...In this essay over The Crucible I will be talking about the concepts of weakness, courage, and truth that all play with the roles of characters in this story. These roles of the characters change throughout the story line and impact the outcome of the events. Weakness, courage, and truth were the main character traits of the story and those traits affected everything. First in The Crucible, weakness was showed numerous of times in many different characters. A person that showed weakness was Mary Warren. She wanted to stand up for herself and change all the bad things that the girls had done, but her weakness was being afraid of Abigail. When Abigail and the girls made it look like Mary Warren had control of them, Mary Warren wanted to be back on Abigail’s side due to her weakness instead of staying on John Proctor’s...
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...The Crucible Act Three Questions Short Response Answer the following questions based on your knowledge of the drama. Write a response on a separate sheet of paper. 1. Describe one piece of evidence that Giles, Francis, or Proctor bring before the court to show that the girls are lying. 2. What does Abigail do to distract Danforth from Hale’s accusations that she is lying? 3. How does Hale show that he believes that the court is not doing the right thing? Use three details from the text in your response. 4. Danforth explains that “. . . a person is either with this court or he must be counted against it, there be no road between.” What conclusion can you draw about Danforth’s character from this line? 5. How does Hale excuse Elizabeth’s lie about Abigail’s affair with Proctor? 6. Danforth explains that witchcraft is an invisible crime and that only the victims are reliable. How does his philosophy flame the hysteria? Use details from the drama to support your response. 7. How do Hale and Parris try to thwart each other, or act as foils, in regards to Danforth and the court? Use details from the drama to support your response. 8. Describe the point at which you think the plot reaches its highest intensity, or climax. 9. After the outbreak in court, Mr. Danforth makes the following short statement to Mr. Hale: I will have nothing from you, Mr. Hale! In your own words, describe what Mr. Hale has said or done to instigate Mr. Danforth’s...
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...against women. For instance, "Female Hysteria" used to be a medical term for women who showed any type of abnormal behavior. In fact, the word "Hysteria" is greek, meaning "Uterus". This is due to the fact that women are viewed as the weaker gender. The play, "The Crucible" by Arthur Miller is about a mistress name Abigail Williams what wants John Proctor to be her lover for life, but Mr. Proctor would not leave his wife, Elizabeth Proctor, for her. So, Abigail seeks vengeance...
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...Drama is created by placing ordinary people in situations of crisis or conflict Explore some dramatic techniques used to create drama in the crucible In his play, The Crucible, Arthur miller presents an allegory for McCarthyism through the use of the Salem With trials of 1692. In the crucible, miller uses many techniques to create drama to influence the decisions of the ordinary townsfolk. Drama is created by placing key protagonists in situations of conflict. The intolerance of puritan society towards new or different practices is one of the ways that miller creates drama. Another factor is the maintenance of personal reputation and the consequences of conflict upon this status. By manipulating ordinary people, hysteria also creates a large sum of drama. Through an analysis of Intolerance, reputation and hysteria, this essay will explore how conflict creates drama. In a puritan society, not meeting the social norms was seen as treason and heavily persecuted. This lead to an intolerance of anyone who did not worship god, and dissent lead to beliefs of Satanic activity. Judge Danforth quotes in act three page 85 "You are either with the court or against it". Miller uses tone to foreshadow what is yet to come in the the text. The tone of this sentence shows that the witch trials are the ultimate form of intolerance and hanging...
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...In the Crucible, there are concepts of weakness, courage, and truth that are displayed throughout the play and through significant roles. There are characters in the play that are weak in the sense that they are simply too afraid to speak, such as the character Mary Warren who was afraid to speak up about how Abigail Williams and the other girls were merely faking the entire situation. There is also Reverend Parris who didn’t want to admit that he had seen one of the girls naked and blamed it all on witchcraft. Abigail Williams is also a victim of weakness as she couldn’t keep away from John Proctor. Next is courage. Of course, John Proctor showed immense courage throughout the play by sacrificing himself for his wife and others who were...
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...Who is to Blame? In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, there are many different characters that could be blamed for the Salem Witch Trials. Abigail Williams is a seventeen year old girl that is in love with an older married man. In her hunt to have him as her own, she leads her group of friends to accuse his wife and many others of witchcraft. It is most clearly demonstrated that it was Abigail William’s flaws – envy, dishonesty, and lust – that led her to be most responsible for the tragedy of the witch-hunt in Salem. Throughout The Crucible Abigail is envious of Elizabeth Proctor, and tries to get rid of her. One example is, ‘Oh, I marvel how such a strong man let such a sickly wife be’ (Miller 470). Abigail is commenting on Elizabeth’s health. She does not understand why John would rather have a sick wife than her. She is jealous that he chose His wife over her. Then she commented, ‘You loved me John Proctor, and whatever sin it is you love me yet,’ (Miller 471). This shows that Abigail thinks John loves her, and she is trying to convince him to be with her again. Abigail’s envy of Elizabeth drives her to get many people killed. In the play, Abigail is dishonest, pretending that there are actually witches. She does this in order to prosecute Elizabeth proctor. She...
