The Agucible In The Cellcible : The Crucible

How could you not believe the words of John Proctor? Why the man with the purest name in Salem throw away his good name after claiming to be an adulterer? It is in my good opinion that Abigail Williams seeks vengeance on John Proctor for taking her innocence. Elizabeth lied to protect her husband, just like any women would lie to protect her family life, children and husband. Even someone like Goody Proctor, who has never told a lie before. This is a natural lie to tell. I beg of you, your Honour, to reconsider your decision on sending Elizabeth to the jailhouse. You must ensure that this trial is fair. Telling Proctor and Abigail to stand with their backs facing Elizabeth was not a fair way to question her. You are a noble judge. We saw John Proctor break down in court and this is not the behavior of a man who is trying to deceive or undermine the court or the trial. Your Excellency, Proctor is a well-respected farmer and his wife has no mark upon her name. They are good souls who don 't deserve to be hanged due to the lies of Abigail Williams and the girls. Abigail is hell-bent on seeking vengeance on Proctor. Abigail is comparable to Lucifer. She pulled the wool over your eyes , the girls and even me at the beginning. But I saw this presence and soon will you. She has deceived most people in the village including you. I can see she has played

Therefore, we must rely upon her victims – and they do testify, the children certainly do testify. As for the witches, none will deny that we are most eager for all their confessions. Therefore, what is left for a lawyer to bring out? I think I have made my point. Have I not?"(239-243). Reverend Hale is starting to believe that the girls are lying, and he thinks that the ones being accused should have a lawyer but Danforth just says the accused only rely on victims and witnesses. Danforth feels that he has much power and he wants it to stay that way by "defending" the people. "I cannot hear you. What do you say? You will confess yourself or you will hang! Do you know who I am? I say you will hang if you do not open with me!" (483-487). Danforth knows that he has the power to say if someone hangs or not so he's using it to scare Mary into telling the truth, or in this case the truth he wants to hear.

In using this aggressive word, he wants Mary to see that she should not lie to him because he is on God’s side. In doing so, he attempts to show Mary that his claims of witchcraft are correct and therefore wants to clean her of her sins.

Firstly, throughout the play Judge Danforth acts with pride and arrogance. At the commencement of act III Judge Danforth voices his view on the ongoing phase of the witchcraft trials by stating that “Do you take it upon yourself to determine what this court shall believe and what it shall set aside?” (Miller 85). Here Danforth

“ Fear nothing. I'll find Ezekiel Cheever. I’ll tell him she said it were all sport.” ( Arthur Miller Page 64). Proctor is clueless at the moment he failed to realized that Ezekiel Cheever is very close to Danforth. Judge Danforth is not concerned about justice, all he's focused about is being about the witch trials. Danforth will never have concrete evidence, unreliable witnesses. No opportunity to receive a second trial or even a review of the case. Danforth is ignorant and wants people to be with him or against him. What would this result in John Proctor doing?

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

Danforth starts the play with a lot of arrogance. He believes his side of the trial is correct, and only his side. Through out the trials, he starts to see faults in Abigail’s story and begins to question his court decisions. Danforth knows that Proctor’s wife, Elizabeth, is an honest woman and would never lie in court. Since he believes some truth in Proctor’s confession, he decides to bring Elizabeth into the court. When Proctor exposes himself to lechery with Abigail, she has no choice but to give in. Danforth illustrates the theme by deciding to call Proctor guilty and sent to jail. With Proctors statement, she knows she has no choice but to confess before Elizabeth confesses and she will be punished in a worse manner. As act two progresses, Danforth shows that having a lack of knowledge can lead to irrational

Additionally, Proctor demonstrates characteristics which lead to his moral downfall as he attempts to use every possible avenue to circumvent the consequences of his adultery. Proctor manipulates Mary Warren into accusing Abigail of pretending to be afflicted by witchcraft. Proctor informs Judge Danforth that “[Mary] has signed a deposition [stating] that [the girls’ actions] were pretense” and therefore Abigail cannot be trusted (Miller 82). This signifies the reality of Proctor’s moral downfall because he further involves innocent Mary Warren in the trials. Resulting from Proctor’s insistence that Mary speak her mind about Abigail, Mary experiences a series of painful and humiliating events.

