Preview

THE CRUCIBLE

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
420 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
THE CRUCIBLE
Maria Blanco

The Crucible Essay Draft Fear and loathing can overpower all senses of reason. A doctor conducted that the children were suffering from the effects of witchcraft. Some people were actually innocent and they still hanged them because they thought that they were witches. Salem Reverend Parris attempted to capitalize on fear when he preached about the witches that abounded in Salem. Arthur Miller, in his drama “The Crucible”,illustrates fear through the actions and reactions of several of his characters.

In Act III the characters show lots of fear. For example, Abigail William for instance, fears discovery of her deceit in the town of Salem and commits all sorts of heinous acts to prevent herself,regardless of the harm done to to others. Marry Warrens is innocent and she's trying to save herself from Danforth because he thinks that she is lying when really she isn’t. Proctor is scared because he doesn’t want his wife to be killed and because he had an affair with Abigail.

Abigail shows many of her “acts” in many of the scenes to prevent herself from getting hanged. For example, in Act III page 1307, Abigail says “ A wind,a cold wind,has come. Her eyes fall on Marry Warren.” While Marry Warren pleases Abigail to stop lying . Proctor then says “They’re pretending”
Abigail acts as if a soul went inside of her, but it is all pretend. In Act III Proctor,Marry Warren, Abigail, Hathorne, Danforth, and the girls are in the court room. This Act shows on how they are all fighting for there lives,it also shows their anxiety of fear.

The town has many reasons to be scared of witchcraft especially because they were in risk of their lives,They were so scared that they kept their confessions to themselves . For example, Tituba knew that the best best decision was to just say the whole truth and she did. Tituba later said her confession saying that she had given false testimony in order to save her life. She claimed that her master did beat her

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    In this extract Miller depicts a conversation between Abigail and Proctor that hastily turns into an altercation. At this point in the play, Abigail and two other girls have briefly spoken about what happened in the woods, and mass hysteria is spreading rapidly aided by Betty’s outbursts. This helps Miller to portray Abigail’s many different personality traits as in this extract she is depicted as flirty and vulnerable in the beginning then increasingly becomes aggressive and angry towards Proctor; which is different to how she is with Mary Warren and Mercy as she is portrayed as powerful. The dramatic effects that Miller creates through his presentation of conflict are mainly plot and character development as through their altercation you see Abigail’s character being evolved but also through her clear hatred of Elizabeth it suggests that Abigail may try and hurt Proctor in the way he hurt her through punishing Elizabeth. This is shown in this extract from her reluctance to say her name and solely refers to her as ‘Her’ or ‘She’. The main expectation we have of Proctor is for him to display uncooperative features of talk. This is due to the affair as he wants to forget about it so when Abigail constantly brings the affair up in conversation we expect him to shy away from the topic. The main expectation we have of Abigail is that she will flout Grice’s maxim of quantity as she will be highly emotional when talking to him, which we can assume will make her talk more if he is displaying uncooperative features of talk.…

    • 731 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    sending their spirits on them. The even go to the extent to start shivering, passing out, and…

    • 463 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the play, Abigail is only seventeen when the affair occurs. Being a young and naive girl, she mistakes the actions for love and expects John to leave his wife. When he rejects her, she takes matters into her own hands and tried to get rid of Elizabeth Proctor by using Tituba’s magic. When that fails, she blames Elizabeth and others in the town for using witchcraft. This only backfires because John becomes desperate to save his wife. Also, Abigail takes advantage of her friends and does not use witchcraft but still manages to control them. They all support and testify to Abigail’s claim. The play revolves around Abigail doing anything for his attention including being responsible for the death of many. Even though she is young, she proves she is smart enough to manipulate and bend a whole town at her will, control her friends and betray her only family all in the name of her love for John Proctor. Overall, Abigail portrays the same perseverance Elizabeth does for the one they love and are strong minded women refuse to…

    • 537 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    One thing the people in the crucible were afraid of was witches. If anyone was accused of being a witch, they had to tell on other people or they would be killed. To prove if someone was a witch they would hold them under water and if they survived they were a witch. They soon realized that they were killing tons of innocent people that were not witches. The people were also afraid that Abigail would accuse them of being a witch.…

    • 184 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    John Proctor Sacrifice

