ipl-logo

The Salem Witch Trials In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

1048 Words5 Pages

The stage is set, the French and Indian War has recently ended and tensions between the colonists and the British are only just beginning. However, despite all these influential happenings the people of Salem are focused on something totally different. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible these colonists in Salem are focused on something never seen or thought of before, witchcraft. This word and thought throw this small town into a frenzy and even some of the surrounding towns are caught up in this. The suspected witchcraft tests the colonists spiritually, emotionally, and politically. However, if these accusations were false then many of these trials would not have happened. Many of the citizens also did not believe in witches and trials. Therefore …show more content…

Emotions are crucial in our day to day lives as they are constantly changing depending on who we interact with and what happens during the day. The emotions of the Salem citizen’s are profoundly changed by the taking of their loved ones, and in some cases their execution. Even the people who are arresting people feel emotionally unstable. Cheever is a great example of this as he voices these feelings when he says, “ Now believe me, Proctor, how heavy be the law, all its tonnage I do carry on my back tonight. I have a warrant for your wife.“ (Miller 72). Cheever feels convicted about his work and his emotions begin to take their toll on him as he arrests those who he knows quite well. Another part of this emotional journey during these trials is the facet of trust. These men and women are constantly being emotionally tested as they worry about who might convict them. They are concerned with the aspect of backstabbing that seems to have become the norm during these trials. A prime example is on page 73 which takes place in the Proctor household. Proctor: “Who charged her?” Cheever: “Why, Abigail Williams charge her.” (Miller 73). This was an especially emotional time for Proctor because he had been very close to Abigail yet she turns on Elizabeth who Proctor also is very close

Show More
Related

  • How Is John Proctor Infiring Shown In The Crucible

    916 Words  | 4 Pages

    Before Proctor had admitted to Elizabeth about engaging in extramarital relations, he was viewed as an incredible man according to both Salem and these young ladies. Not long after Proctor admits to Elizabeth, she states irately, "Delegate, you are not open with me."(Miller 55). This demonstrates Elizabeth believes that Proctor is unscrupulous. This additionally exhibits Proctor's appearance has changed for Elizabeth. Elizabeth can not just expect that Proctor's stories about going to Salem are

    Read More

  • Salem Witchcraft Trials In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

    729 Words  | 3 Pages

    Ever wonder what was so interesting about the witch trails and how many lives were lost due to people getting falsely accused and getting hung. In the book, The Crucible, the author was Arthur Miller and his book was based on the Salem witchcraft  trials during the modern times. Some  of the many flaws that Abigail showed throughout the book was spitefulness, jealousy, and lust.     Abigail shows the flaw of spitefulness when it comes to the point of her trying to be a part of John’s life or to try to get what she wants in life. “Elizabeth: She wants me dead.

    Read More

  • Witch Hunters False Accusations In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

    920 Words  | 4 Pages

    Chloe Pendleton Mrs. Liz Hall Honors English III 13 February 2017 The Witch Hunters’ False Accusations The Crucible by Arthur Miller tells the story of the vindictive town of Salem and its unproportional amount of accusations of witchcraft. Vengeful “witch hunters” left no time to spare when making accusations on their neighborhood enemies. However, many were guilty of caving into their own weaknesses and only feared to be caught in their acts of hypocrisy. Weakness, hypocrisy, vindictiveness: only few of the many words that describe the guilty desires and revenge that lingered among the town of Salem.

    Read More

  • The Crucible John Proctor Appearance Vs Reality

    606 Words  | 3 Pages

    He no longer has to worry about Williams taunting him, but now his name, the one thing he treasures most, is ruined. Proctor’s wife, Elizabeth, finds out the truth, and confronts him about it. Proctor [with solemn warning]: You will not judge me more, Elizabeth. I have good reason [...] judge your husband any more. I have forgot Abigail, and- Elizabeth:

    Read More

  • Examples Of Mass Hysteria In The Crucible '

    1667 Words  | 7 Pages

    People were tried with little to no evidence that witchcraft was present in Salem and the consequences meant life or death. " It is incredible what superstitions, jealousies, lies,

    Read More

  • How Did Proctor Change Throughout The Crucible

    1322 Words  | 6 Pages

    While affection is present in their relationship, there undeniably is a barrier caused by Elizabeth’s reluctance to believe her husband. This entire interaction only makes Proctor feel more helpless and guilty since he is an innately good man as aforementioned in the Act

