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The Consequences Of Power In Arthur Miller's The Crucible

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Power is a huge aspect of how people see an individual and how they are treated in Salem, Massachusetts, which is the setting of The Crucible. Factors such as gender, religion, and how much land one own’s are truly what separate the powerful from the powerless in this Puritan society. However, a surprising person in Betty Parris is able to maintain great power from simply lying “asleep.” Although she must defy the odds of power through gender and age, Betty Parris establishes herself as the most powerful person in Salem through her ability to influence the actions of people around her and cause the town to enter a state of hysteria.
By pretending to be asleep, Betty is able to influence the actions of others by playing with there emotions and making them fear for what could potentially happen. Abigail is one of the only people who knows that this whole situation with Betty is simply an act. When Abigail is with all the girls from the woods, she is able to get Betty to “wake up.” After Betty reveals to the girls that Abigail was the one who drank blood in the woods, Abigail tells the rest of the girls: And mark this Let either of you breathe a word, or the edge of a word about the other things and I will come to you in the black of some terrible night and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you. (20)
Betty giving this secret has caused Abigail to become so worried that she has
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