Reputation In The Crucible

Abigail Williams struggles to show that she has a good reputation throughout The Crucible. On Pg 111, Danforth asks Abigail did you ever have a sexual relationship with John Proctor? “If I must answer that, I will leave and I will not come back again” (pg 111 Abigail). Everybody in Salem is starting to find out about Abigail and John, but when she is asked if it is true, she lies. It tarnishes her reputation because she is seen as a whore now. She doesn't want her name to be blackened in Salem. Once you have had sexual relationships with someone and your not married, it will be hard for Abigail to find someone else to love her because she has already been with someone else, so who would want to be with her? “ Now look you. All of you. We danced. And Tituba conjured Ruth Putnam’s dead sister’s. And that is all. And do not speak of the other things” (pg 20 Abigail). Abigail and the other girls, were dancing in the woods, getting naked and making charms. The girls knew it was wrong but they blamed it on witchcraft rather than taking a punishment for it. This destroyed Abigail's reputation because she did not tell the full truth on what happened in the forest, but instead, she blamed it on witchcraft. She also threatened the other girls to go along with her to not make her look bad. Abigail does not take ownership of her downfalls and like to place the blame elsewhere.

Abigail was, of course, the ring leader of the witch craft accusations in Salem. These false accusations were not without cause, however; Abigail made these accusations to try and protect her own reputation. Initially, Abigail is mainly conflicted about her name currently being darkened through the town. She angrily accuses Elizabeth Proctor of spreading lies about her in defense. However, Abigail is seen as a whore, and John Proctor causes the ultimate disrespect to her when he says, “You are pulling down Heaven and raising up a whore.” (Act II) Abigail’s yearn to retain a good name caused the deaths and punishment of many

Through turning against John, Mary deceived not only him, but indirectly Abigail too. After Mary had sided with Abigail and the other girls, she accused John of personifying “. . . the devil’s man” (524), meaning a wizard. Previously, Abigail and John Proctor were involved, a relationship in which Mary knew of. By accusing John of wizardry, Mary hurt the only person in Salem Abigail had strong, positive feelings towards, likely knowing the consequences of her accusation. While the accusation of John could have been simply the opportunity of the moment, it is likely Mary used her personal knowledge of Abigail to get revenge after being accused of witchcraft. A facade of innocence allowed Mary to deceive those around her, often without their knowledge.

The way people reacted when someone tried to be good and tell the truth wasn't expected. Marry Warren knew the girls were lying and wanted them to tell the truth. She told Abigail, "Abby, we've got to tell. Witchery's a hangin' error, a hangin' like they done in Boston two years ago! We must tell the truth, Abby! You'll only be whipped for dancin', and the other things" (18). Even though she wanted to tell the truth, she couldn't. Abigail won't let her confess. Later in the book, she finds out that they're using the poppet she gave to Elizabeth against her. Marry never wanted Elizabeth to be accused of trying to kill Abigail. Proctor wanted Marry to tell the truth to the court. But Mary is afraid of what Abigail might do to her and Proctor. Mary is also afraid of the court. "I cannot, they'll turn on me" (80), she said. You would expect that the court would want you to tell the truth. In this case, if she told the truth the court members' reputation will be ruined. It shows that they react in a way that it will be beneficial to them.

Abigail was being accused repeatedly of lying and making up all of the accusations which were of false nature. The many people who were hung because of her testimony was what would now hang over her head. When she was brought before Mary Warren her false tears and outcries of pain were all an act, but in her mind she was the only one who was correct in her dealings. Abigail was for unfathomable reasons a port of knowledge through which the judges and lawyers convicted and sent to death those who were accused. The awful girl was but of one mind. She wanted revenge and to be back to her “love”, John Proctor. Abigail tried and tried repeatedly to get her hands on John, she tried to get his wife hanged, and when she couldn’t have him she decided that no one else could. Abigail soon began to accuse John Proctor of the precise thing she was known for, witchcraft. Abigail had been in the woods when the young Mary Warren went mute from the shock of seeing Abigail drink chickens blood and curse Goody Proctor, all of these happenings had to do with Abigail Williams, and now she would have to suffer through her own crucible, to figure out how she was going to get out. And though Abigail did narrowly escape the major shackles of her crimes, the guilt and foreboding of being a treacherous liar found her rumored to be a young prostitute in Boston. Forever to be alone and used. That was Abigail’s crucible and punishment for all the problems and

