More handpicked essays just for you.
Character study of the crucible
What character shows external character development in the crucible
Character study of the crucible
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
The Power of Influence In the Crucible by Arthur Miller Abigail Williams demonstrates the great influence one vengeful person can make. In the Holocaust Adolf Hitler demonstrates how one person can change the course of many peoples lives. Abigail and Adolf have a great impact on the acts others commit they show how fear and influence can have great consequences.
The Crucible was written in 1952 by Arthur Miller, the play delivers many messages and carries many themes throughout. Nearly every character in the play is put to the test to display an act of courage, weakness, or truth. Some characters lack these traits and never learn to have courage or display honesty. However, most characters are very courageous and demonstrate these acts throughout the whole play. Overall the theme of the The Crucible boils down to being about honesty, weakness, and courage.
Fear is of high importance of the human experience as it is a common emotion that all face. Our fears are often seen as a warning, triggering further impulsive responses when we believe we are in danger. Many have heard the phrase, “fight or flight,” however, there are typically four fear responses: fight, flight, freeze, and fawn. Such responses cause physical and emotional acts to be drawn out (Amy Marschall, 2021). The characters in The Crucible demonstrate each of these four fear responses as the witch trials begin in Salem.
“You should surely know that Cain was an upright man, and yet he did kill Abel. ”(Miller, Pg. 87) Cain killed Abel because of ambition. He wanted his sacrifice to God to be better than Abel’s, and when it wasn’t, this upright man killed his brother. This same force can be seen throughout history, with some major consequences.
Hale’s questions are leading and forcing Abigail to give an answer that incriminated Tituba. It is as if the society knows that witches are not real, but they are so against differences that they will do anything to get rid of them. So they convince people they are witches and instead of facing their views of people who are different, they execute them. Not only do the leading questions make the reader question Abigail’s credibility, but also our knowledge of the affair gives Abigail a motive to lie. Abigail’s affair with John Proctor leads to jealously and eventually leads to the accusation of Elizabeth
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.
The way someone appears, or acts, is not necessarily always correct or truthful. In the book The Crucible, the Forest Girls, Abigail, Susana, Mary and the others, effectively deceive the townsfolk into believing that witchcraft is practiced in Salem. Abigail Williams is not as innocent as she portrays herself. She misrepresents herself as a virtuous young girl who was unjustly affected by witchcraft. During an escapade in Act III, the girls become disillusioned by Mary Warren who attempts to expose the charges of witchcraft as mere acts of vengeance.
Guilt, guilt can mean many things. To most people though guilt means feeling bad for someone or feeling bad for yourself. Guilt often occurs when one is embarrassed or sad that something happened. Guilt can cause a person to assist the victim and help that person get better. Guilt is a very common theme in The crucible and is constantly shown in characters throughout the play, Reverend Hale is one of those characters.
Miller writes and displays how human feelings result in tragic consequences. The ceasing of personal intent and defects has an aftermath of destruction towards social ties and reputation. The author depicts that the trials originate from failure and the oversight of religious and moral applications during that time period. For example, Thomas Putnam acquires the greed and longing of land, while Abigail Williams’ envy and jealousy takes over and pushes her to hurt herself. These characters weren’t able to control their desire and rivalry, resulting in decreased ethos and embarrassment for the hysteria they created.
Character Motivation in The Crucible; Vengeance and Desire Imagine growing up in a Puritan society, constantly having to follow the strict and normally harsh religious rules that were at the very core of the Puritan life. You would think that the townspeople of Salem would have a mindset to obey all the strict rules, due to the fact that they were threatened by the looming presence of the noose. This was not so in the case of The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller. All things considered, the character motivation was completely different from what you would expect from a Puritan society.
Most people do not run around naked through the streets; they try to hide what lies beneath from prying eyes. Did you think I meant their bodies? Well….you are sadly mistaken because what I am truly hinting at are the innermost sins and secrets held onto by these said persons. When you have done something wrong and it comes to the surface for everyone to look upon, you tend to acquire a sense of insecurity. Throughout The Crucible; John Proctor, Abigail, and Elizabeth Proctor feel God’s “icy wind” and have their deepest hidden sins brought forth to the eyes of the public, making these characters feel “naked” to judgement from others and God himself.
Psychology and The Crucible The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, showcases a very good example of a sociopath. Abigail Williams, a manipulative girl from the village of Salem, always knows how to work a crowd to her advantage. She conceives a cunning plan to eliminate her enemies and keep her name clean when she is caught up in the Salem Witch Trials. Throughout this play we are given many good examples of how a sociopath typically behaves.
The Crucible by Arthur Miller was a play that was written in 1953, and had a strange 4 act structure. Contrary to the original 3 or 5 act structures. Originally, Aelius Donatus said that there had to be a beginning, middle, and end to a play (Protasis, Epitasis, and Catastrophe). Later, the Romans developed the 5 act play that had: A starting point, rising actions, the climax, falling actions, and the resolution. The 5 act play was commonly and popularly used by Shakespeare.
Abigail Williams is to blame for the witch trials as a result of accusing others. Abigail constantly lies throughout The Crucible to make sure she does not get caught. When one of the girls, Mary Warren, testifies against the others, they turn on her. The girls act as if Mary has sent an evil spirit onto them and Abigail exclaims, “But God made my face; you cannot want to tear my face. Envy is a deadly sin, Mary”.
The Crucible Essay The theme of hysteria is evident throughout Arthur Miller’s The Crucible and in everyday life and society. Driven by self-preservation, hysteria influences many characters’ actions and leads to the devastating witch trials in Salem. For instance, many characters in The Crucible are driven to execute drastic actions to sustain their reputation and protect themselves.
