The setting in The Crucible is Salem, and it was populated with Puritans. Puritans saw the world as a simple matter of “Good Vs. Evil” because of their strict policies, which stated that any action taken against God counted as being aligned with the “Devil,” which spelled out evil. The Salem Witch Trials symbolized the intolerance of McCarthyism, the practice of making arguments without substantial evidence, which may also be connected to the 21st century, as unfair court procedures occur frequently. Abigail Williams was portrayed as the central antagonist in The Crucible. She was the driving force behind the girls meeting at night, committing treason and dancing. Unlike most Puritan women, she had in her all the Puritan qualities, sexual and desire, that most Puritans repressed. However, Abigail Williams did not repress her desires. She was independent, free-minded, and persistent in chasing after what she wanted, who was John …show more content…
Arthur Miller has also made use of sarcasm as well, symbolizing hypocrisy, when John Proctor declared, “You are pulling Heaven down and raising up a whore!” Finally, Arthur Miller used symbolism as Salem represented a very restricted, intolerant, and terrifying world where claims, not evidence rule, and where the line between good and bad, black and white is blurred. Abigail was definitely to blame for the executions of the many, however through the evidence, it can be determined that it was not only Abigail to blame, and after looking at the bigger picture, it can be seen was one in many who was a victim of a restricted society, an orphan without warn parental figures to guide her, and was affected by bad models all around
Abigail Williams seems to be a despicable character in the story The Crucible. She causes do much trouble throughout the story starting from when the girls were in the woods dancing naked with Tituba. Abby says “She sends her spirit on me in church; she makes me laugh at prayer” (Miller,1154). Abigail uses Tituba to take the blame for all the girls speaking spirits and being in the woods. She manipulates people into believing and seeing what she wants them to see she is a very decisive
The Crucible follows the journey of a witch hunt and the various characters’ experiences during this intense period of fear. A group of young girls, led by Abigail Williams, takes the center stage in the village to antagonize the entire community with their pointed fingers. They are supposedly bewitched and accuse different women to be witches. Abigail is the main antagonist of the story and creates the most impact and damage to Salem. She is an extremely selfish and self-centered character, who possess the ability to manipulate anyone who gets in her way.
In Arthur Miller 's The Crucible, the main character Abigail Williams is to blame for the witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts, Abigail Williams remained a static character throughout the book. Abigail is a mean, deceitful and manipulative person who always wants her way; she has no remorse about who she hurts along her journey to get her want she wants.
The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, was a historical play written about the Salem witch trials that took place in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1692-93. The Salem witch trials created mass hysteria throughout the entire village of Salem, which was also mainly inhabited by Puritans. Puritans had a set ideal of firm beliefs that managed how they lived. Essentially, they were living as an elect, which meant they (referring to the Puritans) had a place in heaven for the righteous acts they have done in the physical world. Meaning, any sinful acts could potentially hinder the chances of entering heaven as an elect. The Crucible, questioned everything the Puritans abided by. It questioned the basic morals of a pure lifestyle, adultery and
The Crucible by Arthur Miller is an interpretation of the Salem witch trials of 1692 in Puritan Massachusetts in which religion, justice, individuality and dignity play a vital role. These factors define the characteristics of many of the most significant characters in the play. Some of them being John Proctor, Rebecca Nurse, Reverend Hale, Danforth and many others. The Salem witch trials were a result of the lack of expression of individuality and the fact that no individual could expect justice from the majority culture as a result of the deterioration of human dignity in the Puritan society of Salem.
A society that praises moral righteousness and piety is destroyed by a series of witch trials that are ironically immoral and unfair. The Salem Witch Trials are fueled by personal motives and feuds that emerge because of the restrictions in Puritan society. The society nurtures a culture of fear and distrust that stems from dread of the devil and strict adherence to the Bible. Salem is the perfect environment for fear and vengeance to spread through witchcraft accusations, because people have no other means to gain power or get revenge on enemies. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller portrays how the Puritan society in Salem influences the witch trials and increases their impact, because of the religion-based justice system, women and
‘The Crucible’ is an allegory. An allegory is a story with an obvious meaning but if you look deeper into it, there is another meaning. In this case, the obvious meaning is the Salem witch-hunt and the hidden meaning is McCarthyism. McCarthyism started in the early 1950’s and it was governmental accusations with no evidence. Joseph McCarthy started doing trials on those he thought were communist, but he had no evidence for it. This is the same as the witch trials in The Crucible. Arthur Miller wrote this in response to McCarthyism.
