The Crucible and Goody Proctor

Argumentatively, Abigail is an adulterer looking for retribution against her lover’s wife, but underneath that her actions are narcissistic. The abundant need for self-preservation becomes obvious when presented with evidence from the beginning of the play. Abigail depicts these characteristics when asked about Elizabeth Proctor’s departure from church services and Abigail’s own displacement from Elizabeth’s home, “She hates me, uncle, she must, for I would not be her slave. It’s a bitter woman, a lying, cold, sniveling woman, and I will not work for such a woman!” (Miller 12). She refuses to acknowledge that her own actions are wrongful and places blame on others, “My name is good in the

An array of Aristotelian tragic heroes can be found throughout American literature. One of which includes John Proctor, main character farmer in mid-30s, from Arthur Miller 's play, The Crucible. Yet, in order for him to obtain such a title he must possess specific characteristics. Five of which include possession of hubris, a flaw or decision leading to desire for revenge, a reversal of good fortune brought forth by the error of judgement, acceptance of poor fortune brought forth by their actions, and lastly the fate dealt to these characters must be greater than deserved. Aristotle once said that “ A man doesn 't become a hero until he can see the root of his own downfall.” Before the play even begins John Proctor has already conducted adultery, a fatal flaw in judgement, with Abigail Williams, a sneaky seventeen year old. This crucial crescendo leads to the development of the Salem Witch trials and the downward spiral of John`s comfortable lifestyle.

Due to peer pressure and claims of witchcraft, mass hysteria spread through Salem like a plague and a number of victims lost their lives. Some people, such as Abigail, accused others to protect her reputation. In contrast, some people accused others because of genuine fear of witchcraft. If it were not for Abigail’s peer pressuring and the spreading of lies throughout Salem, the fate of the victims may not have been so

The most important scene in the play was act two, scene three, where John Proctor is able to talk with his wife, Elizabeth, one last time. He is accused of practicing witchcraft and at first he decides

My unusual feeling upon my arrival is proving to have some validity but not what I had first thought. After examining my data collected I’ve come to the conclusion that the devil does not reside in Salem only the idea and the mass accusations are nothing more then just that accusations which seem to have no validity. I have been responsible for the killing of innocent people and for that I will pay. But for now I don’t feel right prosecuting the innocent citizens of Salem, I feel the time I’ve spent here has done nothing to destroy the moral fabric of the town.

Early in the play, Proctor’s affair with Abigail deeply distresses him, However he becomes a tragic hero later when he displays his integrity and pride. Proctor’s

Abigail is a highly jealous character, concentrating her jealousy on Elizabeth Proctor. This jealousy is driven by lust and her desire for John Proctor. Abigail served as a servant in the Proctor household and after an affair with her husband John, Elizabeth fired her. She still resents Elizabeth for this as she is still in love with John. She clearly says to John, "You loved me, John Proctor, and whatever sin it is, you love me yet!" Abigail is still in love with John and she assumes the converse. Her love for John only causes her resentment for Elizabeth to strengthen. She hates John Proctor's wife and in her conniving ways she attempts to inspire the same views of Elizabeth in John's mind. Saying things to him such as, "She is blackening my name in the village! She is telling lies about me, She is a cold, sniveling woman." Abigail fabricates stories in attempt to steel John from Elizabeth. She is a manipulative liar that does and says as she pleases in order to get what she wants.

responsibility for his actions and others. Proctor is a man of his word except for the fact that he had an affair with Abigail. He gets imprisoned as a witch getting ready to get hanged the morning. As for Elizabeth,

The hysteria, craze, trials, and deaths, still rest an unsolved case. The theories of politics, rivalries, religion and the “circle girls” seem the most believable, in my eyes. However, as the happenings in Salem village still continue to mislead and amaze not only historians, but many others, the witch trials lie a great turning point for Salem, and the lives of many; let alone

