Differences Between John Proctor And Abigail Williams In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

In the spring of 1692 in the town of Salem Massachusetts more than 200 people were accused of witchcraft and 19 were hung for being convicted of witchcraft. In the story, the Crucible by Arthur Miller, Miller writes about the historical event with many twists and different dialogue. He creates an affair and different outcomes of the people in the story but keeps the names the same in the story. There are different occassions where Miller tampers with the real story of the trials; there was never an affair between John Proctor and Abigail Williams, and Abigail and Betty were not the only girls to accuse others of witchcraft. These small changes are very important parts of the story but are meaningless to the actual history of the Salem Witch

One of the biggest differences between the play and the actual trials is the affair between John Proctor and Abigail Williams. In The Crucible there is an affair that happened between John Proctor and Abigail Williams that leads to Proctor’s death; “Proctor: Do you look for a whippin? Abigail: I look for John Proctor that took me from my sleep and put knowledge in my heart! … You loved me, John Proctor, and whatever sin it is, you loved me yet!” (Miller 177). With the addition of this dramatic aspect there is a large change in the story’s pace. The change in pace is unfortunately highly impossible considering that Abigail Williams was twelve and John Proctor was around sixty years old. Multiple scenes follow this affair to emphasise the tension in the courtroom. But these scenes are also false because they involve the affair that did not occur in the Salem Witch Trials in 1692. The play also holds more additions for effect that were not factual like how Tituba was a slave from Barbados. She was actually not from Barbados, she was a Native American of the Arawak who was sold into slavery in Barbados and only worked for for the Parris’s from twelve to seventeen years old. Specifics like this are changed to allow Miller to expand upon them and gain more substance to write on. The Crucible is particularly different because of the affair and what follows it in the play compared to the factual evidence that would make it sound