Abigail Williams was part of the Puritan society along with some other women. Abigail is the antagonist in The Crucible. She causes the most trouble in the play and is the leader of the group of the
Abigail Williams, while on the journey of adultery, seems to of already carefully positioned her name in the devil’s book of self-conceited, merciless, and vindictive individuals that roams this Earth. No one's back holds an off limits sign when it comes to her grabbing a knife. Some may say that Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, is dictated by a whore’s vengeance. While there’s some truth to this argument, I would counter that Abigail, the main antagonist, motives are beyond this. Maintaining her position of a victim to entrap anyone who dares cross her path is the premise upon which I build this counterargument. Abigail, not only abandons her hopeless relationship with John Proctor in the end, but continues the travesties against the people of Salem before and after John’s imprisonment.
The novel, The Crucible was written in 1953 by Arthur Miller, which was based on the Salem Witch Trials existing in the late 1600s. In the play, Abigail and several other young women accuse innocent citizens of Salem for the action of witchcraft. During the trials, many individuals were unfairly persecuted; such as John Proctor. This event in history may be associated with the Red Scare, in which individuals were tried for their questionable influences of communism in the United States. When Miller compares the character of John Proctor to himself, the reader is able to relate the similar experiences that both men faced. The Crucible demonstrates the struggle against corruption involving the court, which lead to the death of many innocent individuals in Salem. The Crucible generates an allegory for Arthur Miller’s struggles with McCarthyism because of his similar experience relating to John Proctor’s battle against the Salem Witch Trials, and the relation between the actions of the court in both situations. Arthur Miller uses several writing methods in order to convey The Crucible as an allegory for his struggles with McCarthyism. Miller demonstrates how the Crucible represents an allegory for his conflict with McCarthyism by relating his experiences with the plot of the novel. Miller relates the novel to his struggles by stating, “Should the accused confess, his honesty could only be proved by naming former confederates.” (Are You Now… 34) Miller is explaining how the court
The Crucible was based in 1692 in and around the town of Salem, Massachusetts, USA. The Salem witch-hunt was view as one of the strangest and most horrendous chapters in the human history. People that were prosecuted were all innocent and their deaths were all due to false accusation of people’s ridiculous belief in superstition and their paranoia. The Puritans in those times were very strict in personal habits and morality; swearing, drunkenness and gambling would be punished. The people of Salem believed in the devil and thought that witchcraft should be hunted out.
The Crucible is a play by Arthur Miller written in the 1950’s. It was set in the 1690’s in Massachusetts. The play is about the witch trials and how something like a group of girls in the woods could lead to about 200 people being hanged and accused of witchcraft. The people of Salem were new to Massachusetts as they were puritans who went off to America to set up a new religious colony . The people were new to their surroundings had the Native Americans as enemies because they took their land. Although the Crucible is about the witch trials, it is thought to be a metaphor for the McCarthy Communist trials
The Puritans were one of the first Europeans who settled in the North America. These settlers were influenced heavily by the church and Christian beliefs. Through “The Crucible” written by Arthur Miller, the readers could see how the Puritans reveal their strict beliefs in their lifestyle. Among those beliefs, the idea of unforgiven sins and the presence of the Devil in the community negatively affected the Puritans that caused the massacre at the Salem Village, Massachusetts in 1692.
In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, he strongly outlines Puritanism and its effects on the village of Salem. The intensity of the Puritanism religion lead to an overwhelming sense of suspicion and paranoia coupled with personal issues in the tightknit community. It can easily be concluded that the witch trials started and quickly escalated due to the issues that branch off of Puritanism.. The most paramount of the effects from Puritanism include hysterical fear, personal grudges, and the struggle of upholding reputations.
Imagine the year is 1692. In a small Massachusetts town a culture of highly religious folk live in peace. Salem. It´s late January and the reverendś young niece Abigail and only daughter begin to act strangely. Rumors of witchcraft fly through town and fear runs rampant.In around a year 200 people are unjustifiably accused and 20 sentenced to capital punishment. Who is next? The strange widow down the road? The Coreys? In a time of obscured justice, line were crossed and innocent lives lost. In his breakthrough play, The Crucible, Arthur Miller spins a tale not far from the truth.Letting his readers explore a gruesome tale of blind hatred. In Arthur Miller's The Crucible, Abigail Williams embodies the wrongdoings of the Salem Witch Trials.