    Read More

  • Salem Witch Trials In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

    853 Words  | 4 Pages

    Although Salem, Massachusetts was founded on religiously centered morals, nevertheless it turned to sinful behaviors because Arthur Miller wants to demonstrate that community can be shaped by social pressures. Arthur Miller portrays the detriments of a close-knit community and illustrates how small Salem truly is through everyone knew each other's business. One night, John and Elizabeth Proctor had an argument over Abigail Williams. Elizabeth accused John of cheating with Abigail and told him “if it were not Abigail that you must go to hurt, would you falter now? I think not” (Miller 52) Elizabeth Proctor supports her accusation of adultery with this statement.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Judgement In The Crucible

    858 Words  | 4 Pages

    Elizabeth had to live with the suspicion that her husband was cheating because she could not give him what he wanted. Elizabeth tells Proctor he still judges himself, which is why he seeks forgiveness from her. Elizabeth states, “.... There be no higher judge under Heaven than Proctor is....” ( IV.

    Read More

  • The Salem Witch Trials In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

    488 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Salem Witch Trials were blamed on mental illness and superstitions. Some people even said they were poisoned by contamination of their wheat supply. Arthur Miller writes a fictional play about what happened in Salem, where Abigail accuses more than 200 people and 20 were executed. She faked seeing the devil to call witchcraft on the people that have done wrong to her and to save herself. In the crucible, Arthur Miller shows that distrust can ruin relationships.

    Read More

  • Salem Witch Trials In The Crucible

    1185 Words  | 5 Pages

    People in the town of Salem are all furious and upset with the current witch trial that are taking place. The prosecution that the court has provided is that Abigail, Mary, Danforth, and Hale all provided factual information and truthful evidence to those that have been accused of witchcraft. They are trying to prove that those accused are practicing and using witchcraft, and that the accusers are trustworthy, reliable people who have no reason to be doubted. The main problem with the previous trial were caused by Abigail, Mary, Danforth, and Hale. Abigail Williams is an unreliable and untrustworthy person.

    Read More

  • The Selfish Nature Of Reputation In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

    1574 Words  | 7 Pages

    After Abigail and the girls put on an act convincing the judges that Mary Warren is using witchcraft, Proctor, as a last ditch effort, brings up his affair with Abigail to prove Abigail has it out for Elizabeth. “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; I set myself entirely in your hands, I know you must see it now. My wife is innocent, except she know a whore when she see one,” (Miller 110).

    Read More

  • The Salem Witch Trials In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

    527 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the tragic historical play, The Crucible, Arthur Miller portrays a more intensified version of the Salem witch trials in the 1600s. In the beginning of the play, Betty Parris pretends to be under the influence of Satan, which by the temptation of Abigail Williams, the niece of Samuel Parris, the other children accuse innocent lives. One such life is John Proctor, a farmer who pleads to save his wife's life using the evidence that the girls are lying. In all this trauma, many citizens have an internal conflict, which destroys their reputation. Miller develops this idea by how Parris seeks his family to be righteous, how Abigail wants to have the feeling of love and trustworthiness, and how Proctor prohibits the viewing of himself as a saint during his hanging.

    Read More

  • Literary Analysis Essay On The Crucible

    630 Words  | 3 Pages

    Shawn Jande Ms. Clancy American Literature B3 15 November 2015 The Crucible Analytical Essay Imagine, being accused of a crime you didn’t commit by your neighbors and friends out of jealousy, and desire. This is what many people in the town of Salem had to go through during the time of the Salem Witch Trials. People's motives such as: gaining and maintaining power, and aspirations for what other people had caused them to make irrational, and atrocious decisions. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, desire and power drive characters to create chaos in the community.

    Read More

  • The Salem Witch Trials In Arthur Miller's The Crucible

    1257 Words  | 6 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Let The Witches In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

    507 Words  | 3 Pages

    Let the witches hang The Crucible is a play written by Arthur Miller about the Salem Witch Trials in the 1690’s. The author's purpose is to inform the readers of the importance of the events of the Salem Witch Trials. In the play The Crucible the trials started off by a few girls and a slave naming off random names that are “witches”, because they were caught dancing in the woods and one of the girls was running in the woods naked. It soon became a frightening time for the residents of salem because the girls would call random people out and say they came to them in spirit and tried to kill them.

    Read More

More about The Salem Witch Trials In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

Open Document