Act 1 the Crucible

Act 1 Essay In the play The Crucible, our setting begins in the religious town of Salem. During the time of the play, the famous Salem witch trials were beginning to grow. While reading The Crucible, the term “breaking” charity was often seen in the dialogue. Its meaning is to treat wrongfully or betray. Some of the characters in the play “break” charity throughout the acts such Abigail, John Proctor, and Corey Giles. Abigail is the first to be the one to “break” charity. You could say she is the main reason for the Salem Witch Trials to have even begun. Her compulsive lying and backstabbing of many of her friends shows that she has broken charity. She accused countless numbers of innocent women of being witches or using witchcraft including her slave, Tituba. By her accusations, she had ratted out her friends and the people that thought Abigail was a friend. Her need to lie instead of telling the truth and making up false stories shows she has strayed far from charity. John Proctor is the second character in the play that has broken charity. He believes his affair with Abigail irreparably damaged him in the eyes of God, his wife Elizabeth, and himself. By having the affair with Abigail, he has betrayed and treated Elizabeth wrongly. She is nothing but a wonderful woman and wife but by his decision to romance with Abigail, their trust is broken and so is his charity. Corey Giles is the final character in the play that “breaks” charity. Giles’s wife likes to sit in corner and read a book in which she won’t let him see. Giles talks about his wife’s strange behavior and soon she is convicted of witchcraft. By talking about his wife’s peculiar ways, he has betrayed her and sentenced her to a trial. If he had only kept his mouth shut and talked to his wife, he wouldn’t have broken charity and she wouldn’t be in the mess that Corey had made for her. The play The Crucible brings up the idea of “breaking” charity. The fine examples of Abigail, John, and Corey