    • 1868 Words
    • 8 Pages

    She was then taken in by Reverend Parris, her uncle, and was able to find employment in the Proctor household, which led to the development of the conflict in The Crucible. Abigail was sent away from the Proctor household after Elizabeth found out about the lecherous acts between Abigail and John Proctor. The build up of experiences, from the murder of her parents up until the first act probably led her to the current disposition she is in during the play. She easily prioritizes her own desires at the expense of others, even going to the extent of cursing Elizabeth Proctor during prior to the first act and, later on, blaming Elizabeth Proctor for practicing witchcraft. Abigail Williams does not seem to be bound by moral standards, as seen in her continuing active participation in the witch hunt and conviction of a number of Salem's citizens. Her knack for mischief develops further towards the third act, when Mary Warren came forward with the claim that she had lied about being afflicted by supernatural forces. This statement could have displaced the previous accusations that Abigail and her friends had given in the past. Abigail, recognizing the possibility of being imprisoned for deceiving the court, started acting as if Mary Warren had cast her spirit on Abigail and her friends. Mischief turned into vengeance at this point, when the girls were too deep into their lie that self-preservation and hatred towards those endangering that self-preservation fueled their…

    • 1868 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Human nature is the common feelings, characteristics, and behaviors of humans. One characteristic of human nature is fear. Humans fear the things they can not understand and when things happen that no one can explain, fear takes over and spreads like wildfire. “The Crucible,” a play written by Author Miller to express the panic and fear of witchcraft in the city of Salem, Massachusetts in the 1600s, follows the lives of multiple Salem residents and shows how the Salem Witch Trials affected their lives. One character in particular, John Proctor, is largely affected when the young girl he’d had an affair with starts the accusations against people in Salem for practicing witchcraft. John Proctor’s character is the epitome of human nature; his sins, guilt, loyalty, redemption, and his realization that he is in fact a good man make him an entirely human character…

    • 455 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Fear is an interesting concept. Fear can be spread like wildfire, it is like a disease that makes people do irrational things that they normally wouldn’t do. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, fear takes grasp of the whole village and throws it into chaos. Arthur Miller wrote “The Crucible” as a parable on what was going on during the McCarthy Era. The play was to show the social injustice that was going on in the 1950s. In Salem witchcraft was a big deal, people believed in it because christianity was the basic religion in those parts. Christianity believes in the 3 worlds, heaven,hell, and the present. So when there were accusations of witchcraft the town blew up with commotion and it turned everyone's world upside down.…

    • 616 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Abigail Williams - 1

    • 651 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Miller portrayed Abigail’s character as influential, "…strikingly beautiful girl...” (8) yet highly malicious with an "…endless capacity for dissembling…" (8) which is specified in Act 1. This represents and gives the reader an indication instantly, that Abigail can manipulate people using her looks in such a way that they crumble. As the play advances this is brought to action, especially with various members of the Salem community like John Proctor and Judge Danforth. She seduces John proctor with her looks to fulfill her loss of a man figure in her life. Furthermore, she utilizes her attractive looks to take control over the court. Abigail’s manipulation of the girls misleads the court by shifting the blame away from her and towards Mary Warren and Elizabeth. Thus, Abigail’s false pretence shows that she holds enough authority to make others follow her in her deceit, even if it is reflected as a sin.…

    • 651 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Salem Witch trails took place in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. It was a time where reason and facts become cloudy by unreasonable desires to place the blame for society’s problems on others. Many innocent men and women were convicted of witchcraft, and were sent to be hanged. Others spent many months in jail waiting for trial. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller illustrates the power of false confession and effect of fear in Salem proving that mankind will say anything to save their own life, when their life is in danger.…

    • 545 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Our fatal flaw often brings out the worst in us. The Salem Witch Trials, one of the most influential events in American history. The trials took place in 1692, Salem, Massachusetts. Historically twenty became executed as a result of “witchcraft”. The Crucible, a play written in 1953 about the Salem Witch Trials in 1692, Salem, Massachusetts and the townspeople are contemplating what to do with the prospect of witchcraft running amok in the town. Arthur Miller wrote this play as an allegory to Mccarthyism and the Red Scare, in the same sense that people are frightened by new concepts coming into their town and destroying life as the know it. Envy, we all will have a desire at one point in time; whether or not we let it consume us is another…

    • 2325 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Geography In The Crucible

