Cowards In The Crucible

“...BETTY: You did, you did! You drank a charm to kill John Proctor's wife! You drank a charm to kill Goody Proctor!

The selfishness of Abigail is shown when Betty says, “ You did, you did! You drank a charm to kill John Proctor’s wife! You drank a charm to kill Goody Proctor!”(19). Another quote is when Abigail says,” Shut it! Now shut it!”(19). The quotes show that Abigail was trying to keep a secret from John Proctor. As seen in these texts, Abigail was trying to put a charm on Elizabeth Proctor in order to have John Proctor’s love. She really wanted Elizabeth Proctor dead because she wanted to keep John Proctor all to herself. This was very selfish on her part because she wanted John Proctor to be in love with her instead of him being in love with his wife, Elizabeth

In both The Crucible and McCarthyism, people are accused of being either witches or communists. The accused are placed in such a dire situation where they are either forced to lie to save themselves, or to remain honest, at the risk of their social or physical lives. In The Crucible, John Proctor is accused of practicing witchcraft, and when asked if he is a witch, he responds,“Why it is a lie, it is a lie; how may I damn myself? I cannot, I cannot.” (Act IV pg. 140) He refuses to confess to something he did not do, even if lying means that he can save his life. During the McCarthy trials, people who were accused of being communists refused to confess that they were, although it hurt their reputation. In both

Abigail Williams lies and manipulates others to save her own reputation. After being questioned by her uncle, Abigail lies about whether or not she performed witchcraft. She deceives Parris when she says, “Not I, but Ruth and Tituba,” which makes him believe her lies (Miller I. 317-318). The way Abigail lies about the women doing witchcraft shows how far she will go to save her own skin. Abigail tells lies to weasel her way out of getting in trouble. She lies to Proctor about what happened in the woods with the other girls: “There is nothing more, I swear…” (Miller I. 155-156). Abigail tells Proctor that she is telling the truth; even though, Betty later calls her out on lying. After Abby reveals to Proctor what allegedly happened in the woods, she goes and tells Betty about this to cover up what actually happened, but then Betty calls her out on her lies by saying, “You drank blood, Abby…” (Miller.I.444). This shows that Abby lies to Proctor to make

The Salem witch trials and the story of Joseph McCarthy are very similar; they both accused innocent people of doing things that were “bad” at the time. The Salem Witch trials were persecutions of men and woman on account of performing witchcraft. Two girls accused a woman of doing witchcraft and then the accusations continued, people accused other people to relieve their own punishment in a last ditch effort to save their lives, but it was in vein. After the witch trials were over “19 had been killed and an elderly man pressed to death under heavy stones”(Linder). “Some accused of witch craft were burned at the stake all in the name of justice”(Brown). Others were finally let out of jail after being in imprisonment for months at a time.

As J.K. Rowling once said, “It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends.” As a country, we have struggled with numerous situations involving individuals standing up for what they believe is right. But many individuals discover the courage to be able to express their true thoughts and feelings. In the play, The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, these types of situations are exhibited through John Proctor and Mary Warren speaking out against the town of Salem. This is also demonstrated in real life situations such as Martin Luther King Jr.’s fight for African American rights. All of these examples display the amount of boldness and strength it takes to repulse against society. Having true courage will notably separate a person apart from society.

In the 1950’s, Joseph McCarthy tore apart the fabric of our democracy by falsely accusing people of being communists. Joseph McCarthy coined the term McCarthyism for accusing people of doing things without proper evidence to support his claim (McCarthyism). McCarthyism is a way to blame a certain group of people for something that they did not do so the blame does not have to fall on someone else. Author Arthur Miller illustrated the events of The McCarthy period in his play The Crucible. In The Crucible, the town of Salem Massachusetts endures a time of severe trial, in 1692 when accusations of witchcraft tear the town apart. Nowadays, the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) community is being targeted and disrespected thus tearing apart the diverse community of America. There are many similarities between the McCarthy period, the Salem witch trials, and witch hunts in the modern world.

