Mike McCracken American Literature Who is to blame? In The Crucible, the character Abigail Williams is to blame for the 1692 witch trials. Abigail is a mean and vengeful person who always wants her way, no matter who she hurts. Throughout the play her accusations and lies cause many people pain and suffering, but she seemed to never care for any of them except John Proctor, whom she had an affair with seven months prior to the beginning of the play. John Proctor and his wife Elizabeth had employed Abigail, until Elizabeth found out the affair and threw Abigail out.
Here, they have not used common sense, ignoring the possibility that perhaps the girls feared the consequences of their actions in the forest, the fact that they were young girls playing, not calling the devil. Furthermore, the arrival of Reverend Hale does little to restore common sense and reason among the people of Salem. Upon his arrival, his reputation as an expert in witchcraft is quickly circulated, fueling the people's fears that the devil is indeed among them. John Proctor, could see how Hale's appearance could add to the hysteria rising in Salem and was quick to bring this to Parris' attention challenging his decision to call Hale to examine the girls; "if it be not the devil, what's he coming for?" (pg 22).
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.
He asks Reverend Hale to resolve his curiosity about what his wife Martha might be reading behind his back, but instead rouses the town’s suspicion of Martha being a witch. He says to Hale, “I never said my wife were a witch, Mr. Hale; I only said she were reading books!” (71). Giles feels guilt for being responsible for his wife’s imprisonment and tries to defend her in court. Consequently, Giles refuse to give the name of the man who can substantiate his claim that Putnam is killing his neighbors for their land. If he gives the name, he would have to take on the guilt of selling out his friend.
Romeo and Juliet’s family despises one another. And they have been in a family feud for several years. They supposedly fall in love with each other as soon as they see each other. In other words they fall in love with each others looks. Romeo claims to be in love whenever he first sees Juliet, which is impossible because you can’t fall in love with someone whenever you know nothing about that person.
Brabantio had an extremely racist attitude towards Othello. He was so astounded and horrified that his fair Desdemona had even considered eloping with a coloured man. Brabantio refuses to believe that his daughter would have done this off her own accord. In fact he is convinced that Othello conjured some sort of magic and witchcraft and used it on his daughter. Brabantio made a very long speech about this and protested heavily that Desdemona had nothing to do with falling in love with the Moor.
Hysteria in Salem In 1692, in Salem Massachusetts, the superstition of witches existed in a society of strong Christian beliefs. Anybody who acted out of the ordinary was accused of being a witch and the accused would actually be forgiven if they blamed their accusations on another individual. In this play, a group of young girls is accused of being witches. These girls then blame other people in order to get out of trouble and even pretend to be "bewitched" in front of the court during a trial. This leads into the deaths of the innocent people who are accused and automatically found guilty.
Never Marry a Mexican (Sandra Cisneros) In “ Never Marry a Mexican” the narrator Clemencia does not want to get marry because of men’s’ infidelities and the hardships her mother experiences in her life married to a Mexican man. Clemencia believes all men cheat and either she is going to be the one getting cheated on or she is the one that’s going to make a man cheat. In the passage she states, “I’ve witnessed their infidelities and I’ve helped them to it”(Cisneros 179). She knows she has caused pain to woman and calls herself vindictive and cruel. Even though the narrator refuses to find love inside her race, she is battling between being a crazy, psycho whore and looking for love with men that are already taken or married.
He is a paradox in that no matter how hard he tries to clear his name, he cannot bring himself to forgive himself of his sins. Before the start of the play, Proctor has had an affair with the antagonist of the play, Abigail Williams. We see his struggle to forgive himself for his sins and clear his conscience throughout until he eventually refuses to live a lie and sign a confession of witchery to save his life. Proctor purifies his soul by telling the truth and saving Salem from the witchcraft hysteria. Proctors relationship with his wife is often associated with the cold, or harsh weather.
In the play many characters do not take responsibility for what they do see going on. As a result many lives are taken. For example, John Proctor realizes how dangerous the witchcraft accusations are when the court officials arrest his wife, Elizabeth, for witchcraft: "The little crazy children are jangling the keys of the kingdom, and common vengeance writes the law! I ll not give my wife to vengeance!” (Miller 34). Before his wife was arrested, John really did not see that the girls weren't just telling little “white lies”.