    • 1118 Words
    • 5 Pages

    But it is the fear of each other rather than the fear of a certain group of people. The geography in this play is a small town with a dark and mysterious forest. This play took place in a time and area where a person’s main fear would to be witches, and to be accused of being a witch which was even worse. There was a lot of hysteria about this witch hunt. Everyone accused each other of being a witch in order to save themselves. Friends and family suddenly become enemies. “Now, look you. All of you. We danced. And Tituba conjured Ruth Putnam’s dead sisters. And that is all. And mark this. Let either of you breathe a word, or the edge of a word, about the other things, or I will come onto you in the black of some terrible night and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you.” In this quite, Abigail is threatening these girls too keep quiet so she does not have to be convicted of being a witch. Throughout the play Abigail lies and threatens people to save herself without thinking of the other people she hurts by doing this. In this setting, Abigail must play a dangerous game in order to survive. In the town, everybody knows about each other's business since the town is small. If a person in the town has a problem with another person in the town, then they can accuse them of being a witch and that person will be taken care of. With the forest nearby, it provides a dark and mysterious aura. You never know who…

    • 1118 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Crucible Themes Essay

    • 655 Words
    • 3 Pages

    peoples' fear of witches to convince them that she is innocent. Fear is also what turns so many people into liars, for they are afraid what will happen to them if they tell the truth. In this quote, said by Paris to Tituba, "You will confess yourself or I will take you out and whip you to your death" (1154). This quote shows how some people have no other options and have to lie to save themselves. The other way fear works in this play is when John Proctor overcomes his fear and does…

    • 655 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the play, Abigail Williams starts with little to no power, however, as the trails are carried out she becomes on of the most powerful characters, by the means of persuasion as she creates an illusion of knowledge. At the start of the play, Abigail is just a normal girl, but once she confessed to witchcraft her reign of power begins. Abigail explains, “I look for John Proctor that took me from my sleep and put knowledge in my heart! I never knew what pretense Salem was, I never knew the lying lessons I was taught by all these Christian women and their covenanted men!” (24). At the beginning, of the play, Abigail does not have much control over others as she is not well known in the town. Throughout the play, she gains influential power over others. We also learn that she is having an affair with Proctor. This affair causes her to get revenge on Elizabeth, Proctor's wife. The drama and lies she later creates lead to the increase of her power as she is able to accuse anyone. Once in court, Abigail accuses many of the women, some of them for no reason at all. She yells out, “I saw Sarah Good with the Devil! I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil! I saw Bridget Bishop with the Devil! (48). Abigail has this influence on the judges because she confessed to witchcraft, and dealings with the devil. Her confession made the judges believe what she says, as they do not know if she is telling the truth, or not. Abigail becomes one of the most powerful characters in the play because of her deception. Abigail uses her power in a selfish and manipulative way just so that she can be with…

    • 1035 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible it is explicitly shown that fear induces people to denounce their beliefs in order to protect their life from being threatened, or taken away. As seen in The Crucible, when someone is in a situation that impulses fear one tends to lie about certain details in order to protect themselves, without minding the effects on others. In this play Mary Warren, a timid and weak young girl, was the first to announce that the witchcraft accusations were nothing but false claims that the were purposely made for the sole purpose of deception. However, when the accusing girls began making false accusations about her the fear of being hung quickly changed her statement, thus turning her back on John Proctor and accusing him…

    • 611 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Crucible

    • 1728 Words
    • 7 Pages

    “Fear is simply the consequence of every lie”~Fyodor Dostoyevski. Dostoyevski explains that fear and lying come hand to hand. Telling lies creates a fear of being discovered having told a lie. In addition, one only conjures a lie if there is something to hide. Therefore the discovery of secrets also induces fear. Fear, whether it be fear of life, or reputation, can heavily influence the actions of society. It possess the ability to impair the judgement and actions of people. Similarly, in The Crucible by Arthur Miller, the townspeople are completely ruled by fear. This fear is mainly caused by the strict punishments given to those who violate Puritan morals. It also brings along a sense that one must protect his own life and interests. This need for self-preservation leads to widespread denial and in some cases, even the accusation of others. Governed by the terror of Puritanical law, the townspeople learn to fear its consequences and become quick to deny and accuse others of witchcraft to save themselves, which ultimately leads to the tragic death of innocent citizens…

    • 1728 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays