More handpicked essays just for you.
The Crucible: How Is It Relevant to Today's Society? Essay
The social criticism of the crucible
The Crucible: How Is It Relevant to Today's Society? Essay
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
In The Crucible, a play by Arthur Miller, people who previously did not have power in the community of Salem saw the witch trials as a method to get revenge on those whom they disliked. In a patriarchal society, women didn’t have much of a say, and were confined to live a domestic life inside of their private homes. A normal teenage girl, Abigail Williams, took the opportunity of being listened to in order to aid her in renewing her relationship with John Proctor. In Act I, Abigail and her friends were just another face in the community of Salem Massachusetts until the hysteria reached the town. Once the trials had begun, Abigail and her friends claimed that they had seen Satan with whom they accused in order for the judges to believe what
The Crucible Accusations In The Crucible written by Arthur Miller there are a couple events that take place where people declare and accuse innocent people of witchcraft. Who are these peple? Are the innocent themselves?
In “The Crucible” we see multiple characters develop strong characteristics. Abigail Williams is a primary accuser during the Salem Witch Trials. This particular character is static in terms of characteristic development. Through Abigail’s words and actions it is evident that she is exceedingly manipulative.
In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, the setting is Salem, Massachusetts during the late 1600s where the town’s pious Puritan beliefs directly influence their government. A 17-year-old girl named Abigail Williams had an affair with John Proctor, a wealthy, married man. Abigail is told by John to move on but instead, Abigail starts accusing the townspeople of witchcraft, including John Proctor’s wife Elizabeth. As this hysteria begins to rise, other people such as Thomas Putnam, a rich landowner, start to also allege Salem villagers. In this play, the author illustrates the central idea that people should not allow jealousy to control their actions.
In The Crucible, the desire for power is prominent, which causes characters in the play to avert events. The church and the Bible were the two main sources of evident power. They held the community together and helped make decisions upon accusations. Abigail, due to her obsession with John Proctor, gained power because she just wanted to get rid of Elizabeth Proctor, his wife, thus she began the hysteria. With this, she was looked up to as a savior because she was ‘cleansing’ Salem of witchcraft.
In the play, The Crucible by Arthur Miller, Abigail and her friends participate in activities that, in their society, are associated with devil worship and aren’t looked upon favorably, such as singing, dancing and being naked. In an attempt to avoid punishment, the girls cruelly tell the townspeople that other residents of the town, people that the girls didn’t particularly like, were possessed and forced the girls to dance for the devil. After his wife is accused, John Proctor is faced with the decision to tell the truth in order to free his wife from persecution or keep quiet for Abigail who he had an affair with. The author of this play, Arthur Miller, displays cruelty through Abigail’s accusations of innocent people During the Salem Witch
In times in hysteria and crisis, people will do all they can do to redirect blame from themselves. This is exemplified in The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, and “Half Hanged Mary”, by Margaret Atwood. The Crucible is a story about a Puritan village that experiences a major crisis in which people, predominantly women, are believed to be witches. This causes a series of events in which people are hanged, simply for being alive. Half Hanged Mary is a poem about a woman who is hanged for being a witch, but does not die.
In the play, The Crucible by Arthur Miller, authority causes hubris within characters which allows them to persuade the witch trials negatively. Abigail Williams, the niece of Reverend Parris, gains authority through her multiple accusations during the trials. Later she uses her power to stretch the witch trials onward by threatening the judges to believe her or go against God. Abigail has caused an uproar in the town which leaves people in fear and torn between what to believe. Judge Danforth, on the other hand, uses his authority in a slightly different way to influence the trials.
Have you ever been in so deep that the only way you could get out was to confess. Mass hysteria is a phenomenon that spreads fear among a group of people. In The Crucible, hysterical fear becomes an unconscious means of expressing the resentment and anger suppressed by strict Puritan society. Some citizens of Salem use the charge of witchcraft willfully and for personal gain, but most are overcome by the belief that the devil is attacking Salem. Danforth could have prevented Salem by realizing he was wrong and accepting the pleas and confessions of the innocent, This compares to the AIDs epidemic of the late 70’s and 80’s because everyone assumed without using facts.
In "The Crucible”, by Arthur Miller, the author effectively employs Reverend Parris’s interrogation of Abigail to develop the theme of hysteria and fear in the play, intensively questioning Abigail on witchcraft and her related activities. Miller uses excessive efforts in his writing in order to shut down his fear of the devil, creating a tense atmosphere throughout the scene. Enriching the passage with its presence, the irony finds its place within the depths of “The Crucible'' as Miller skillfully employs this technique to create a compelling contrast between what the reader knows and what the characters in the story are unaware of. The audience possesses a privileged understanding of the girls’ illicit activities in the woods, clandestine
Humans by nature are very selfish and only care themselves. People throughout history have tried to save themselves in any way they can and The Crucible is no exception. Abigail in The Crucible, demonstrated a need of self-preservation, which affected the outcome of the trials which led to executions. She only cared about herself and no one else and it did not matter at all what happened to John Proctor or any of the other girls. Abigail Williams encouraged the girls to take part in some type of witchcraft late at night, and the girls got caught.
“This won’t hurt me more then it will hurt you!” Why must people possess the undying urge to sacrifice someone else's life to satisfy there own selfish desires?Why must lust,jealousy and greed all lead to death?Looking back into the Salem witch crafts of 1962, there are three characters in particular that showed the most vengeful tendencies of them all. Arthur Miller timeless classic,“The Crucible”demonstrates the fight between good, and evil by showing traits of human conditions that each, and every generation is cursed to obtain. The most obvious character that showed the most hateful intentions right from the start was Ms Abigail Williams. There are many things our sweet Abby does to show her vengeful,and lustful qualities.
When Abigail is accused of witchcraft, she confesses and in order to take blame off of herself, she accuses many others as well. This sparks hysteria and conflict in the society that ends up costing people their lives. Many characters play a part in the outcomes in the story, however, some do so with more impact. Women in The Crucible are able to take power in their society as they find ways to influence and manipulate those in authority.
In the small town of Salem, religion was a strict priority, and strange illnesses like these were often thought to be the devil’s work. Miller demonstrated the paradox in The Crucible from the beginning of the play by allowing Abigail Williams and the other girls to unjustly accuse whomever they wanted of witchcraft. The play presented us how too much power is dangerous, for the temptation was always there to abuse it. Under the justification of a theocratic government, the people in authority in Salem abused their almost absolute power, destroying many innocent people in the process. What theocracy illustrates is how the law is not always based on truth, and that if it is not we should stand up to it.
Abigail Williams is not your typical teenage girl. She is a girl that will drink blood to kill someone, accuse people of witchcraft, and have a affair. By looking at The Crucible, one can see that Abigail Williams develops the theme of reputation, which is important because people who fear losing their reputation spread hysteria. Protecting her reputation motivates Abigail Williams to accuse others of being a witch.
