The Salem Witch Trials has developed its own reputation. Some people think that it was a good representation of older history and how it has helped our justice system develop. Others think that along with it being a good history lesson, the trials were also gave early settlers the embarrassing title of ignorance and selfishness. The play The Crucible shows us that the court was ruled by two things, The Bible and the value of people giving “their word”. Anyone could walk up to someone of authority and accuse anyone of doing something atrocious whether it be true or not. If the “evidence” supported the accusations, then the accused person was required to come to court and await their trial. On the other hand if someone was accused of adultery, …show more content…
With that being said, she is known for being a homewrecker and an immature excuse for a girl. There is conformation with these opinions, Abby had had an affair with a married man, John Proctor, and was trying to get him to choose her over his own wife. John confesses his sins to his wife and together they fire Abby as their servant and send her on her way. Abby, as furious as she was, goes into the woods with some other girls of the village and tries to get her uncle’s servant, Tituba, to cast a spell on Elizabeth that would potentially “kill her” (Miller, 1258- 1261). Before anything could be done, the girls were caught and they fled back to their houses. To avoid being recognized for her childish mistakes, Abby starts blaming Tituba for their meeting in the woods and , along with all of the girls, Tituba starts saying that she has come back to Jesus and had seen other women dancing with the devil. Some of the women being Elizabeth Proctor, Rebecca Nurse and Martha Corey, and all of which were innocent. The women had been accused only for their previous relations that did not benefit the other individual. Case in point, Abigail’s lust towards John is the only reason that the trials even …show more content…
The only form of evidence necessary to convict someone, was the word of another person that had been afflicted. They did not need to bring forth any composite confirmation, even though they should have been required to do so. The judge in the play, Mr. Danforth, frequently sided with the people that claimed to be victims of bewitchment. For example, on a day of trial, Mary Warren had come forth and claimed that her and the other girls were only pretending to be afflicted. In violent recoil, Abigail began to see Mary in the form of a bird that wished to do her harm, and she began to act petrified by trying to hide amongst the other girls. “ Mary Warren, do you witch her? I say to you, do you send your spirit out?” asks Danforth ( Miller, 1333). In his adolescence, Danforth comes to believe that Mary was enthralling Abby by casting her spirit out as a deadly bird. Even today’s general citizen would think that Danforth’s actions were beyond ludicrous, to imagine what a person of higher authority’s take on the situation would be quite
For example, when Mary Warren tries to stand up against Abigail and comes close to proving that Abigail was lying, Abigail is able to use the Deputy Governor Danforth’s trust in her to convince him that Mary is the one lying. By making up a story about a yellow bird, and with her friends going along with it, Abigail persuades the judge to believe her. Danforth says to Mary, “Do you know who I am? I say you will hang if you do not open with me!” (51).
However, Warren is worried that Abigail and the girls will get revenge on her. During Martha’s court case, Warren tells Danforth that the girls were lying about seeing and talking to spirits. Another issue is brought in the court when Giles accuses Thomas Putnam of using his daughter to falsely accuse George Jacobs of witchcraft, in
She quickly obtained power over the town by using her ability to manipulate people in order to get what she wanted. Abigail used this power to falsely accuse others of witchcraft and successfuly got them convicted and hung. She used her power to instill fear and to intimidate her peers, so they would go along with her plans. She used her power to her advantage. John Proctor is quoted saying, “Abigail, I have fought here three long years to bend these stiff-necked people to me, and now, just now, when some good respect is rising for me, you compromise it all” (Miller 1239).
I saw Goody Howe with the devil!”. Also, whenever there is a court or trial, and someone is accused Abigail and the other girls faint and pretend to see the devil or some evil spirit. Another one of the main lies Abigail tells is one of how Elizabeth Proctor is bewitched. Abigail wishes to be with John, Elizabeth’s husband, and seeks out to get rid of her. She does so by stabbing herself with a needle she saw Mary Warren stick into a poppet she had made.
Shortly after this, an investigator came to the Proctor’s home and found a poppet with a needle stuck in the side where Abigail had been stabbed, so witchcraft was immediately called. She took this issue to a completely different level, accusing woman after woman of witchcraft. Soon, people started becoming skeptic of the constant hangings of what they thought were respected women. Abigail could now be classified as a murderer, and her right hand was judge Danforth, an ignorant old man with the brain activity of a mosquito. Together, they killed many innocent people just because Danforth believed everything Abigail said.
John quickly realized his mistake and dropped Abigail, but she still has feelings for john and refuses to believe anything else. John comes to Abigail to tell her to stop the foolishness she and the girls are doing. They are interrupted by the scream of the minister’s daughter. The doctor soon demands to talk to the house slave Tituba; she is beaten until she confesses to witchcraft. She never participated in such activities but decides to “confess” to stop the beating.
The Salem Witch Trials The Salem witch trials affected many people. Salem Massachusetts has a deep history. It is known for witchcraft. Some were plead guilty and some were falsely accused.
Salem and the Accused An excerpt from Crucible, Stating the equitable way to arraign people. During the time of the Salem Witch Trials, many innocent people were under the accusation of being and/or dealing with witches or the devil to cause mischief among the citizens of the town. These allegation influenced the rifts in the town, and caused an isolated community in which everyone had a fear of be accused or affected. At the time, the actions they conducted could have seemed etiquette.
Danforth’s expert position further weakens Mary because as a Judge he has the power to make the final decisions. Despite this Mary continues to use her informational power to share her knowledge about Abigail’s deceitfulness, she also provides reasoning for the seeing of spirits and fainting. Once she reveals to Danforth and the rest of the court that her fainting was just a pretense, Hathorne questions “Then can she pretend to faint now?” (Miller 3.736). At this moment Mary has the potential to stop Abigail, for if she faints she can prove she and the girls were previously faking.
In Arthur Miller's "The Crucible", John Proctor is our passive protagonist as he tries to save his wife and others that were accused of witchcraft. Unfortunately, his attempt was in vain and his evidence had backfired. His knowledge did not stop the witch trials because of his self-respect, and the children's high reputations, and Abigail's tactful nature. John Proctor valued his self-respect because it made him confident and helped him stand up for what he believed in. John proctor's name was synonymous with honor and integrity and was most respected in Salem.
During court, Mary said she heard “the other girls screaming” and that Danforth “seemed to believe them” so she followed suit (Miller 107). Abigail and her friends saw the court believing their act, so they continued with their theatrics. This same display of emotion from Proctor also works at convincing Danforth Abigail’s words are not to be trusted, and her accusations against his wife have no
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.
Like Abigail utterly told liars about how Elizabeth spirit had stabbed her at the dinner table but actually Abigail framed Goody Proctor with the doll Mary Warren had made as evidence to stable herself. Also Abigail accused Mary Warren for working with the devil in the setting of act three in the courtroom. The girls in courtroom acted as if Mary spirit was attacking them ,to scare her back to their side. Giles Corey also accused Thomas Putnam for being gluttonous for more land and therefore accusing his neighbors for it.
One of the most powerful human emotions is desire. Everyone is constantly trying to fulfill their own desires. A desire or passion may be so strong it can conflict with morality. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, Abigail Williams, is driven to go against her moral duty and pursue John Proctor. She will stop at nothing to see her plan through.
The lies of Salem linger in the atmosphere as a wicked young girl’s sins fill the villagers with fear and shame. The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, presents many figurative and metaphorical trials. Abigail, the protagonist and root of Salem’s evil, in 1692. Abigail and Proctor are compulsive liars throughout the trials they face. There are numerous sins, but only three are looked upon (thesaurus).