The Role Of Envy In The Crucible

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
She has become envious of Elizabeth Proctor, who has made an effort to restore her relationship with John. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller portrays Abigail Williams as a young girl consumed by envy; her actions and desires deviated from her ability to evoke pathos to plead why she should be with John Proctor, yet her actions led to the demolition of Salem and ultimately drove her to the path of destruction. Abigail’s envy controlled every action she had. Abigail, a young girl of 17, shows your envy can change you for the worst. In The Crucible, Act 1 reveals that Abigail has had a previous affair with John Proctor. No one in the town knows that Reverend Parris’s niece and a respectable towns man had a thing together. It is shown that Abigail’s life is unsettled and why she wanted to be with John Proctor again and is willing to try and win him over again, while removing his wife Elizabeth at the same time. Abigail is setting out to get what she desires: “Give me a word John. A soft word … I know how you clutched my back behind your house and sweated like a stallion whenever I come near! Or did I dream that? It is she that put me out, you cannot pretend it were you.