Proctors wife has been convicted of being a witch by Abigal and the towns men are about to take her away and Proctor stands in front of them and says ,“Youl’ll leave her out of sight and out of mind mister!”(202) Also when he is in the court house trying to save his wife and admits to having an affair with Abigal ruining hiss own name to save his wife. “I have known her sir!...God help me I lusted” (miller 221). Proctor throws his reputation away to save his wife. In Act five John Proctor threw everything that’s happened becomes a noble man. When he’s talking to his wife and makes the decision for himself “John Proctor: what should I do woman!”... “I’m sorry John it is not my decision John” (Miller 239).
Two passages highlight tremendous fault in judgment pertaining to witch hunting, both of which I will explain and reflect upon throughout this essay. During the first act, upon Mr. Hale’s entry, Miller exposes the connections between communism vs. capitalism and good vs. evil. As Mr. Hale holds that “the devil is a wily one” (Miller, 35) and must be stopped, there were many in both the United States and communist Russia who condemned the opposite party of espionage in an effort to undermine what they believed to be “good” in the battle of “good” vs. “evil”. Russia, for example, during the years of Stalin’s reign, held military tribunals for those accused of conspiring with the capitalists. The average duration of these trials was three minutes (class notes, POL 334) and, most always, the tribunal
“The Crucible” was written in 1953 and exposes the truths about the Salem Witchcraft trials, in Massachusetts. Ultimately, through their respective protagonists’ acts of aggression and violations of boundaries, authors Hawthorne, Soto, and Miller illustrate that the guilt derived from sin itself, especially if concealed from society, can cause emotional and mental torture, leading to everlasting internal punishment, and an increase in remorseful feelings. In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne depicts the consequences of concealing transgression through Hester by showing the internal punishment she faces and overcomes. Hawthorne opens this novel with a depiction of Hester’s punishment where she publically shamed on a scaffold and has no hope of hiding or concealing her guilt and sin. The author introduces an image of guilt and shame through the description of Hester as she appears from the darkness of the prison to the dazzling light of the day.
Not only does she deny doing witchcraft, she also manages to accuse Tituba of having full responsibility while she is the one who starts the whole thing. At the end of the chapter, she also frames some other citizens, saying that she sees them with the Devil. Her affair with John Proctor is furthermore exposed to the audience. Betty, Reverend Parris’s daughter, reveals that Abigail attempts to drink blood as a charm in order to kill Elizabeth Proctor, who is John Proctor’s wife. Moreover, when Reverend Parris confronts Abigail about being fired by Elizabeth Proctor, Abigail denies any wrongdoings.
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.
The Crucible is a play written by Arthur Miller regarding Salem Witchcraft Trials. The play takes place in Salem, Massachusetts during 1692. To summarize the play, Abigail, Betty, and other girls are seen running around the forest naked by Reverend Parris. Soon girls fear accusations of being witches and start blaming innocent people of Salem in order to get out of trouble. Giles Corey is one of the characters in the play, who is in early eighties at the time.
When Hales questions her about witch crafting, she responds saying, “‘He say Mr. Parris must be kill! Mr. Parris no goodly men, Mr. Parris mean man and no gentle man, and he bid me rise out of my bed and cut your throat!’” (848). Since Hale orders her to speak the truth about the devil, Tituba voices out all her hostilities towards her master, and blames that it is suggestions from the devil. At the same time, she can accuse “‘white people’” (848) with the devil. Hale claims that Tituba is “‘selected’” and is “‘chosen to cleanse our village’” (848).
“A person is either with this court or he must be counted against it, there be no road between” (Miller 87). This particular quote from Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, first and foremost portrays the intolerant nature of Puritan society in Salem, Massachusetts during 1692 at the peak of the Salem Witch Trials. The witch hunts stemmed from a mass religious hysteria that resulted in a tragedy of nineteen executions while hundreds of others faced accusations of witchcraft. Fear in such an intolerant Puritan society is what primarily fueled this mass hysteria that took over Massachusetts. Miller uses this tactic and focuses on emotions rather than logic to exhibit the psychological representation of a tense period in history.
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 shows Abigails desire to belong not only to proctor but also within the community, by taking Elizabeth’s position. Thomas Putnam seeks revenge on Francis Nurse by accusing his wife, Rebecca, of murdering Ann Putnam’s babies through supernatural means. This shows us that Thomas Putnam is accusing Rebecca nurse of murdering Ann Putnam’s babies in order to feel a sense of belonging in the community and create anarchy in the community. In Act four, Reverend Hale reports that the town is in great confusion because of the hysteria, using visual images of homeless orphans wondering the streets, abandoned cattle and rotting crops, showing that no one belongs in