The trials start, in which the girls act as though they have a direct connection to God, led by the now powerful Abigail. Townsfolk soon have suspicions of Miss Williams affair with John, Abigail finds this power she has and takes advantage of it. One accusation against even the most well-respected villagers accused of devil worship was prosecuted. Abigail is convinced that after her affair with John Proctor, that he is in love with her, her jealousy of his wife and desire for him gets out of hand, she is labelled a “whore” and a “harlot”. John Proctor – John is an honest, blunt-spoken, good man with a temper.
Firstly, Deception is a major theme within the play. Despite Richard’s physical deformity he was still charismatic and could effectively play with people’s emotions. Richard, after killing Anne’s husband seeks to gain her hand in marriage but was cursed by her saying "Never hung poison on a fouler toad. Out of my sight! Thou dost infect mine eyes.” In spite of her obvious dislike towards him, he successfully wins her over by falsely proclaiming his love for her saying “Your beauty was the cause of that effect; Your beauty: which did haunt me in my sleep.” The diction used in this scene highlights Richard’s deceiving skills.
Mrs. Cheveley, in response, belittles Lady Chiltern and toys with her, utilizing her quick wit and humor. Then, as Mrs. Cheveley discovers that Lady Chiltern was the one who told Robert to send the vile letter, the tone shifts completely. Mrs. Cheveley starts to her feet and demands that Robert writes the letter. She proceeds to show how she controls Robert’s fate due to his impure past. Lady Chiltern, still unaware of the exact nature of Robert’s past, defends her husband unreservedly.
Hysteria leads the people of Salem to believe that those who were friends are executing witchery and associating themselves with the devil. The continuous accusations of witchery present the people of Salem with a chance to redeem long-term grudges. The abundant case of Abigail Williams uses the current situation to indict charges on Elizabeth Proctor, having her sent to jail. Not to be entirely blamed, Reverend Parries also pronounces his placement in society by accusing the people who question his authority. Hysteria can prosper from those who feed off of it.
Nathaniel Hawthorne uses symbolism to convey the theme that evil and good are in the eye of the beholder. The scarlet “A” that Hester is condemned to wear is a material brand of her sin. To the eyes of the community and Hester herself, the “A” is a sign of adultery, penance, and penitence. Although Hester sees it as this, she is not ashamed of her brand. This is demonstrated in the text “Those who had before known her, and had expected to behold her dimmed and obscured by a disastrous cloud, were astonished, and even startled, to perceive how her beauty shone out, and made a halo of the misfortune and ignomity in which she was enveloped” (40).
In Chaucer's famous work The Canterbury Tales, he points out many inherent flaws of human nature, all of which still apply today. The best example of this is illustrated in "The Pardoner's Tale." The main moral that must be learned is “Greed is the root of all evil.” His account of three rioters who set out to conquer Death and instead deliver it upon each other, as well as the prologue which precedes the tale, reveal the truthfulness of the above-mentioned statement as it applies to humanity in general and the Pardoner himself. The Pardoner was an expert at exploiting parishioner's guilt for his financial gain. He sold them various relics that supposedly cured illness ranging from sick cattle to jealousy.
Miller leaves the audience with a negative impression of the affect that these with power can have over others as he conveys the suffering that can result from such situations. Abigail lies to conceal her affair, and to prevent charges of witchcraft. Lowering her eyes to Parris, Abigail innocently pleads “we never conjured spirits”. Abigail shifts the focus away from herself, finding an avenue of power and takes full advantage of it. Ruthlessly accusing others of witchcraft she changes her story as a desperate act of self-preservation, “I danced with the devil; I saw him; I wrote in his book; I go back to Jesus; I kiss his hand.
/ Commend me to my kind lord. O, farewell” (Act 5, Scene 2).Her love and incorruptibility is shown in her willingness to take credit for her own murder, thus never blaming her husband for his deed. 2) Emilia marriage to Iago is a complete contrast to Desdemona and thus they both develop a sisterhood borne out of the troubles with their own marriages. Emilia is more cynical and bitter in terms at looking at love in general, she is aware of her husband’s lust for power and sees and lives with his misogynic treatment of her and women, yet is perfectly willing to please him by gratifying his hunger for power, giving him the final weapon for his revenge. However, after Desdemona’s murder, she proves to be a key figure in
Although his wife, Elizabeth Proctor is nice enough that can forgive his sin, John Proctor has his mind set that he will not confess to anyone else, in fear of running his good name. The affair between John and Abigail causes the start of chaotic witchery and accusation. Abigail became very jealous of Elizabeth Proctor. John realizes there is only way to stop all the witch hysteria in Salem, and that would be to confess adultery. He knows what he should do, but he continues to deny, until his wife is put into jail.
"Boyce talks of the jealousy and hate that drives Iago to deceive the moor to "show how a noble man can lose faith and go in a frenzy caused by the loss of trust." (Boyce 570). Othello is tricked into believing all the wrong things which causes him to lose his sanity. Over his web article critic Christopher Baker says that Iago's only reason for all of his evil plans to infect Othellos mind with lies were because he wanted revenge for not being promoted. He thinks that all the tragedy that takes place "shows the true means of physcological derangement."