The Crucible Mood Analysis

Brooke Fulmer

Mrs. Carroll

Honors English 11

November 24th, 2015

The Crucible Arthur Miller wrote the play “The Crucible” to shine a light on the Salem witch trials of 1692. The play is set in Salem, a small town in colonial Massachusetts. During this time, they had a Puritan society and the government was a theocracy, a system of government in which priests rule in the name of God or a god. “The Crucible” has a very serious, devastating tone with constant biblical references, showing how serious people of the church took the Bible. Throughout the play the mood changes from scene to scene, going from Act I that has a lighter mood than Act II, which has a fearful, dark, and tense mood. The events in “The Crucible” give power to people who

Back in these times woman in general didn’t have a lot of say in things and weren’t allowed to have opinions. But since she was a black woman, it was extra rare that she was even allowed to express anything. Due to Betty Parris pretending to be “sick” so she wouldn’t have to talk about what happened in the woods, Abigail Williams who doesn’t want to tell Reverend Parris, her uncle, what really happened that night. Also, there was Mary Warren who also pretended to be “sick” so she wouldn’t have to talk. The only other person Parris and Reverend John Hale could turn to for answers, is Tituba. They knew that if they threatened her saying if she doesn’t admit to seeing the Devil and confessing the names of the people that were with the Devil, she would be targeted and hung. This event puts power in Tituba’s hands because she has the power to say whoever’s name she wants to and Parris and Hale have no choice but to believe her because they weren’t to witness it. “Oh, how many times he bid me kill you, Mr. Parris!”(Miller, 47) Tituba used the power she had to her advantage explaining that the Devil had tried to convince her many times to kill Parris but she refused. By saying this she was able to suck up to Parris and hopefully be able to convince them that everything that she is saying is

She was one of the girls found in the woods dancing, along with two other girls but Abigail has an influence over the other girls. She realizes the power that she has, people believe she has a direct connection to the Devil. The same as Tituba she can say any name and people will believe her. Since she’s so in love with John Proctor whom she had an affair with while working as a servant in the Proctors house she will do anything in her power to get Proctor’s wife, Elizabeth Proctor, accused of witchcraft and be hung just to be with Proctor. We see her character evolve in Act II and she becomes much more dark and malicious. “I find here a poppet Goody Proctor keeps. I have found it, sir. And in the belly of the poppet a needle’s stuck” (Miller, 75). Abigail had a plan from the very start of this play before she even goes into the woods, she knew exactly what she was doing this whole time. The plan was to get Elizabeth Proctor out of the picture so she could have John Proctor all to herself. But she didn’t realize or just didn’t care that John Proctor loved his wife dearly and had no plan on leaving his wife for