They deemed The Crucible was an allegory to McCarthyism. The book follows the events that occurred in Salem, Massachusetts. It portrays from the view point of the girl who started the witch hunt to townsfolk being victimized by the horrible acts of fearful people. The person most responsible for the epidemic of fear is Abigail Williams, a manipulative teenager trying to connect with her lover. Abigail Williams
Afterwards, Abigail's friend, Mary Warren, tells the court that everything was made up. Abigail and the other girls accuse her of witchcraft. Warren is terribly upset how her so called friends could so easily deceive
Abigail desires john, but he loves his wife. She confesses to have seen the devil and danced for him with all the other girls. Elizabeth gets accused of being a witch by Abigail. Mary Warren Elizabeth’s servant friends with Abigail, informs her that she has been accused of being a witch. When john takes Mary to the court so she can testify against the girls they think it’s a bit suspicious.
Many of these characters go through life changing events that change them forever. Even the neighbors suddenly turn on each other and accuse people they’ve known for years of practicing witchcraft and devil-worship. The town of Salem falls into mass hysteria, “an uncontrollable outburst of emotion or fear.” Arthur Miller’s play, “The Crucible” is about the Salem witch trials in 1860. These were classic examples of mass hysteria, resulting in the hanging of a great many respectable men and woman of charges of “trafficking” with the devil. They were convicted by people at least as themselves, largely on the evidence of four young girls who had been caught dancing in the moonlight and laid their dissolute behavior to the influence of Satan.
She begins accusing people of witchcraft to cover up her own lies and the accusations lead to 19 deaths by hanging. In the court, Abigail pretends to see the spirit of Mary Warren walking on the rafters in the courthouse. The two people who believe that Abigail lies are Reverend Hale and John Proctor, yet Abigail’s act convinces
One of the girls, Abigail Williams, is the cause of all wrong accusations and innocent deaths in Salem, thus making her the antagonist of the play. First, Abigail conducts in a brief affair with John proctor; then, she seeks vengeance
Throughout the entire play, Abigail Williams uses her good name to control Salem by accusing people of witchcraft, which results in the deaths of many people in the town. After witnessing Tituba confess to Reverend Hale, Abigail confesses “I saw Sarah Good with the devil! I saw Goody Osburn with the devil! I saw Bridget Bishop with the devil!” (Miller 189). 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.
When the trials began, many accused others of witchcraft and this lead to them accusing even more. The new news of the entire witchcraft epidemic in Salem left many disturbed and trying to eliminate the bad of the town. The novel allows the reader to reflect on the life of the Salem people and understand the happenings. One example is the reflection of the lives of teenage girls in the puritan society, sent by God to marry and have a family, lacking the happiness of teen hood. Thus, explaining a
When Abigail was talking to Proctor she says “She is telling lies to about me! She is a cold sniveling woman, and you bend to her!”(Page 15, act one) she is basically showing her jealousy towards his wife. This stirred up the witch trials because Abigail wanted to be with Proctor and she would do just about anything. The fact that John proctor realizes all of his flaws and confesses to all of his sins is another reason why he can be considered a tragic hero. When Proctor had to go to the court to get his wife out of being accused of upholding witchcraft he eventually confess to his sins he committed.
When Hale comes and visits John and Elizabeth Proctor; he wants to investigate the people who are accused in court. Elizabeth and Proctor are astonished when Hale mentions that Rebecca Nurse has been accused of witchcraft. In the Crucible Rebecca Nurse is pictured as a saint throughout the play. The first clue that shows Hale is beginning to notice something wrong is when Rebecca’s been charged by saying “God forbid such a one be charged” (Miller 1210). Towards the end of Act II he starts to have some suspicion on what is going on because now Elizabeth Proctor is accused of witchcraft.