Innocent people were accused and blamed for witchcraft, in The Crucible and with McCarthyism, people that didn't practice communism were accused anyways. In The Crucible, Elizabeth Proctor was accused by Abigail, the reason she did so is because she wanted to be with John Proctor, Elizabeth’s husband. The proof they used was, ¨´Tis hard proof! I find here a poppet Goody Proctor keeps. I have found it, sir. And in the belly of the poppet a needle’s stuck¨ (Miller 78?). The truth of the matter, is that Mary Warren is the one that put the needle in the poppet. They used false and wrong evidence to say that Elizabeth was a witch. This was also shown in the article

In the book the crucible, it is about courage, weakness and truth. THroughout the book there are times where a character may either need to stand up and fight back or break under pressure. Some examples of what i am claiming are when abigail and tituba break under the pressure and say they were with the devil. Truth is also a big part in the book because all around were lies and more lies. A main example is when john proctor stands up to the little girl's claiming these things. When he shows courage against the children they know that what will happes is not going to come out in their favor. They create more and more false rumors but that is because they are too weak to tell the truth and face their punishments. I mainly believe that the

Abigail Williams wanted what was best for her. She did not care of others. Due to Abigail’s actions a whole conflict outbursts in Salem, Massachusetts. The girls have been caught in the woods dancing and even naked. They have been caught and accused of doing witchcraft. Betty is then “very ill” and they believe she is going to die. Betty awakes. Abigail threatens the girls to stay quiet. “You did. You did! You drank a charm to kill John Proctor’s wife! You drank a charm to kill Goody Proctor!” (Miller 18). This shows that Abigail Williams was a villain because she was hoping for the death of a person in order to get what she desired. Abigail and the girls were caught doing witchcraft. Abigail comes up with a different story to tell. “Now look you. We danced. And Tituba conjured Ruth Putnam’s dead sisters. And that is all. And mark this. Let either of you breathe a word, or the edge of a word, about the other things, and I will come to you in the back of shudder

171). This quote explains that even though Abigail worked with Tituba, she exclaimed that she has no business with her, and and is the innocent one. Eventually, Tituba is punished due to her workings with the devil due to Abigail not tell she also did the same.

In The Crucible John Proctor had an affair with Abigail, Reverend Parris had caught them dancing in the forest then in front of the court denies he had. It started a whole situation that could have greatly been prevented. Abigail wanted to get Elizabeth Procter, John's wife out of the picture so she could take her place. Abigail thinks that Elizabeth is out to get her but that's not the case, in this quote from the play The Crucible, Betty tells what Abby did in the forest, “You did, you did! You drank a charm to kill John Proctor's wife! You drank a charm to kill Goody Proctor!” (Miller 19). By trying to start a spell with

Many characters display acts of courage in Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible. Throughout the Salem Witch Trials, the characters are able to face the truth without the fear of losing. The three characters that show more courage than the others were John Proctor because he is honorable, Giles Corey because he is selfless, and Reverend Hale because he is bold.

Arthur Miller’s The Crucible is about the people of 17th century.Salem, Massachusetts situated in a dangerous and dynamic period. The Puritans of Salem joined the bandwagon of the witch hysteria that was first caused by girls falsely accusing others. The inhabitants of Salem feared for their lives as the people who were accused were subjected to death. However, the accused have a chance to save themselves by admitting to a crime they did not commit. Many took the opportunity for self-preservation because it is a human instinct of survival. However, there others who chose to uphold their ideals, name, and reputation. Self-preservation is the motivates the characters to behave and act when they are situated in a compromising situation about the involvement of witchcraft, but there are also times when it is abandoned.

Joseph McCarthy, the notorious US senator who causes the McCarthyism era in the 1940s to the 1960s to arise, deceives the American people to lose trust with each other because of suspicion of Communism. McCarthy does not have a really great reputation before following the route of corruption. He simply over exaggerates the growing tension of Communism credits from President Harry Truman’s speech. His reign continues to grow until, “In early 1954 he opened hearings investigating the promotion of an Army dentist, Irving Peress, who was suspected of being a Communist. The Army-McCarthy hearings were televised and made for grand theater as McCarthy sparred with the Army's counsel Joseph Welch” (Capps). Joseph McCarthy is an arrogant and an overconfident man who thinks he can win every court cases until the very end. He believes that whatever