The Crucible Rhetorical Analysis Essay

ELIZABETH PROCTOR: Dear Lord, I am in realization that I have been exceedingly harsh towards my husband over the past several months; for ’twas I that was cold. However, I genuinely fear that Abigail Williams is being set loose by Him to take my place. I worry that the wretched girl will deny witnessing the creation of Mary Warren’s poppet and will proceed to accuse myself of making a pact with Him. I do not desire

The Proctor family practically gave her a home to stay at while she worked there. Mary worked for them, but still couldn’t believe in the decisions they’d made so Elizabeth could get out of the accusation and have herself saved. Before Elizabeth was accused Mary gave her a poppet that took her “hours” to make. Mary handed it to her as a gift, poor Elizabeth not knowing she’d be accused of witchcraft. The moment Elizabeth was accused, John immediately sought Mary for help since she was the one that gave Elizabeth the poppet. Mary kept saying that she was unsure of it, until Proctor demanded she go to court with him and tell them how the poppet came to their home and who stuck the needle in the doll. At court Mary stated that she and Abigail were sitting next to each other while the doll made and how Abigail and the girls’ accusations were phony. When Abigail was questioned about it, she said it was merely a lie and then she and the girls moments later started acting up and acting as if witchcraft were occurring. Once the girls were screaming about a “cold wind,” a “shadow,” and a “bird” that was Mary, she broke, Mary told Abigail she was sorry and that Proctor made her confess to the “lies” and saying, “You’re the Devil’s man!” (Crucible, Act 3, Line 469). While also saying that Proctor came at her during the night with a book to sign herself to the devil. Mary didn’t want to be thrown into jail because of Abigail so she rather Proctor deal with Elizabeth being there, and have himself thrown in jail while she saved herself from the

In The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, there were many different themes and lessons that the reader could relate to or compare to today's society. A major theme that stuck out in this story was many people will tell lies to get what they want. This theme shows throughout the entire story and is very relevant in today's society.

“You are pulling Heaven down and raising up a whore!” (Miller 120). Said “whore” stands for the wild chase of witches throughout Salem. In the appendix Arthur Miller makes Abigail Williams, from his play The Crucible, look like she is the good one. It makes her look like she is being mistreated, even though John Proctor is just trying to save his very innocent wife from her execution. Before both characters were misinterpreted in the appendix, John was a hardworking and generous man, while Abigail was a sneaky and untrustful young girl. It would be a mistake to include the appendix in the production because it makes Abigail look innocent when this whole situation of the Salem Witch Trials is her fault.

In The Crucible the lies and deceit led to people being brainwashed and influenced by others thoughts and opinions. Arthur Miller shows us this in act II when Elizabeth Proctor is set up and arrested so that Abigail can have John to herself. Abigail setup Elizabeth by planting a bobby pin in the doll Mary Warren had made that day and gave to Elizabeth as a gift. Abigail later acted as if she got stabbed in the same place Mary had left the pin to make it look like Elizabeth sent out her spirit to harm her. “Abigail were stabbed tonight; a needle were found stuck into her belly”….(Hale Act II Scene 1). “You will tell the court how that poppet come here and who stuck the needle in”. (Proctor Act II Scene 1 ). Abigail considers Elizabeth as a threat and in the way of her and John’s relationship, she is willing to sacrifice Elizabeth and do what it takes to get rid of her. This part of the play relates to McCarthyism because they both accused many innocent people of things that weren't

Arthur Miller’s portrayal of a town in the midst of a downfall “The Crucible”, tells the story of how mob mentality and hysteria can significantly influence not only individuals but the whole town. This mob mentality leads to unthoughtful acts and false accusations. Two characters who demonstrate how mob mentality can lead to the demise of Salem are Abigail and Mary Warren. As Abigail begins to be accused she is pressured to deter from the truth. While Mary Warren gets pressured by Proctor to reveal the truth about Abigail, but the overwhelming pressure from the mob makes her turn from the truth. Thus demonstrating how mob mentality can impact an individual and ultimately drive the action of the play. This shows us how one person who starts

Miller, within The Crucible, uses symbolism creates an effective allegory that shows the connection that it has to McCarthyism. The symbolism used within the play symbolized McCarthy’s accusations and allegations. The doll that is found on Elizabeth Proctor's shelf is considered a traditional symbol of voodoo and witchcraft, “Elizabeth: ‘I never kept no poppets, not since I were a girl.’ Cheever, embarrassed, glancing toward the mantel where sits Mary Warren's poppet: ‘I spy a poppet, Goody Proctor.’ Elizabeth: ‘Oh! Going for it: Why, this is Mary’s.’ Cheever, shyly: ‘Would you please to give it to me?’” (Miller 73). Elizabeth here explains how she had many poppets as a child, which was the norm until witchcraft started to become a main event and until people started to become victims of (false) accusations.

