On a shadowy night, two figures emerge from a back door in the seemingly peaceful Puritan town of Salem. A frigid gust of wind blows, strong enough to uncover all pretenses; the girl’s white bonnet flutters while the man’s sturdy frame stands still. Suddenly, they share a kiss. As moonlight pierces the clouds, the figures are revealed to be 17-year-old Abigail Williams and 30-year-old John Proctor. Upstairs, the shadow of Elizabeth, John’s wife, flickers in the window. Though these people are real, this affair, which becomes the basis of Arthur Miller’s historical play The Crucible, is purely imaginary. In The Crucible, Miller explores the story of the 1692 Salem Witch trials. Protagonist John Proctor, a well-respected Salem farmer, struggles between his morals and his guilt about his secret affair when a jealous Abigail accuses Elizabeth in a string of witchcraft accusations that send the town into hysteria. When creating a fictional work inspired by history, authors will often need to work with and change historical facts to create an interesting protagonist with a sensational background, a heroic struggle, and an attention-capturing personality; by working with John’s relationship with Abigail and Elizabeth, his innocence to witchcraft and good reputation in contrast to his secret guilt, and his outspoken personality and other attributes in history, Miller is able to make Proctor a compelling and dramatic figure that drives the plot of The Crucible. Miller takes the
The Crucible is a historical play by Arthur Miller, and is set in the town of Salem during the late 1690s. The main characters are John Proctor, the protagonist, and Abigail Williams, the antagonist. The conflict occurs when Abigail falsely accuses others of witchcraft. This leads to hysteria in the town, with people turning in innocent people for witchcraft. Many people including John and Elizabeth Proctor are arrested and put on trial, despite their innocence. John Proctor is sentenced to death after refusing to denounce his friends as witches, forgiven by Elizabeth for his affair with Abigail, and restores his reputation of being a good man. The Crucible delves into the extent people will go betray others in order to benefit themselves
The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, is an intriguing novel about the witch trials in Salem during the 17th century. During the Salem witch trials, innocent people were accused of being witches just so that others could take their land and farms. The main protagonist, John Procter, stands up against the corruption and greed that has infested the very heart of Salem, and tries to overthrow Abigail Williams, a corrupt young maiden who blames and kills the accused witches. This novel explores the depth of evil in human nature through these main characters John Procter and Abigail Williams. But despite the corruption of Abigail and the town, the just emerge to try and stop this evil from occurring. The characteristics of John Procter are
Purist Salem, Massachusetts in 1692 suffered from a rapidly increasing phenomenon: witchcraft accusations and trials. The Crucible is a play that recounts the times of this incident. For the most part, it follows a man known as John Proctor. He is a sensible, honest, and hardworking man who made the mistake of succumbing to lust which sets off a chain of events that leads to the witch trials, and to his own demise. Arthur Miller’s The Crucible’s protagonist John Proctor proves to be a flawed human being who struggles to make sense of his past relationship with Abigail, his love for his wife, and his pride.
''The Crucible,'' is a 1952 play written by Arthur Miller as an allegory of Mcarthyism. The play follows a theocratic society in which the church and the state are one, and reputation plays an important role in Salem where private and public moralities are the same. In act one, the secret affair of John Proctor and Abigail Williams was revealed that led to conflict between John and his wife. Divorce was not permitted in the late 16th century, hence, the Proctors had to maintain their marriage causing discord within the Proctor household. At the start of Act 2, Miller creates a tense atmosphere of animosity portrayed by John and Elizabeth Proctor in their lack of affection, awkwardness, appraisal and guilt leading to affliction.
The Salem Witch Trials were an extremely controversial period of time in our history. This was a time of suspicion and accusation of many innocent women and men that led to hysteria and complete turmoil in Salem Village. The Crucible portrays the Salem Witch Trials in a dramatic sense, but there are many similarities between the movie and the actual events. We can use these unusual events to compare to our own lives and learn from the mistakes of our past.
The Crucible is a lengthy theatrical that delves into the time of the Salem witch trials. The author, Arthur Miller, depicts a dark time in which no one is safe from the questionable accusations of a few girls caught in a lie and trying to save their own skins. Miller introduces the protagonist, John Proctor, as a “sinner,” while some critics view him as a Christlike figure. John Proctor is a good man because he supports his family, practices his religion, and never fell for the witchcraft insanity that the rest of Salem fell for.
Life in the 1600’s was arduous for members of Puritan society. Strict social rules, including defined gender-specific roles, mandatory attendance at church, no self-indulging activities, and limited personal freedoms, forced people to repress their feelings and opinions to maintain a good reputation. God was involved in every aspect of life, and punishment fell upon those who were seen as not doing God’s work and deviated from the norm. The Crucible, a play set during the events of the Salem Witch Trials in Massachusetts during this time, focuses on the mass hysteria which plagued the people and their reactions. A group of girls went dancing in the woods, and were caught by Reverend Parris. To avoid getting in trouble, the girls, led by Abigail Williams, claimed being the victims of witchcraft. John Proctor, who previously had an affair with Abby while she worked for his family, refused to believe the accusations of witchcraft. After Abby accuses his wife, Elizabeth, John does his best to prove her innocence, yet ultimately ends up being hanged himself. The events are tragic, and many people died as a result. Abigail’s “in the moment” survival is evident in her disregard for virtue in favor of reputation throughout The Crucible, whereas John Proctor ultimately decides integrity is more important than survival through his admission of guilt.
