The Characters Of The PuritansBy Arthur Miller

Reverend Samuel Parris is motivated to sustain his reputation because he took years to build up his name. Some of the folks already see him as unfit as the reverend. Having the assumption that there are sinful practices taking place under his roof, he, at first, denies the involvement of witchcraft with the odd behavior Betty displays. However, when a majority of the townspeople believe in the involvement of witchery. He does not want his name and reputation to be tarnished due to witchcraft, so he plays along and supports Betty’s and Abigail’s accusations. He uses Tituba as a scapegoat to divert the suspicion towards him. Parris threatens to whip Tituba if she does not confess that she has dealings with the Devil, and pushes her to her breaking point. Parris is motivated to uphold his reputation and tries to divert the possible blame and suspicion towards him to

Abigail is an exception from the rest of the town because she ignores these rules and chooses instead to give in to her desires such as an adulterous relationship with Proctor, dancing, casting spells, lying, and condemning people to death. All of the “sinful” actions that Abigail commits should be seen as an effect of the society she lives in, not as the root of the trials (Galens). Abigail is a symbol of all Puritan desires that are repressed by their social structure. Miller does this to expose what this unyielding of a society does to its inhabitants, and how at a certain point they have no choice but to break and give in to their repressed desires. During the first round of accusations, Abigail exclaims, “I go back to Jesus; I kiss His hand.

Abigail lies about what happens in the woods and about people witching her. She has to lie about being in the woods because if she tells the truth it will uncover the truth that she wanted to kill Elizabeth which would reveal the affair with John. The reader can be further reassured of Abigail’s lies with her encounter with Betty. Betty is in bed and is sick from when they conjured spirits, Abigail goes and talks to her.

That Little Betty Parris was sick, and that the Dr. Griggs (who was too proud to say that he could not diagnose Little Betty illness) claimed she was bewitched (Richardson 7), were enough reasons for court authorities to suspect witchcraft was the cause of the illness. In addition, several young girls in the village had participated in 弎lack magic?experiments ?harmless adolescent games ?in the company of Tituba, Reverend Parris slave. The restless young girls allegedly met in Parris shed, and created and listened to Tituba incredible tales of sorcery and black arts, which were doubtless an outlet for their repressed feelings. Soon, faulty cause-and-effect relationships sparked delirium.

Abigail’s character in this removed scene can give the reader conflicting thoughts about who she really is and how she should be viewed throughout the rest of the play. In this scene Abigail seems like she does not know the difference between the reality and her fantasy. Abigail since the beginning of the play is viewed as a clever but dishonest character but in Act II, Scene ii she just seems like a little girl who is trapped in her own world and doesn’t know how to get what she wants without lying some more. Abigail starts to believe on her own lies about witchcraft, “Abigail: No, this is your wife pleading, your sniveling, envious wife! This is Rebecca’s voice, Martha Corey’s voice. You were no hypocrite!" (p.158). she was so sure that her lies where truth that she forgot the reality

(Miller ). Even though Danforth dismisses John’s confession as false Abigail finally realizes that John does not love her for he was willing to ruin his reputation to save her. The immense point that is shown to Abigail is that John chose Elizabeth over her. It is repeatedly shown that Abigail does not bode to well with rejection and that she does not handle her emotions very well either. A few months later and Parris enters the jail to tell Danforth that Abigail has gone missing.

“The most memorable characters in fiction are not people most of us would choose as our friends” (Allen 1). Readers find it intriguing to learn about a character that lacks predictability: they could do no wrong in one scene, then turn around and become a backstabbing liar in the next. The same characteristics that would not make the best of friends. Irregularity makes a character and the story, for that matter, interesting. Abigail Williams from The Crucible develops into a character that readers love to hate. Her anger, her cunning, her passion, every twist and turn she brings throughout the play brings fascination with it. She would not be an especially remarkable candidate for a best friend, however, but it perusers find it extremely easy to remember her. Abigail exhibits memorability not because of the qualities that prove a good friend, but because of her intransigence, her passion, her accusatory behavior, and her manipulation.

