Al Johri Ms. Hamilton English III Honors 14 September 2009 In Arthur Miller's classic play, the Crucible, Act II, Scene II was deliberately removed. This scene largely consisted of a heated conversation between the two protagonists of the play, Abigail Williams and John Proctor. At first, Abigail believes that Proctor has finally come to marry her; however, this misconception is cleared when Proctor releases his wrath upon her due to Abigail's baseless accusation of witchcraft upon his wife, Elizabeth. As the scene progresses, the reader sees how Abigail becomes so wrapped up in her lies and witchcraft, consequently diminishing her intelligence, and what little respect she had in the reader's eyes. The reason the scene was cut from the play lies in both the significance of the conversation and what it revealed about the John Proctor in terms of his affair and his character.
Instead, she continued her false accusations. This all accumulated to a major power trip by Abigail Williams that led to a demolished Salem, Massachusetts. She deserves the most blame because not only did she start the Salem witch trials but Abigail could have stopped
Abigial really ignites the fire by blaming Tituba for "bewitching her". As soon as Tituba confesses to witchcraft, to save her herself, and tells Mr. Hale and Rev. Parris that she saw Goody Good and Goody Osburn with the devil, all the girls start naming off names of women all around Salem that they supposedly saw with the Devil. Mary Warren is to blame for many innocent deaths as well. Mary was the housewife for John and Elizabeth Proctor.
Abigail realizes that by giving the names of people she saw with the devil she can control Salem because she has a good name and people will listen to her. June Schlueter and James K. Flanagan claim “.A shrewd opportunist, she turns her own violation of Salem law into an occasion for naming those for whom she has little liking and, in so doing, transforms herself into a local heroine.” (116) John Proctor knows that Abigail is controlling Salem with her accusations and recognizes that the only way to stop her is to sully her good name. When Abigail accuses John’s wife of witchcraft, he becomes enraged and claims “It is a whore!” (Miller 220). By accusing Abigail of being a whore, John is trying to ruin her name and stop her from making any more accusations, but by admitting to “have known her, sir.” is also ruining his own good
This vindictive hatred from Abigail soon prompts a witch hunt involving many innocent people: “Twelve have already hanged for the same crime.” While many panics, John Procter knows this from the start ; “this is a whore’s vengeance”. He tersely identifies the main cause for the witch trials to be directly linked with a spurned lover, who has become disemployed by Procter after having a brief extra-marital affair with her. Still overwhelmed with lustful feelings for John Procter, Abigail decides to manipulate the situation by accusing innocent people of witchcraft, to achieve her own revengeful goal. Abigail is not the only one who takes advantage of the witch trials, to accomplish their revenge. Thomas and Ann Putnam, as a resentful and greedy couple, will take it out on anyone who has caused them trouble.
The Crucible, by Arthur Miller can be superficially interpreted as a play that takes place during an era when witches posed a threat to people. With the villagers of Salem being a strictly religious puritan, any malicious event would have been considered to be the act of the devil and therefore were sought to be terminated immediately. It was during the early year of 1692 when mass hysteria rapidly spread throughout the people of Salem; with people being accused of consorting with devils and casting spells. These honest people were mainly middle-aged women who were childless or who were abandoned by their husbands. This trend undoubtedly represents the theme of empowerment and gender in the play.
The tone of Miller’s stage directions and dialogue ranges from sincere to parodying, but, in general, the treatment is tender, though at times brutally honest, towards the protagonist’s plight. The ‘American Dream’, ‘abandonment’ and ‘betrayal’ also work as important themes within the play. Many critics describe Death of a Salesman as the first great American tragedy, and Miller gained eminence as a man who understood the deep essence of the United States. After World War II, the United States faced profound and irreconcilable domestic tensions and contradictions. Uneasy with this American milieu of denial and discord, a new generation of artists and writers influenced by existentialist philosophy and the hypocritical postwar condition took up arms in a battle for self-realization and expression of personal meaning.
Arthur Miller's The Crucible was successful in fulfilling his intentions for the piece of writing. The reason why Miller wanted to write The Crucible was so that he could share his point of view on the world and on Communism. He wanted to show how many people were accusing each other of being a Communist. However, he did not write about Communism because he knew that it would not be published. So, he found a different event that was very popular and also had many elements of accusation, which turned out to be Salem Witch Trials.
People are not comfortable with the unknown, which is why they fear moving out of norms. Arthur Miller’s The Crucible validates his claim that when faced with their fear of the unknown, particularly the dread of social isolation, humans show trepidation. Arthur Miller supports this claim in his The Crucible through Abigail’s manipulation of the judges in this play. Abigail manipulates the judges by threatening them with the unknown so that she can continue her twisted game of accusing people of witchcraft. When Abigail first enters this play, Miller describes her in the stage prompt as a girl who has “an endless capacity for dissembling,” (7) to inform the reader that she is capable of justifying her means with her ends.
An opportunist, she jumps on prospects as soon as they arise. When she receives Macbeth’s letter about the witches’ predictions, she immediately begins plotting Duncan’s murder, and calls upon dark spirits to “fill [her] from crown to toe top-full of direst cruelty” (1.5.49-50) to assist her in getting the job done. While most women would never dream of summoning evil to become queen, Lady Macbeth will do whatever it takes to achieve the power she yearns for. She easily squashes her husband’s doubts in their scheme by belittling his manliness, calling him “a coward in [his] own esteem” (1.7.47) and other demeaning names. This type of manipulation comes naturally to Lady Macbeth, as does an attitude of relentless determination.