Mary Warren, for one, changed multiple times throughout the play. When introduced in the play, she was addressed as a “subservient, naive, lonely girl” (Miller 17). She truly believed that the girls should have confessed to the the truth about what happened in the forest. She is, however, threatened by Abigail Williams and some other girls to keep her mouth shut. Because of her fear of Abigail, she does not speak a word of the truth. Later in the play when the group of girls gain power because of their accusations, Mary Warren grows some new confidence. She takes advantage of her new power and then disobeys the Proctors’ orders claiming that she is “an official of the

John Proctor, a prominent individual in both the Salem Witch Trials and The Crucible, was tried and executed for witchcraft in 1692. "When the witchcraft hysteria first began in Salem village in the winter of 1692, Proctor became an outspoken opponent of the trials and stated to many that the afflicted girls, who had been accusing many of the villagers of witchcraft, were frauds and liars" (Brooks). There were many parallels between John Proctor and his character in The Crucible, including his vocal opposition towards the trials and his strong Puritan values that influenced his actions. As an involved member of the Salem community, Proctor was incredibly concerned with his reputation. Proctor 's young slave Mary Warren began experiencing fits after the scandal broke out. "She [Warren] testified that Proctor 's spirit beat her and forced her to touch the Devil 's book" (Brooks). His involvement was interpreted by the community, as him performing witchcraft in attempts to possess the girls.

Confidence in the supernatural–and particularly in the demon's practice of giving certain people (witches) the ability to mischief others as an exchange for their loyalty–had rose in Europe as promptly as the fourteenth century, and was across the board in frontier New England. What's more, the brutal substances of life in the rustic Puritan group of Salem Village (present-day Danvers, Massachusetts) at the time incorporated the delayed consequences of a British war with France in the American settlements in 1689, a late smallpox scourge, reasons for alarm of assaults from neighboring Native American tribes and a longstanding contention with the more prosperous group of Salem Town (present-day Salem). Betwixt these stewing strains, the Salem witch trials might be energized by occupants' suspicions of and disdain to their neighbors, and their alarm of outsiders.

In The Crucible, Abigail Williams, John Proctor, and Elizabeth Proctor are arguably the most important characters. The affair between Abigail and John drives the plot of the play. Abigail begins accusing societal outcasts as witches and gradually works her way up the social ladder until she is able to accuse an upstanding citizen like Elizabeth Proctor of being a witch and having people believe the accusation. She accused Elizabeth of being a witch so that Elizabeth would be hanged. Then, Abigail would have John Proctor all to herself. Abigail, while certainly diabolical and ruthless, is rather misrepresented. Abigail has received nothing but tragedy in her life; short, though it is at this point. Her parents are killed in front of her at a very young age and while there is not anyway you can take that in a sympathetic aspect, seeing as she uses it to convince the girls to do her bidding, it is very clear that this image has stuck with her. The Crucible paints John in the position of a tragic hero and then ineluctably places Abigail in the light of an antagonist with no hope of retribution. Once you commend John for his actions, you must implicate Abigail for hers. Simply stated, Abigail should not just be incriminated based on what information we are provided. Abigail, while still very much faulty in her actions, deserves to be examined at a deeper level to provide you with the full understanding of just why this woman’s scorning was her breaking point.

Elizabeth still questions John’s loyalty throughout the play. Elizabeth comes off as an outspoken women and that isn’t really supported in the Puritan society. When convicted of witchcraft she doesn’t fight with the men because she knows she hasn’t done anything wrong. Even though she tries to do what she thinks is the best for John, she ends up saying the wrong thing and Abigail isn’t punished. Elizabeth ends up being pregnant and the trials end before she has her baby so she survives.

The Puritans that comprised the colony of Salem, Massachusetts, were extremely religious, attributing biblical meaning to all aspects of their lives and being accustomed to personify the devil (Kocić, 2010). Specifically, church elders strongly believed that their congregation was superlatively righteous and for this reason the devil would try to target it with attacks in all forms, hence it was impressed upon the community to be vigilant against any signs of his presence. Such signs were subject to interpretation, yet they were generally concentrated on negative events which occurred unexplainably in the colony, for instance in the eventuality of a crop failure, stillborn children, or serious disease of an unknown nature. Common perception identified a witch as someone who bonded their body and