Arthur Miller's verifiable play, The Crucible, depicts the recorded occasions of the Salem witch trials through a swarm of life-changing characters. Trepidation drives these Puritans to uncover their actual feelings while confronting their informers in the predisposition courts before coldblooded judges. While in the long run all the individuals of Salem get subject to this frenzy, two ladies emerge above the rest. Retribution and disgrace live in the heart of the young adulteress, Abigail Williams, while truth and exemplary nature dwell in the soul of Elizabeth Proctor, John Proctor's dedicated wife. Although they both elevate the strain and tension of the play, Abigail William's and Elizabeth Proctor's disparities lead to turmoil because
We should not judge people by their peak of excellence; but by the distance they have traveled from the point where they started”(Henry Ward Beecher). In 1692 Salem, Massachusetts Madness is consuming Salem, and everyone is accused of being with the devil. John Proctor’s affair with Abigail jump starts the witch hunts. In the Crucible Arthur Miller embodies Proctor as a tragic hero with many flaws but his fatal flaw was his pride which caused his demise. Throughout the play we witness Proctor’s transformation as a person from a sinful remorseless adulterer, repentant, and to an honorable man.
“ There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice but there must never be a time when we fail to protest.” - Elie Wiesel. This quote communes the struggles of the citizens of Salem, Massachusetts who were unjustly condemned of witchcraft during 1692 . They were vulnerable while they were convicted but a few people managed to speak out against this injustice -John Proctor, Martha Corey, Giles Corey and Rebecca Nurse - eventually giving up their lives for this cause. The Crucible, a play by Arthur Miller, tells of a forbidden affair between married man John Proctor and his servant Abigail Williams. Their liaison is eventually discovered by John’s wife, Elizabeth, leading John to call off the affair. In an endeavor to get vengeance, Abigail and other local girls attempt to place a curse on Elizabeth in an occult rite in the forest one night. When their ritual was discovered, allegations of witchcraft spread around town. When Elizabeth is convicted of being a witch, it ultimately leads John to cease the paranoia and hysteria plaguing Salem. Abigail Williams applied scare tactics in order to manipulate fear in the citizens of Salem.
Arthur Miller’s 1953 allegorical tale, The Crucible draws attention to the social disharmony in Salem’s strict and defective Puritan theocracy. Through his portrayal of key characters, Miller constructs how compromising integrity can destory relationships through John Proctor and Elizabeth.
The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, is written about the Salem Witch Trials back in 1692. It began with a group of girls messing around in the woods and when someone walks down and catches them dancing, which is against the rules, they were accused of performing witchcraft. This is what started the Salem witch trials. As the play goes on it tells the story about the accusations of witchcraft and the punishments results of the accusations. Throughout this play there were two main characters, John Proctor and Abigail Williams. John Proctor was a father of three boys, married to Elizabeth, had sexual relations with Abigail, and tends to stands up for what he believes is right. In the play, Proctor comes across many problems that are ethical dilemmas, one of the biggest is his reputation, and deciding whether to lie to stay alive or tell the truth and die.
The year is 1692. Throughout the small, Puritan, seaside community of Salem, rumors and accusations fly like gusts of ocean wind. Neighbors turn on neighbors, and even the most holy church-goers are accused of being the devil’s servants. The Crucible details this real-life tragedy of the Salem witch trials, in which nineteen members of the Salem community were hanged for alleged witchcraft. Abigail Williams, a seemingly innocent girl, accuses dozens of Salem’s citizens of witchcraft through the support of her mob of girls and the complicity of the court officials. The title of this play gives significant insight into the experiences of several of these Salem citizens. Although a crucible is often used in chemistry for heating up substances, the title of the play carries a much greater weight. In his famous play The Crucible, Arthur Miller uses the title of “crucible” to signify the severe and unrelenting tests of faith and character that many of the community members endure throughout the Salem witch trials, which he achieves through the use of figurative language and fallacies of relevance and insufficiency.
Arthur Miller writes about the tragic results of human failings in his play, The Crucible. He presents characters from the past and infuses them with renewed vitality and color. Miller demonstrates the horrifying results of succumbing to personal motives and flaws as he writes the painful story of the Salem witch trials. Not only do the trials stem from human failings but also from neglect of moral and religious considerations of that time. Characters begin to overlook Puritan values of thrift and hope for salvation. Focusing on the flawed characters, they begin to exhibit land lust, envy of the miserable and self-preservation.
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.