group of girls who are influenced by stories of witchcraft from an Indian slave woman, Tituba. The girls are caught doing strange rituals in the woods, such as dancing naked and drinking chicken blood. The leader of the girls is named Abigail, and is the niece of the town’s Reverend Samuel Parris.
She starts accusing people that she doesn’t like of practicing witchcraft, including Elizabeth Proctor. Elizabeth Proctor is John Proctor’s wife, and Abigail doesn 't like her because she wants to be with John, who she had an affair with. Abigail thinks that by accusing Elizabeth of witchcraft Elizabeth will be killed and then she can finally be with John. During these witch trials, many other people were accused and blamed for things that they did not do. It was mostly because of Abigail and her friends were lying about innocent people doing witchcraft.
Abigail Williams’ Influence Is it okay for a person to lie and hurt other people just to keep him or herself safe? In Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible, Abigail Williams lies, a lot, to keep herself safe. Throughout the story, many people are accused of witchcraft. When a person is accused of witchcraft, it is very easy for them to get out of the accusation if they lie. The lies that are told shifts the belief of who knows witchcraft, and Abigail Williams uses those lies to gain influence over other people.
The Salem Witch Trials were a series of witchcraft cases back in 1692. Innocent “witches” and familiars were assassinated without a firm cause. People do not think this could happen again because now, they have proven how it started. This trials were made out of fear, the fear of becoming possessed. If the trials would not have happened, they would probably be happening now because of modern day beliefs and cultures.
The Salem-town (nowadays Salem) situates in Massachusses state and during Witch Trails it was under the influence of Puritans church and traditions. In other words, The Crucible is the play about fears of social isolation and unknown, and how hysteria spreads fast among people. The most notable character of the play is Abigail Williams. This character is a prototype of real Abigail Williams which was one of the central figures during the Witch Hunt in Salem. According to historical notes because of Abigail and several other young girls’ strange behavior the Salem court and community accused about 57 people of witchcraft.
The Salem witch trials proved to be one of the most cruel and fear driven events to ever occur in history. Many innocent people were accused of witchcraft, and while some got out of the situation alive not everyone was as lucky. Arthur Miller the author of The Crucible conveys this horrific event in his book and demonstrates what fear can lead people to do. But the reason as to why Arthur Miller felt the need to write The Crucible in the first place was because the unfortunate reality that history seemed to have repeated itself again. In the article “Are You Now or Were You Ever”, Arthur Miller claims that the McCarthy era and the Salem witch trials were similar and he does this through his choice of diction, figurative language, and rhetorical questions.