When Abigail first enters the play, the audience feel sympathy towards her since she is an orphan. However, it is quickly made clear that she has the potential to cause confusion through her

In Arthur Miller’s play, Abigail is represented to restrict the voice and opinion of others, through the use of ferocity. During Act 1, we see how her manipulation skills are on full display. As almost busted for

If witchcraft is discovered in the Reverend's own home, it can very quickly ruin his reputation. Parris is worried “they will howl [him] out of Salem for such corruption in [his] house”(14). The Reverend is the one preaching God and against witchcraft. If the Devil is found in the Reverend's home, his reputation will be destroyed and he will probably have to leave town. The reverend will be seen as corrupt. Betty is aware of this, but does not change the way she is acting. Betty’s act causes her father to act with . He is supposed to be a calm and a role model. Quaking with fear, mumbling to himself through sobs, he goes to the bed and gently takes Betty’s hand. Betty. Child. Dear Child. Will you wake…” (8). Daughters typically do as their fathers say, but Betty is ignoring her father’s begging. She is able to make her father, the village’s Reverend, cry for his young daughter to do as he says. In a way, Betty causes Parris to lose his ‘masculinity’. During this time, women are the ones thought of to be hysterical and men are supposed to show little emotion, especially strong sadness. Now, the reverend is hysterically crying and repeatedly asking his daughter to wake up. Betty is controlling her father’s emotions and his job. If Betty seems to be working with the Devil, it can force a witch hunt to occur in the town. Reverend Parris wants to stop this from happening. She is in control of whether or not she wakes up and stops the witch hunt. If Betty was to wake, the whole situation would be over. Since she is not, Hale asks Tituba, Abigail, and Betty to “give [them] all their names,” (47). The religious leaders are seeking information from people who are typically of low power. Tituba and the girls start to name ‘witches’ in Salem, which is going to force Parris and the other authoritative figures to make accusations. Betty, regardless of her power status before, now

Miller uses dramatic irony here, as we as an audience are actively aware that although Abigail believes John still loves her, this is in fact untrue. The use of this irony aids our understanding in the core purpose of Abigail’s deceit and malicious lies, which is to get Elizabeth charged with witchcraft, so that she can rekindle her passion and lust with Proctor. It also progresses the story line, as fundamentally brings the audience and the characters towards the witch trials. Dramatic irony in this situation is successful, as it broadens our realisation that sex plays a huge role in the plot, as ultimately its Abigail’s desire for it, and inability to show it, that prompts her to turn to spiteful dishonesty, and cunning deception. Moreover, we see John assert his authority, through putting Abigail down, instructing her that he will no longer be visiting her. Miller presents John as dominant, especially over Abigail, as she is presented as an unruly, strong-willed, wayward teenager who relishes, and revels in defying custom/tradition, and who needs straightening out.

Reverend Parris’ fear of losing his job provokes him to cry witch. Reverend Parris’ daughter feigns to be in a coma. When the doctor bade Susanna tell Reverend Parris that he “might look to unnatural things for the cause of it” (9), he denies that possibility because he fears that rumors of witchcraft under his roof would help his “many enemies” (10) to drive him from his

After Abigail Williams and the girls are discovered dancing in the forest by Reverend Parris, there are rumours of witchcraft among them, when Betty Parris and Ruth Putnam are found "witched". Once the girls discover this, they become more and more frightened of being accused of witchcraft. Abigail is the first to "admit" to seeing the devil, and all the other girls join in, so

[Sit down on chair] On another note, how could Betty do that to me. At first when I saw her eyes look lifeless as they stared out into space. I was extremely worried and scared but who knew it was all just an act. How could she accuse me for witch craft too, after all those many years I served the Parris family and looked after her so dearly.

The day after his daughter betty was not waking up and Parris is thinking that the girls were conjuring spirits and that his daughter is possessed “Parris says that if the girls were conjuring spirits, he needs to know because his "enemies" will surely find out and ruin him”(Miller, Arthur “The crucible act 1 summary and analysis)  Parris is not worried about the fact that they were dancing, he is worried about his reputation. Days past and the town are begging to find the witches so Reverend parris contracted a witch hunter Reverend hale a very good trained witch hunter who promise to hunt down all the witches in salem’’Education is a better safeguard of liberty than a standing army’’-Hale.(Miller, Arthur’’ search quotes reverend parris quotes’). Reverend Hale meets and have a talk with all the girls afflicted with the girls dancing in the forest because he wants to know who started it.