...a lie with more lies will achieve you nothing. The events that occurred in The Crucible are an exception to that saying. One of the protagonist in the play, Abigail Williams, uses lies on top of lies, to gain herself power. She uses this power to her advantage as the events that took place in Salem, Massachusetts unravel. Abigail started out innocent. She was in the woods with some of her friends. Things took a turn when Tituba started “conjuring demons”. All the girls went crazy. They danced, screamed, and took their clothes off. Salem’s reverend...
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...Abigail and the Crucible Throughout the crucible, the whole point of the story is to prove whether witchcraft is actually taking place, or if Abigail is just full of absolute lies. Abigail Williams was not the nicest of them all, but sometimes it seemed like she truly cared. In this situation, Abigail was absolutely a victim of her society because witchcraft was an excuse to show her mischievous behavior. It seemed as though Abigail was favored through the play. Abigail was a young girl who knew that she could win over the judge’s vote. There were times that he had no idea who was telling the truth and who was not. It did not seem to matter, whether he knew or not, he always ended up siding with Abigail. This caused many deaths that could have been prevented, if Abigail and her little friends learned to deal with what was given. Abigail was accusing people that she was mad at. In past events, John Proctor had seduced or taken advantage of...
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...In Arthur Millers, The Crucible, the Salem witch trails occurred. In Salem, while the Salem witch trials were occurring, the citizens tell many lies. This is one thing that led to the mass hysteria that defined the Salem witch trials. It also led to many conflicts between the characters in this book. This is because in the eyes of the puritans anyone who was involved in “witchcraft” was against the church and thought to be communicating with Satan and deserved death. One of the conflicts that occurred in The Crucible was between John Proctor and himself. Because lying is a sin and in turn causes negative effects, John Proctor is forced to face the reality and the consequences of his deceitfulness. In the play The Crucible, John Proctor, the main character, endures multiple inner conflicts. He believes his affair with Abigail Williams, another citizen of Salem, has permanently damaged him and his worthiness in the eyes of God. After scolding Elizabeth Proctor, his wife, for continuing to be suspicious of his actions with Abigail and not giving him forgiveness, Elizabeth expresses that she does not judge him, but that it is, “The magistrate sitting in [his] heart that judges [him].” Lying is a recurring theme in The Crucible and Proctor’s actions with the affair is an example of this....
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...According to The Crucible, lying is a constant factor in the play, and it always ends in destruction. Take Elizabeth Proctor, for example. In the beginning, she found lying a horrid thing to do; however, when the play starts to develop into the witch trials, she results in lying and basically kills her husband in the process. Although Elizabeth Proctor doesn’t change as much as other characters, her refinement did show the reader how lying is never the way to go as well as the beginning of John’s destruction. Prior to the story, one of the main conflicts is the affair between John Proctor and Abigail Williams. As his wife, Elizabeth knows of his affair: “I do not judge you. The magistrate sits in your heart that judges you. I never thought you but a good man, John, only somewhat bewildered” (Miller 18). Even when Proctor cheats on her, she does not sully his good name. Her actions are not immoral; therefore, it presents her as a rightful woman. Nevertheless, her reputable standard foreshadowed the inevitable....
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...these societies, Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692, is described in the play, “The Crucible.” Written in the McCarthy era, this play highlights the injustices during the Red Scare in America. As history continues to unfold, more links can be drawn between the message of “The Crucible” and today’s discrimination. The allegorical qualities of Arthur Miller’s, “The Crucible,” relate strongly to McCarthyism, but still have relevant connections to...
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...The Crucible in that it shows how that people have the tendency to lie and be deceitful. For instance, Abigail ends up getting eighteen people hanged when she lies about “drank a charm to kill John Proctor’s wife” (p. 12) and “never saw no spirits” (p. 54). Furthermore, the book shows how doing the right thing leads to dignity when John Proctor will not “lie and sign [him]self to lies” and hangs innocently. Finally, it shows how dark Judge Danforth’s lies are when he says “I cannot pardon these when twelve are already hanged for the same crime. It is not just” (p. 80). The Crucible shows how it is a human tendency to lie and not have much integrity. Greed is the second most important theme in The Crucible and is apparent through many of the main character’s motives. For instance, Abigail shows greed and jealousy when she tells John Proctor “I marvel how such a strong man may let such a sickly wife be” (p. 14), which shows how she is jealous of Proctor’s wife and is greedy in trying to get Proctor. In addition, greed is revealed in Parris when he asks, “where is my wood?” (p.16) and when he says I am paid little” (p.17). Furthermore, Putnam and Proctor fight over a “tract of land” (p. 18) and Putnam starts accusing innocent people of witchcraft in order to gain their land, which shows how greed only makes people do evil. Miller shows how greed is a instinctive trait in humans in his play The Crucible. Respect is the last theme that is important in The Crucible. Everything...
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...The Revolution in Salem: John Proctor The Crucible was a pay that was written by Arthur Miller in 1952 because he was accused of being a communist and he didn't agree with McCarthyism. During the Cold War many were accused of McCarthyism, which is making accusations without proper evidence, and Arthur Miller was a victim of this. Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible as an allegory to McCarthyism. Arthur Miller wrote about people being accused of involvement with witchcraft. Throughout the play The Crucible many of the characters are changing because of what is happening around them, with everyone getting accused of witchcraft. One of the main dynamic characters, a character that has a significant change in attitude, personality, or behavior, in this play is John Proctor. John Proctor is a considered an honest man in Salem. In the first two or three acts we see that John Proctor could be considered non-religious. John Proctor wasn’t very religious...