The play, The Crucible, is a fireball of guilt, evil, and good compiled into one magnification. It is a play with tremendous feelings, with many inside twists hidden in the archives of the true story. It is a play with emotional feelings; feelings of anger, hate, and evil, yet also feelings of goodness, and pureness. Undeniably, The Crucible is a play illustrating good versus evil.  The principal characters, Abigail Williams, John Proctor, Ann Putnam and Marry Warren all contain within them elements of good and evil.

The Salem Witch Trials: a time where the innocent were guilty and the guilty got away with murder. This horrendous event can be further explained through Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible. Miller has won many awards in his time for writing many dramas that are very popular amongst the people and The Crucible just so happens to be one of them. It tells a story about a harsh time that many people faced when they were losing loved ones who were found guilty since they didn’t confess to a crime that they never committed. While reading the play, a person will find a theme of power. One specific character, Mary Warren, helps show this theme because as soon as she gains power, her character changes drastically. Throughout The Crucible, Mary Warren is portrayed as a very dynamic character since she begins as being very wimpy, then she gains confidence and becomes brave, and then she goes right back to being timid and controlled by Abigail.

The play is called The Crucible because a crucible is a ceramic or metal container in which metals or other substances are melted. In The Crucible people are held to the flame and melted down to their true selves. In the play, the different characters melt down to show their real selves. An example of that would be when Mary Warren said, “No, I love God; I go your way no more. I love God, I bless God. Abby, Abby, I’ll never hurt you more!” (Pg. 1212). She broke down and showed everyone that she would rather not have anyone go against her then to tell the truth. People reveal themselves in usually big ways. Some are calm but most react like John Proctor did when he melted down and said, “How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul;

Mary resorted to self- preservation because of the ear instilled by Abigail. Mary wanted to confess to faking and tell the truth. Mary was a loyal worker for the Proctors and when Elizabeth Proctor was accused of being a witch Mary’s conscience weighed upon her heavily.When one of the girls that was caught dancing, Betty, fell ill Mary felt guilty, “MARY WARREN: Abby, we’ve got to tell. Witchery's a hangin' error, a hangin' like they done in Boston two year ago! We must tell the truth, Abby! You'll only be whipped for dancin', and the other things!” (Act 1, p.144-147). Mary Warren felt the blood of the hangings on her hands and wanted to come forward and tell the truth. Abigail would not let that happen because she was too concerned about the repercussions and her reputation getting ruined. Mary was stuck between John Proctor begging her to confess and Abigail threatening her life if she did. Marry ended up taking Abigail’s side in order to save herself in the end by incriminating John Proctor, “MARY WARREN, hysterically, pointing at proctor, fearful of him: My name, he wants my name. “I’ll murder you,” he says, “if my wife hangs! We must go and overthrow the court,” he says!””(Act 3, p. 110). At this point Mary was so confused by the violence in the situation she cracked under the pressure. Then, Mary Warren turned and accused John Proctor of threatening murder, twisting the truth in order to save herself. By saving

Most people would not like to be known as a coward. Mary Warren was not aiming for that title, but that is what she ended up with. She gave herself this negative reputation. The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, is a play about the undergoing of the Salem Witchcraft Trials in 1692. A group of Salems girls, are caught dancing in the woods. To take allegation off of themselves, they accuse other innocent townspeople of practicing witchcraft. Multiple victims are murdered or imprisoned. Mary Warren, one of the accusers, plays a big role in this play. Mary Warren’s character changes from cowardly, to brave, and back to cowardly, throughout the story which shows how she evolved throughout The Crucible.