When Abigail is discovered dancing in the woods, she tells Reverend Parris, they were doing only common dancing and “never conjured spirits” (Miller 10). She worries that punishment awaits her and carefully chooses what information she confesses to him. Betty admits that Abigail is a liar when she rises from lying inert and states, “You drank blood Abby! You didn’t tell him that” (Miller 18). In reality, Abigail meets with Tituba for a potion to kill Goody Proctor. Throughout the trials, she fibs quite frequently to reach her goal of being with John and avoid exposing the truth. During one of the first crucibles, Abigail spies on Mary Warren, the Proctor’s new worker, sewing a poppet for Elizabeth. She notices that the sewing needle is left in the stomach of the doll when Mary completes it. Later that day, Abigail stabs herself in the abdomen to make Elizabeth’s gift appear as a voodoo doll. At the end of the play, when Parris exclaims, “You see, sir, she told me she would stay a night with Mercy Lewis…Mercy told him she would sleep in my house for a night” (Miller 116), Abigail proves herself to be a fraud. She tells Parris she is staying with a friend, but is actually fleeing Salem with all of her uncle’s

In Arthur Miller's "The Crucible", John Proctor is our passive protagonist as he tries to save his wife and others that were accused of witchcraft.Unfortunately, his attempt was in vain and his evidence had backfired.His knowledge did not stop the witch trials because of his self-respect, and the children's high reputations, and Abigail's tactful nature.

During the play The Crucible persecution happens as a result of vengeance. For example, in the play one of the characters Abigail Williams does everything she can to get revenge on Goody Proctor, Mr. Proctor’s wife. She accuses Goody Proctor of using a poppet (a doll) to do voodoo on her. Abigail was next to Mr. Proctors daughter Mary Warren when she was making the poppet, and she saw Mary stick a needle in the doll for safe keeping. When Proctor turns down Abigail’s advances towards him she uses a needle to stab herself so she can accuse Goody Proctor of sticking the doll so she would get hurt. Abigail Williams and Mr. Proctor had an affair which led to Goody Proctor kicking Abigail out of their home. Goody Proctor is arrested after Abigail’s accusations are thought to be true. Mr. Proctor then convinces Mary Warren to testify

In the Salem Witch Trials Abigail is the one who starts the whole witch thing, when her and all the girl from the village were in the woods doing a ritual about who they wanted to marry. The girls didn't notice that someone had followed them into the woods and they were caught and a young child fell to her knees and into a comma. The townspeople thought it was to be witchcraft. Abigail didn't want the towns people to know so Abigail threatened the girls and told them if they were to talk she would kill them. This scene in the Salem Witch Trials relates to what had happened to a nun in germany when a nun fell to biting and meowing at her companions. It was thought that the devil had taken possession of the nuns. The matter began to be talked over

Good morning Judge Danforth, ladies and gentlemen of the jury. I am here today on behalf of Elizabeth Proctor. Elizabeth has been accused of performing witchcraft, along with many other citizens of New Salem. The form of witchcraft Elizabeth allegedly performed was with the use of a poppet. Miss Abigail Williams has testified to the court, that she had been stabbed by a needle to the stomach. Abigail Williams claims that Elizabeth Proctor is currently under the possession of the poppet that was used to harm her. There is no existing evidence to prove Abigail Williams accusations.

Abigail had been aware that Mary had a poppet, I mean Mary says, “Ask Abby, Abby sat beside me when I make it.” She also happened to notice the needle in it and decided to take advantage of that. So, naturally, she stuck a needle in herself to mirror the poppet and have it be played off as witchcraft. People investigate and find the needle in the same spot where Mary was stabbed. Everyone is so delusional and terrified of the devil and witchcraft that they believe her. Proctor reaches out to the Court and claims that she is a liar, “I beg you, sir, I beg you--see her what she is.... She thinks to dance with me on my wife's grave! And well she might, for I thought of her softly. God help me, I lusted, and there is a promise in such sweat. But it is a whore's vengeance, and you must see it now.” This doesn’t do any good though, no one believes him until it is too

Throughout the play, more specifically in Act II, she is mentioned having an affair with John Proctor; who used to be their servant. When they get the chance to be alone; he then tells her that the affair is over. She does not like his response, and blames Elizabeth for keeping them apart. In spite of his reaction, Abigail plots vengeance against Elizabeth. Abigail blames her for sending out her spirit to stick a needle through her stomach. Suspicion is raised when Ezekiel Cheever arrives at the Proctor home with a call for Elizabeth’s arrest, after he sees a poppet lying on a shelf. Previously that day, he saw Abigail Williams claiming to have a needle two inches into her stomach. The doll actually belonged to their servant, Mary Warren, which she made while in court. To Mary’s claims, she put the needle there for safe keeping but forgot the needle was there when she gave it to Elizabeth as a gift. The irony of this situation is that Abigail blamed Elizabeth for sticking a needle in her stomach when she put the needle in there herself. In the courtroom of Act III of this play, they are discussing whether the poppet is supposed ‘voodoo’ or if Mary is telling the truth. Falsehood is clear here because no one wants to hear the truth, or at least the real one. The truth doesn’t have evidence like the lies the girls are

The Second Red Scare, a string of words denoting the mass hysteria and confusion of the mid-twentieth century, has come to be closely tied with the Salem Witch Trials chronicled in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. In this tale, the pervasive fear of witchcraft demonstrates that intense pressure from others can bring out resentments and anxieties from the past. Specifically, Mary reveals that Abigail will murder her for telling the court that Abigail put the needle in the poppet, Proctor exposes to the community that he had an affair with Abigail, and Abigail slowly revealing the occurrences in the woods, emphasizing her hatred of Goody Proctor.