The Power Of Power In Arthur Miller's The Crucible

just like today, kids will follow along with their peers or parents. “And Lewis said it was all the fault of Martha Cory, the very same Gospel Woman that Ann had already accused. Like Ann, Lewis claimed that she saw Martha Cory’s spirit roasting a spectral man on a spit inside her fireplace”(Schanzer 45). If one person became afraid of another because they were seen doing strange things or wearing strange vestments, then they might convince others that the person is an imp or a witch/wizard. “Common history has painted Annand her young peers as selfish, vicious fakers who fueled the witchcraft trials out of boredom or spite.

Throughout history, women have had to fight against stigma and stereotypes in society. In every era, from the ancient world to present day, females have been persecuted and taken advantage of due to their gender. In our previous set of readings, the female protagonists were strong characters who defied weak stereotypes, but were still viewed as lesser beings than men. In our second group of readings, where were written more recently, women saw a slight increase in their sovereignty. All depict women as powerful figures who use their wits to make a better life for themselves.

In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible and in M. Night Shyamalan 's film, The Village both contained examples of jealousy transforming a character’s demeanor. In The Crucible, Abigail Williams had a loving demeanor towards John Proctor when they had an affair. However, after the discussion with John in Act One, it enlarged her jealousy towards his wife, Elizabeth. Abigail felt this way because she knew that his wife was in the way of their love (Miller 22-24). Over the course of the play, her desire for John had significantly increased and she jealously acted on the strategy to conspire against Elizabeth.

The Crucible is written by Arthur Miller, which is about a group of girls who live in Salem, Massachusetts who accuses most of the town of witchcraft, also known as The Salem Witch Trials of 1692. The character analysis will focus on John Proctor and Reverend John Hale. John Proctor is a farmer who is dedicated to his work. John Proctor is important to the story because he is a tragic hero; he has a fatal flaw. In attempt to stop Abigail accusation he tries to use Mary Warren deposition to eliminate Abigail testimony.

When people think of the play, “The Crucible”, they usually picture the witch trials and women being hanged, but Arthur Miller depicts the witch trials in a completely new light. He shows through a story that the witch trials were much more than just people calling others witches. There was deceit, pain, greed, and more. Through the play, we follow the character, Abigail, observe her actions and their consequences. We witness the lives of people she impacts, what happens to them, and how many times she lies to get her way.

This is the beginning period for John’s understanding of Abigail’s nature. The audience is already aware of her unstable state and unhealthy obsession with him, but he is only aware of the fact that there is witchcraft, which still isn’t completely correct, as she confessed it to him in the middle of Act 1. The real revelations begin in Act 2 Scene 2. He goes to see her in the middle of the night to both confront her and warn her to stop her foolishness. She tells him about how she wants to be his wife when his wife dies.

This first quotation takes place in Act 1 between Abagail Williams and John Proctor at Reverend Hale’s home. Abigail was talking to proctor about what really happened the night her and the others conjured spirits because proctor was going to get Mary warren but she wasn’t there which left them alone together. The quote takes the readers into the past to the affair Abigail had with John Proctor. John is trying to put the affair behind him although he still has feelings for her but Abigail is still very jealous of the life Elizabeth Proctor lives and she begs John to come back to her. This quote is a catalyst because it represents Abigail’s desire for John and foreshadows the length she will go to replace Elizabeth.

Proctor and Abigail have had an affair that very few know about. She wants continuous love and affection, because she is in love. Through her spitefulness, lust, and dishonesty, Abigail shows how she is the cause for this disaster. In order to get John Proctor where she needs him, Abigail does things out of spite to get at Elizabeth. She accuses Proctor’s wife of witchcraft to eliminate her from Proctor’s life.

So when an opportunity to get rid of Elizabeth comes up in the form of power to accuse people of witchcraft, Abigail jumps at the chance. John sees Abigail’s intentions and portrays this when he says “she thinks to dance with me on my wife’s grave,” in a confession to Judge Danforth about his relationship with Abigail (Miller, 110). Not only did Abigail want John Proctor all to herself, but also she was concerned about people finding out what she actually was doing in the woods with Tituba and the other girls. It is revealed early on in the play that Abigail cares about her reputation, for example, when she was concerned that Elizabeth was “blackening [her] name in the village” (Miller, 23). If people found out Abigail were trying to put a hex on Elizabeth Proctor in the woods, then sooner or later the truth about John and

The fact is that because her name was pure in Salem, almost everybody trusted her. Abigail Williams accused lots of people in Salem, even people with a good reputation and good souls; she wanted to save herself so she did wrong things. In act III, she pretend that she was possessed by Mary Warren, repeating everything Mary said. How we can see, she was not a sane woman; after being the good niece from Reverend Parris to being a horrible and pitiless woman. She started the rumors of witchcraft in the whole Salem just to stay with John, doing impossible things to keep herself saved and to keep John.

In the play Abigail Williams, and Thomas Putnam’s take advantage of the pervasive fear in the village, allowing them to fulfill their selfish and exploitative motives which are what truly fuel the Salem Witch Trials. To begin with, Abigail Williams starts the accusations of witchcraft in order to fulfill her ulterior motives. We first see hints of her motives when Abigail tells John Proctor, a married man under whom she had worked that, “I am waiting’ for you every night”(1099). While Abigail worked under John and Elizabeth Proctor, she had developed feelings for John. Elizabeth removes her which angers Abigail deeply.

The Crucible is a book that is set in a very eventful time in history.It is set during the famous witch trials and has many twists and turns in the storyline. Many people are being falsely accused of witchcraft and many were afraid. The higher social class you were the lower chance you would be accused, so you could assume common people and peasants/lower class citizens were afraid. The Crucible has many themes that present themselves prominently throughout the book such as reputation, self image, and paranoia. In the play many characters and especially see it is very important to keep their self-image polished and perfect.