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...guilt for an event that never happened. During the Red Scare this is what was occurring all around. In The Crucible, Elizabeth Proctor was accused by Abigail William because of her hatred towards Elizabeth. In the Red Scare they targeted celebrities because they thought they were high targeted and could possibly be a communist. The Red Scare influenced the book “The Crucible” by reflecting the United States government with the court of Salem, people who were accused and arrested for being a Communist, in addition to fear with how scare tactics impacted societies. The Red Scare influenced the book “The Crucible” by reflecting the United States government with the Court of Salem. During the Red Scare, the United States government and the communist Soviet Union became engaged in a series of largely political problems with economic clashes. Both the Soviet Union and the United States’ intense rivalry caused tension between these two superpowers which raised concerns in the United States that communists were inside America might have been working as Soviet spies. These Soviet spies were said to perhaps, pose a threat to the U.S security. As for the Court of Salem, a group of young girls claimed to be...
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...The Puritans were a group of very religious people who travelled to the Americas to escape religious persecution. Their religion was heavily focused on the fear of Hell and sinning. This fear lead to the Salem Witchcraft Trials. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller many women portray different roles. In the play, Abigail Williams, Mary Warren, and Elizabeth Proctor all portray the difference in the treatment of women during that time. Abigail Williams is treated with more respect than the other two woman, because she was the first girl to to lie and give up the names of other people she claimed she saw with the Devil. Abigail was the niece of Reverend Parris who was the priest in Salem during the time of the witchcraft trials and was highly respected. Reverend Parris had been raising Abigail ever since her parents died when she was young. Abigail is confronted by Reverend Parris as to why she was dismissed from her nanning job with the Proctor’s. Abigail in this moment becomes very defensive and blames her release on the fact that the mother of the kids that she nannied for demanded that Abigail...
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...The definition of crucible is a situation of severe trial, or in which different elements interact, leading to the creation of something new. John Proctor had several incidents where he would have to make very important decisions that would be based on his morals and he managed to stay above and do the right thing. He can easily be identified as the character that defines the word “crucible” because he realizes the most important decision is to fight for one’s moral truth, no matter how harsh the repercussions may be. When John and his wife, Elizabeth discuss the happenings in the town, he only somewhat confesses about his lechery to her, in which he can be condemned for. She doesn’t take it the way he thinks she will and she leaves everything...
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...The Crucible This essay will discuss, explain and evaluate the main ideas, themes and interpretations of Arthur Miller’s, The Crucible. It will also explain and evaluate the language Arthur Miller uses and how it contributed to the overall success of the play. The Crucible is set in 1692 in the puritan town of Salem, Massachusetts, a theocratic society, where the laws of the land are laid down by the church. The main idea running throughout the play can be viewed as a direct comparison to McCarthyism which was happening in 1950’s America, in which members of the general public including public figures such as Arthur Miller were brought in and questioned over connections to communism. This can be seen as a direct comparison to people being brought into the Salem courts regarding connections with witchcraft. It was not until Miller saw this comparison that he then felt compelled to write The Crucible as he now felt he could get into the minds of those going through similar circumstances back in the Salem witch trials. Hysteria was the main cause of nineteen deaths in the Salem Witch Trials of 1692, and countless ruined reputations on account of Joe McCarthy. Hysteria does not just appear out of nowhere though. There are driving forces such as revenge and abuse of power that bring about the irrational fear that can take over society. These are the issues expressed in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. The Crucible is paralleled directly to the Salem Witch Trials and indirectly...