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...institutes” (Ericsson Paragraph 3). In today’s world, people lie. I believe that what Ericsson has said about lying and the ways we do it is absolutely true. In the play, “The Crucible,” people lied about witchcraft. In real life, different people lie about different things. In society, like the 2016 Presidential Nominees, they lie about many things so they can get your vote in November. Arthur Miller, author of “The Crucible,” based many of...
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...The Crucible Essay “Courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does no feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear” (Nelson Mandela). In simpler terms, courage is when something that a person believes in, is more important than the fear that comes with the consequences of that belief. The Crucible has many key themes, but the theme that has the broadest effect on the reader is courage. John Proctor is a great example of the courage shown. While, Abigail Williams shows immense cowardice. Throughout the Crucible many characters have to face the horrendous decision of whether to confess to have ‘been with the devil’ and lose their ‘good name’ or bee executed for that of which they did not do. John Proctor is a great example of a character with extraordinary courage. John although pressured to confess and knowing that he’ll hang, refuses to ruin his ‘good name’ and he does not fully confess to the crime. When Judge Danforth would not give up the argument with John to sign the confession, he asked, “Then explain to me, Mr. Proctor, why will you not let me have it?” (pg.1231). Proctor answered, “Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies! I have given you my soul; leave me my name!” (pg.1232). These quotes show how strong willed John is in not having a bad reputation and how John has great courage and doesn’t lie just to live. However that John may express great courage...
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...The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a play that is based on the Salem witch trials and shows how people react in mass hysteria. The mass hysteria was caused by the religious belief that witches were in the town of Salem. A story that was made up by the girls in the village to save themselves the punishment of dancing in the woods. Religion was used in the crucible to manipulate in many ways such as misinterpreting religion, manipulation through lies, and to enforce the strict rules that held the community together. The play of the Crucible is based on the real witch trials in Salem. Arthur Miller changed the real events to fit with the play better. Like the ages of the girls, making them older to fit in his time. The author also did a great...
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...The Crucible, Red Scare, and Palmer Raids are all connected under fear and lies. Throughout the events that occur, multiple lies are created which cause mass amounts of fear and chaos. This chaos weakens the place, causing its inhabitants to lose sight of the truth. As time passes, the severity increases leading to greater consequences. A mass of fear can all be created by one person. The Palmer Raids were a series of raids by the United States Department of Justice intended to capture, arrest and deport radical leftists. The raids took place under the command of A. Mitchell Palmer, Attorney General of the United States from 1919 to 1921, in November 1919 and January 1920. The Palmer Raids and these massive arrests occurred on the main basis...
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...The Crucible Thesis: In The Crucible, Miller repeats ideas to emphasize their importance in contributing to Salem; these motifs like names and lies are repeated to show their impact on Salem. In the Salem Witch Trials of 1693, there are many injustices committed against innocent people. The play The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, talks about how people falsely accuse others of witchcraft. It starts when some of the younger girls in Salem, especially the antagonist Abigail, are caught dancing in the woods and lie about the incident. They confess to witchcraft and falsely accuse others so they can be absolved of guilt. In The Crucible, Miller repeats ideas to emphasize their importance in contributing to Salem; these motifs like names and lies are repeated to show their impact on Salem. The motif of names is important to understanding the escalation of the witch trials in Salem. Names help make the situation worse because people falsely name others who are witches, which fills jail cells and makes the number of accused witches go up. People also try to protect their reputation. In Act 1, right after Tituba confesses to witchcraft, Parris and Hale try to convince her to name others who are witches. Tituba then says, “And I look- and there was Goody Good… Aye sir, and Goody Osburn” (Miller 47). Tituba is merely naming people to get herself out of trouble. During this time, it is not enough to just confess, they want you to also name others who are...
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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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...You may be asking yourself what does fear mean?? There a lot of manys for FEAR. The word fear mean something that can get you in trouble or you in dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat. Inside of you can feel that something bad will happen because of that fear you have inside of you. In the Crucible there are a lot of examples of fear that have been shown. To began, In the crucible there a lot of fear. From all the lies people start saying and then they end up believing the lies they have told. Like John Proctor one of the character from the crucible show fear. Proctor have been in a secret romance with Abigail Williams and he is scared that people with find out. If people start to find out then his reputation will get ruined, and...
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...The cauldron The Crucible a play written by Arthur Miller is a story about the the witch trials in Salem. The theme of Arthur Miller's The Crucible, is that dishonesty started and perpetuated the witch trials, while honesty brought about their end . The girls started the witch trials in Salem. Lies from the accused kept the trials going. The Honest brought about their end. The girls started the witch trials in Salem with their dishonesty and lies. It started when Abigail and Parris talking about, why they (the girls) were dancing in the woods. Then Proctor shows up and Abigail tells him the truth, Betty starts to scream and hale shows up Abigail tells him that Tituba’s a witch. “She sends her spirits on me in church; she makes me laugh at prayers”(Miller 46). In this quote...
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