She is eighteen years old, she had an affair with a man named John Proctor, and she cannot be trusted. Abigail displays three character flaws: dishonesty, envy, and lust. Abigail displays dishonesty in the play because she lied about her and the other girls conjuring spirits in the woods. Abigail lied to her uncle and told him “It were sport uncle” (Miller 10 and 11) .Abigail ’s uncle questions her about why she was kicked out of Elizabeth
The many varied relationships that characters have with the idea of truth within The Crucible conveys that though speaking the truth is always the correct action, everyone at times fails to do so, lying because of its short termed benefits. The allure of the lie is first manifested within Abigail when interrogated by Parris and Hale. Throughout their exchange, Hale’s
“Because I KNOW HER!!” John Proctor addresses this to the council when Abigail is starting back up with her lies. John gives that statement to prove he is aware of his wrongdoings and to trap Abigail in
In The Crucible, John Proctor the protagonist, becomes a victim of the witch trials when his wife Elizabeth, is accused of witchcraft. In order to free his wife, Proctor must convince Judge Danforth of his wife’s innocence. Judge Danforth does not sign condemnations lightly and takes meticulous inspection of his cases to determine the guilty party. He is also a highly religious man who takes matters between God and men seriously. It is because of Danforth’s dedication to the law and God that Proctor utilizes ethos, logos, and pathos to persuade him. Ultimately, Proctor uses ethos, logos, and pathos to convince Danforth to free his wife, but is unsuccessful.
The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a play which contains a multitude of complex characters . In the play, the characters’ motivations and inner processes are explored. Because of the historical setting, the characters live in a society of judgement and extreme religious devotion. This is a factor that places any of the characters’ choices and morals in a public balance to be judged by others. Abigail Williams is the main character of the play and acts with an utter selfishness and obsession.
Telling the truth may seem like the right path to take, but in the Puritans’ society it leads to nothing but consequences. In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, reasoning and logic play a huge role in the society’s fear and paranoia. Proctor, Hale, and Giles are the main characters who have reasonable explanations for the chaos that has occurred. John Proctor is one of few characters that maintains valid logic towards the people’s fear and paranoia. In the beginning, Proctor gets in a dispute over whether Tituba, Sarah, and numerous others have dealt with the devil or not.
The judge in the novel states that adultery is a serious crime with serious punishments and tries to get John Proctor's wife to admit he committed adultery by asking why she dismissed Abigail from her service. John admits to the crime of adultery to try to prove that Abigail is a liar, and all those people she accused of witchcraft are actually innocent. The judge asks John's wife if he is an adulterer, but she says he is not to protect him because she does not know he has confessed. Even before the Salem witch trials officially started, John told Abigail that he does not love her and that they can not see each other ever again, she still tries to prove to him that he loves her, and she loves him. Abigail also repeatedly tempts John to sleep with her even though he is still married.
The crucible portrays injustice by how Danforth is not following court that is ruled by religion. Evidence that shows that it's injustice is when Reverend Hale asks Elizabeth "Do you know your commandments Elizabeth?"(Miller 496). Hale is asking her this to test
John Proctor’s words towards Elizabeth signal irritation and annoyance. John Proctor, the main character of The Crucible, has an affair with a much younger girl, Abigail Williams, breaking his wife, Elizabeth’s trust in him. Her suspicion of him rises when he tells her he was in a room alone with Abigail. Elizabeth’s growing mistrust begins to aggravate John, which is revealed when he says, “I’ll not have your suspicion any more” (489). Elizabeth is doubtful after learning about John’s affair with Abigail and her lack of trust in her husband begins to anger him.
In The Crucible, logic and reason play an active role as the counterpart to the fear that fills the Puritan society and the characters themselves. The characters Proctor and Hale represent the voice of reason against the voices of fear. Though they are outnumbered by those who give in to the paranoia, they stick with what they believe is right despite knowing they will become a pariah. On the other hand, Danforth and Parris represent the driving forces of fear and paranoia that plagues the minds of the people in their society. Society’s reaction to their driving force is to comply because to do otherwise is to be an outcast, and to be an outcast could result in one’s death.
Reverend Parris was having a conversation with Abigail about what happened in the forest. He was very confused about the answers he was getting from Abigail, and if they were true why was Betty still asleep? Parris told her that if she did not tell the whole truth he could not go and disclaim the accusations of witchcraft if he did not have all of the truth. She replied by saying “We did dance, uncle, and when you leaped out of the bush so suddenly, Betty was frightened and then she fainted. And there’s the whole of it.
Abigail is extremely concerned with her well-being and reputation. In Act One, Reverend Parris confronts Abigail about dancing in the forest, and, instead of confessing, she begins denouncing others. This illustrates how she is willing to allow others to be harmed because of her extreme fear. One example of this is when Abigail states, “Not I sir—Tituba and Ruth” (Miller 15). The character of the residents of Salem is not exceptional.
After Parris saw Abigail and the girls dancing in the forest, he realized his household could very well be “the very center of some obscene practice” and his initial thoughts regard the possible danger to his reputation if the people of Salem find out that his relatives are engaging in witchcraft (pg). He expressed to Abigail and Mary that their actions could ruin his longing fight “to bend.. stiff necked people to [him]” indicating that the girls can possibly ruin the good name he worked hard to achieve (11). Parris later continued to scold Abigail, disregarding his daughter Betty in her critical state, about potentially ruining his name, now that “good respect is rising for [him] in the parish” (11). In addition, during the trials, Parris was aware of the fact that the people being accused were actually innocent, but refuses to vouch for them because as the bible would be contradicted. Parris would rather watch people being wrongly accused than to damage his name, showing his care for himself and his name
Proctor!" (-Parris Last Page in Crucible) By sacrificing his integrity in the beginning of the story for wealth and power he created an image of a villain for himself, but by the end once he realized the state of his integrity he attempted to save John helping restore his integrity and made him less of a villain. Integrity is an essential piece of heroism, this can especially be seen in the novel "The Crucible" as the two ideals of integrity and heroism collide. This is seen through such characters like Abigail, John, and Parris all of whom exhibit the polar opposites as well as the in
In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, the setting is Salem, Massachusetts during the late 1600s where the town’s pious Puritan beliefs directly influence their government. A 17-year-old girl named Abigail Williams had an affair with John Proctor, a wealthy, married man. Abigail is told by John to move on but instead, Abigail starts accusing the townspeople of witchcraft, including John Proctor’s wife Elizabeth. As this hysteria begins to rise, other people such as Thomas Putnam, a rich landowner, start to also allege Salem villagers. In this play, the author illustrates the central idea that people should not allow jealousy to control their actions.