Individuals vs. Society The Salem Witch Trials, of the strangest accounts of mass hangings in history, were the fault of a few young women. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, John Proctor is forced to make a decision as to whether or not to give up his good name to save this small town. People have to choose between self-interest and that which would benefit the society in which they live. Often, people face some great cause prior to choosing to help the greater society over their own selfish wants. John deals with Abigail and a dozen or so other tormented girls, as does the whole town.
One of the main elements that eventually build up to the main plot in the play is power. Many of the characters in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible have a strong desire for power. The Salem witch trials empowered several characters in the play who were previously marginalized in Salem society. It gave them the chance to misuse it leading to horrible suffering and even deaths of some innocent people in the town. Some of these characters are Abigail Williams, Deputy Governor Danforth and Reverend Parris.
A man named John Proctor, who once had an affair with Abigail Williams while he was married to his wife Elizabeth. The affair he had led to Abigail telling lies about not doing witchcraft. All in all the characters who play the role as a witch, tell lies in order to not be put on trial. Abigail Williams was a very arrogant, and one of the main characters in the
The Crucible is a play written by Arthur Miller and published in 1953. The play is about the Salem witch trials that happened in 1692. In these trials, people were hanged because the townspeople didn’t want the devil in their town. The people that lived in Salem were very religious so they believed that hangings would get rid of the devil, who was possessing and controlling certain townspeople. The Crucible starts out with a scene where a young girl is sick with a mysterious sickness.
Class Discussion). The madness that witchcraft was a problem came together when society combined the story of Adam and Eve (women acting out in abnormal ways and easily being convinced to do things), with the desire of wanting all women to act as the Virgin Mary. This created an unrealistic ideology of standards of daily conduct and if those standards were not adhered to they would be accused of practicing witchcraft (Broedel, Hans Peter. The Malleus Maleficarum and the Construction of Witchcraft), (Parish, Helen. Class Discussion).
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.
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.
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.
Shakespeare’s novel diverges the audience and leads to the questionable ideologies that were said to be bestowed by the Creator himself. During the time period of Early Modern England, women were restricted to a certain way of living. This satirical and patriarchal belief led to Macbeth challenging the traditional role of women through the masculine portrayal of Lady Macbeth. Consumed by the ambition the witches prophecies game her, Lady Macbeth demands the spirits to “unsex [her] here” [1.5.2] In order to commit murder, she must first rid herself of any empathy ad love she possesses. She is subverting and undermining the
A scene in the play written by Susan Glaspell created the perfect scene, albeit the apparent fault of the home. According to County Attorney Henderson it is because she is not the best homemaker. In this scene, the County Attorney says, “Dirty Towels! Not much of a housekeeper would you say ladies?”(Trifles 982). The women were