A court case is an event of great importance, and most trails ultimately end with the person or concept on trail being condemned to be guilty, or being declared innocent of the charge.Some trails take session upon session to find the truth of whether one is guilty and innocent. The longer the trail, the harder it often gets to tell between right and wrong. However, the guilt of some is painfully obvious. The deceptive girl, Abigail Williams, in Arthur Miller’s play the Crucible, shows her guilt by trying to sway John Proctor’s feelings for her, threatening her friends, and accusing so many people of witchcraft.

In order to get what she wanted, she had pulled a group of friends to get involved in it, which they willingly obeyed Abigail in fear she would accuse them next. Many of her friends began to slowly fall apart because the guilt was taking over their minds. One of them had said, “She’ll kill me for sayin that! Abby’ll charge lechery on you, Mr. Proctor!”(Miller) Mary Warren feared that if she were to tell the truth, that the other girls would accuse her for witchcraft, and have her hung. It is hard to say who the hero is in this play, but the ones who know the truth and try and explain seem to be at war with Abigail and the other girls. One might say, “it is unfortunate that the play itself aligns a group of heroes against a group of villains."(Budick) Abigail and her group of girls are the villians in this play, having men and women wrongfully hung to save

I have known her." (88) This implies that Proctor admits to his lechery in a desperate attempt to save Elizabeth. This is further increased when Abigail responds to it in a tacit way "If I must answer that, I will leave and not come back again." (89) The secrets are uncovered and the reader begins to wonder how will this have an effect on decision. Danforth reacts to this by bring out Elizabeth to confirm this but he puts her in a position where he gives her no hints about who accused him. This puts Elizabeth under pressure because if she agrees she'll be on Abigail's side and if she disagrees she'll be on Proctor's side. The tension is augmented because the reader is unaware of her choice, when she replies with "No sir" it is increased more because the reader is now worried about how this will affect Proctor. Hale tries to convince Danforth that Abigail is a fraud but she creates a dramatic spectacle by claiming that she sees a yellow bird which she claims is Mary's spirit. Abigail is aware that Mary is weak and will give in easier so she continues with the act and the other girls join in. They start repeating the words that Mary is saying to make it seem her spirit has possessed them and to make it harder for Mary to defend herself. Mary realises she has no strength so she joins them and accuses Proctor of being the "Devil's Man" which contributes to the dramatic tension because

     Abigail William’s aggressive personality easily persuades the other girls to follow her footsteps, and back up anything and everything she says. This personality also frightens people in the courtroom to question her truthfulness, or her relation with John Proctor. Due to her forceful behavior, the girls support Abigail, and therefore become entangled in her web of lies, sins, and murders.

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

Miller uses the characterization of Danforth to show how some people will use the power of their position to protect their own interest. An example that shows this statement is when Proctor delivers his testimony, he supports the petition of good opinion of Rebecca Nurse and Martha Corey. Parris states the ninety-one people who’ve signed the petition should be put for questioning, but Danforth orders to arrest all of those who’ve signed it. He states a strong argument justifying the way the trials have been handled when he says “A person is either with this court or he must be counted against it, there be no road between” (Miller 1298). In addition when Proctor gives his confession, Danforth states to Rebecca “Now, woman, you surely see it profit nothin’ to keep this conspiracy any further. Will you confess yourself with him?” (Miller 1330). Danforth believes the victims are all guilty, and desires to force them to admit they’re guilty. He is also convinced that Proctor knows more of the Devil’s acts than what he has stated.

Deputy Governor Danforth is a selfish, arrogant, and corrupt man who only cares about his own goods. His flawed personalities and hypocritical attitudes make him blind and irrational throughout the entire witchcraft, which directly causes the calamity of the town. Danforth feels embarrassing and doesn’t know what to do when Proctor brings Mary Warren’s deposition that shows his previous judgments are wrong. He is baffled and find a reason to defend himself, “ there lurks nowhere in your heart, nor hidden in your spirit, any desire to undermine this court? Are you in all respects a Gospel Christian? Not come to Church?”(94). Instead of taking a closer look at the details and the evidence of the case, he chooses to question Proctor’s credibility, and he believes people who confound his theory are challenging his authority and he will never let that happen. Furthermore, Danforth is somewhat terrified and worried