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What Role Did Betty Play In The Crucible

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In Arthur Miller's book The Crucible, he writes about the Salem Witch Trials. The salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people that were being accused of witchcraft. Although The Crucible was based on true events, Arthur Miller altered some information to make the book more interesting. Most of the characters in The Crucible are based on real people, however, some characteristic are not all accurate. For example, Betty Parris’s character was slightly changed to add drama to the play. In the play, Betty Parris was the daughter of Reverend Parris. In the beginning of the play Betty was unconscious and no one knew what was wrong with her. Abigail Williams, Betty’s cousin, claimed that Betty and many other girls were dancing in the woods and when Reverend Parris caught them in the act Betty was afraid of getting in trouble so she pretended to be sick. To justify what the girls had did they claimed that there was witchcraft involved which made them do what they did. Throughout the play, Betty and Abigail go around …show more content…

Betty moved to Salem with her family and slave, Tituba, in November of 1689 when her father, Samuel Parris, was appointed the new minister of Salem village. Betty had been the first afflicted girl and one of the chief accusers during the Salem Witch Trials. In 1691 some of the afflicted girls reportedly dabbled in fortune-telling techniques. Betty began acting strange. Betty would hide under furniture, complained of fever, barked like a dog, and would scream and cry out in pain. Not long after, Abigail started to show these same symptoms. Doctors were unable to find anything physically wrong with the girls and determined that the girls must be bewitched. Betty’s parents soon sent Betty away from Salem in attempts to cure and prevent her from getting further involved in the witch trials. Betty still had fits but soon

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