The Crucible is a play that takes place in Salem, Massachusetts during the year 1692 and in short contains Abigail the Reverend’s niece accusing several women of practicing witchcraft. This leads to a witch-hunt. John Proctor and his wife Elisabeth realize that Abigail, with whom John once had an affair with, started all this in order to get Elizabeth hung in order for her to be able to get back together with John. Trying to save his wife’s life John testifies in court about the affair. Elizabeth trying to save her husband, and not knowing he admitted to it, denies it causing John to be accused of witchcraft. John was offered the chance to sign a confession and save his life but refuses to do so as he is concerned over the innocent citizens

Defense of Mary Warren When it comes to Arthur Miller’s allegorical work, The Crucible, very few characters can be deemed completely innocent. While just about every person in this story has a flaw of envy, pride, or selfishness, characters can often be sorted into the “accuser or accused” categories. One exception to this is Mary Warren. Throughout the story, her loyalties switch back and forth between these two sides. Due to this, she may seem like a selfish and unsympathetic character; that is not the case, however. Mary Warren is an abused and manipulated child, whose decisions in the story are certainly justified, given her situation. The first we see of Mary is when Betty falls ill after the the girls are caught congregating in the woods. Immediately, we see she is terrified, fully aware that them being accused of witchcraft would be “a hangin’ error” (1268). Abigail responds to her fear with an order to lie; she threatens them with violence should they not obey her. Abigail is one of Mary Warren’s main abusers in the story. John Proctor, Mary’s employer, enters the scene next. When he sees her away from his house, he scolds her in a humiliating fashion, even threatening to whip her. From the stage directions, we see she tries “to retain a shred of dignity” (1269), when this happens, leading to the belief that this reproach from Proctor is common in her life. We don’t hear from Mary again until the beginning of Act II. She

The townspeople of Salem feared that they would be called witches so they lied and blamed their family and friends. Mary Warren being one of those people feared being hung and Abigail’s vengeance. When John tells Mary to go to court and confess, Mary refuses, knowing that Abigail will act out of revenge and in court she faces what she had been avoiding “ABIGAIL. Her eyes fall on Mary Warren. MARY. Abby!”(101). Mary Warren knows that Abigail will claim she is a witch so Mary goes along with it to escape death and she blames John Proctor by saying “You’re the devil’s man!”, instead of possibly ending the trials once and for all.

In “The Crucible,” there are many betrayals and in particular Abigail is very selfish for her own personal interest. To begin with, in act three Abigail grabbed an opportunity to pretend that Mary Warren is a witch. Since Mary Warren told on the girls about them associating with witchcraft, they are going along with what Abigail is doing and making Mary suffer for something they all did. Second, in court, Mary Warren admits she is pretending that she can see spirits; the scene is set in court where Danforth says to Mary “You would still go on with this?”

She must be ripped out of the world” (Miller 929). Abigail accuses Elizabeth of being a witch which makes her like a crucible because this is a hard test. It is not easy to accuse someone of a severe crime like murder when it is false, and get away with it. Abigail plotted this by stabbing herself and gave lots of evidence to defend her statement of Elizabeth being a witch. Also Elizabeth then states that Abigail is lying but Abigail’s evidence is too strong. Abigail makes Cheever believe she is innocent when Elizabeth claims she is lying. Abigail passed another hard test and used solid evidence which makes her resemble a crucible. The last reason to show Abigail is like a crucible comes from Act three. Act 3 is the first court scene where people start being accused of witchcraft. Abigail accuses Elizabeth Proctor of witchcraft. During the court sessions John Proctor and Mary Warren both claim that Abigail is faking her sickness and isn’t actually seeing witches. They both say that Abigail accused Elizabeth Proctor of witchcraft so she can be with John, who she had an affair with. Abigail gets angry so she fakes seeing a bird that Mary Warren sent out. Abigail crying in fear “Oh, Mary, this is a black art to change your shape” (Miller 950). Abigail is given another test and that is to prove she is not faking her sickness and she is actually seeing witches. She passes this test by making the judge believe that Mary Warren is attacking her. She comes up with