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...Katie Lewis Mrs. Miller English 11, Period 1 26 November 2014 The Good, the Bad, and the Witches Buddha once said, “There has to be evil so that good can prove its purity above it.” His words describe how there is both evil and good in the world. There is also both good and evil in Arthur Miller's play, The Crucible. In 1692, the witch trials played a huge role in the lives of people in Salem, Massachusetts. The townspeople feared witchcraft so much that it created confusion regarding who was actually a witch and who was not. Many accusations were made leaving innocent people responsible for the mysterious acts of witchcraft. Abigail Williams reveals her impurity by doing just this. Abigail constantly lies to the court and does everything in her power to save herself, even if it means falsely accusing others. In Miller's play The Crucible, Abigail Williams proves her impurity of soul by having an affair with John Proctor, lying to the townspeople, and attempting to kill Elizabeth Proctor. Abigail first reveals her impure heart through her love affair with John Proctor. Although Abigail is aware that John is married to Elizabeth Proctor, she does not let their relationship get in the way of her own selfish desires. Johns fends off Abigail when he says “Abigail, I may think of you softly from time to time. But I will cut off my hand before I’ll ever reach for you again. We never touched Abby” (15). Abigail argues, “Aye, but we did” (15). Here Abigail shows no guilt...
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...The Illusion of Justice One plus one does not always equal two. In the court of mathematics this arithmetic truism may be, yet in reality a courtroom is not pure, but laden with injustice. The courtroom in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, his recreation of the Salem Witch Trials in Salem, Massachusetts, is synonymous. The theocratic court reviews cases regarding witchcraft brought to the gavel by a group of hormonal teenage girls, who have been willing the court to arrest and execute whom they see fit. This literal courtroom is allegorical to the interactions of Senator McCarthy with potential traitors during the 1950’s. As the girls of Salem exploit the fears of their community, McCarthy capitalized on the fear of the entire U.S. nation: Communism. McCarthy’s tactics and actions were highlighted in a CBS broadcasting led by Edward R. Murrow titled, “We Will Not Walk in Fear”. The broadcast was received by the U.S. in 1954 during the Cold War, a decade dubbed ‘The Red Scare’. While the empowered teens of Salem and McCarthy were daunting, their injustices were matched by John Proctor and Edward R. Murrow, respectively. Proctor and Murrow fought against the false accusations and biased plaintiffs to stop the injustice posed. Proctor and Murrow combat their oppressors on the hollow claims made. Proctor is roped in to the Salem courts when his wife is accused. He points out to the judges that “so many of these women have lived so long with such upright reputation” (Miller 84). Proctor’s...
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...A tragic hero is a person who has heroic qualities and is fated by the Gods or by some supernatural force for doom or at least to great suffering. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, Salem was in a period of time where witch hunts were frequent which created chaos throughout the town. These witch hunts often targeted innocent, hard working people who were accused of witchery with no actual evidence. As a result when this conflict introduced itself to John Proctor, he exhibited tragic hero traits such as pride, catharsis, and nobleness. Pride plays an interesting role in the life of John Proctor in The Crucible. During the trials, Proctor daily wages an internal, war between his conscience and pride. His prideful mindset is what primarily caused his downfall; a person who rises and falls because of their own ignorant flaw, which is the true meaning of a tragic hero. Therefore there are several traits that exemplify a tragic hero in John...
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...At the root of the witch hunt hysteria is the prejudices dominant in the 17th century, that women were good, honest, and loving. Males and females are not treated equally, with women being treated as lower class. Because of the witch hunt, court sessions are held many times, and Mary Warren constantly leaves the house to attend court because she is ‘important’ to the case. At the same time, Proctor bans her from leaving the house because she needs to do her job, helping Goody Proctor around the house. “Be you foolish, Mary Warren? Be you deaf? I forbid you leave the house, did I not? Why shall I pay you? I am looking for you more often than my cows!” (Miller 1098). Cows are not treated well because they are just animals, and by comparing Mary Warren to a cow, Proctor is implying that she is the same status as an animal, at the bottom of the social pyramid. Like a cow, Mary is not only ignorant but constantly wandering off doing who knows what. Furthermore, once one is found, cows are easily manipulated into returning home, and if Mary is a cow, her being weak minded usually constitutes to her being easily swayed to the side that is acting more demanding. For example, Proctor and Giles convince her to reveal the truth, yet while in court, when hard questions are directed towards her, she weakens and agrees with the side that is tougher on her. The relationship between Elizabeth and Proctor is strained...
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...In The Crucible, Abigail is crazy. At the beginning she doesn’t seem as insane as she does by the end of the play, she just seems concerned about her and her friends being caught for “just dancing in the woods” and for her cousin, Betty, not waking up. As the play goes on her true personality shines through. She starts warning the girls that if they admit to anything that happened that night in the woods, she will come and hurt them in the middle of the night. She starts “seeing the devil” frequently, but really she’s just trying to get out of the situation that she’s in and accuse anyone of witchcraft, she also accused Goody Proctor of witchcraft just to have John to herself. When she had the conversation with Proctor about their affair,...
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