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.
The people of the town were pressured, accused, and tested simple tests but the girls would scream with such pain whenever the accused spoke. The victims, the girls, and the judges all were consumed in the anarchy and lost all sanity. Were people convicted of not only being witches in Salem but across the country suspicion arose and people convicted women of being witches for the simplest causes. Two girls took a joke way too far and caused disorder across the country. Not all "witches" were from Salem, MA.
THE CRUCIBLE Character analysis Abigail Williams – Abigail Williams is an orphan, unmarried but has an affair with married man John Proctor. From the start of the play Abigail is a villain, she tells lies and manipulates everyone to fit her own little world, all so she gets her way, to get revenge on Elizabeth Proctor. Throughout the hysteria Abigail is driven by sexual desire, lust for power and jealousy. All of the young girls in Salem have no authority, the minister and other male adults are God’s representatives. The trials start, in which the girls act as though they have a direct connection to God, led by the now powerful Abigail.
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.
Both plays show fearless women who intervene with political matters and cause tension within the kingdom. Lady Macbeth questions her husband and pressures him into being more aggressive, while Antigone defies Creon by burying her dead brother, Polynieces. Both Lady Macbeth and Antigone defy the social and political expectations of their society by adopting the expected behaviors of the opposite gender. Lady Macbeth disregards the social and political norms by wanting to become more masculine and aggressive. While she prepares to exterminate the current king, she cries out “Unsex me here,/ and fill me from the crown to the toe top-full/ Of direst cruelty.” (Shakespeare.
The witches are shown as figures that seem to trigger Macbeths murderous ambition, as their prophesy leads Macbeth to first consider killing Duncan, to gain power. But the witches never actually say anything about murder; all they do is tell Macbeth he s going to be King. Macbeth himself as man, questions how, and makes the evil plot, leaving the witches looking as if they are the evil figure. Is there a reason that witchcraft is only represented as evil women? Sexism is displayed through the witches in “Macbeth”.
Once Tituba confessed to witchcraft, Abigail joined in by accusing others of witchcraft so the negative attention would not be on the girls. Once Abigail started accusing people, Betty woke up from her “infinite” sleep and joined in along with the other girls. When the trials began, it was Abigail who kept the charade going by pretending that the accused were casting their spirits upon her and the other girls in the court room. Abigail led the girls by crying out in pain, pretending to see things and shivering. When the affair with John Proctor almost came up, Abigail was quick to turn on whoever went against
Abigail Williams cried witch on Elizabeth Proctor (John Proctor’s wife) to eliminate Elizabeth. Other characters began to seek their own revenge and called witch on each other. The drives the characters have definitely move the plot forward, but also give us an insight to why
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”.
The Tragedy of Macbeth The ominous theme that echoes throughout the play reminds the reader of the constant struggle between the natural and supernatural forces in Macbeth. The prophecy of the three witches set the play in motion. With these prophecies, the weird sisters exert control over every aspect of Macbeth’s life. This might cause one to question whether Macbeth’s actions were motivated just by the prophecy. In the end, the temptation to carry out the witch's prophecy force Macbeth to follow a path drenched in blood, a choice he did not make.