The Morality Of Characters In Arthur Miller's The Crucible

As philosopher Sissela Bok once said, "Liars share with those they deceive the desire not to be deceived." This insight on the nature of humans shows astounding similarities to how Abigail Williams acted throughout The Crucible. Written by Arthur Miller in 1953, Miller used his play to show similarities between the Salem Witch Trials and Joseph McCarthy's ideal of "McCarthyism", and prove that McCarthy was framing him. Miller wrote this as a play in order for the reader to develop a full understanding of his hidden message. Taking place in Salem, Massachusetts in the year of 1692, the Salem Witch Trials helped create parallels to what was occurring in 1953. In The Crucible, Abigail Williams is the most despicable character in the play because of the lies which led to the deaths of many townspeople.

The Crucible takes place in Salem, Massachusetts during the year of 1692 and during this time, the Salem witch-hunts began. The Salem witch-hunt was one of the oddest and most fearsome epochs in human history. The numerous amounts of people that were prosecuted were all innocent and their lives were taken away due to the fallacious accusations of the Puritan’s belief in superstition and their paranoia that witches had walked among them. One accuser that is the reason this all started was Abigail Williams. Abigail Williams is to blame because she possesses the evil qualities of being remorselessness, jealous, and also having the quality of vengefulness. These qualities that Abigail have are direct contributions to the murder of many people who were unjustly hanged to death.

Arthur Miller states "Maybe all one can do is hope to end up with the right regrets." The quote of this meaning is that people are falsely accused, but they may be innocent. The Crucible by Arthur Miller, is a play based upon events that occurred in Salem circa 1690s. Through Abigail Williams, Miller was trying to state the injustice in Salem because she targeted the innocent people, leading to their death. Many of the conflicts that occurred in the play were caused by Abigail Williams. Abigail's jealousy of Elizabeth Proctor was triggered by Elizabeth's husband John Proctor. Abigail was a hypocrite because she used the name of the Lord for her own interests. She lied in order to save herself by denying her involvement in witchcraft. The character selected is Abigail Williams because of her three main character flaws which are jealousy, hypocrisy, and mendacity.

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.

“Hale: Quail not before God’s judgment in this, for it may well be God damns a liar less than he that throws away for pride” (206). Reverend Hale’s eye-opening words make Elizabeth realize that John Proctor should do the right thing for God, even if that includes lying. This quote relates to the Salem witch trials because during this time, the court was getting involved with the town, so everybody had to constantly tell the truth. Overall, the play gives a feeling of the Salem witch trials by using facts and events relevant to the time period. On a similar topic, Arthur Miller feels that everybody is vindictive, manipulating, and betraying each other; therefore, Miller uses his troublesome experience to commemorate the demeaning investigations of witches. Miller’s high disapproval of the American government, especially how the court handles situations, is greatly represented in his play. The characters change throughout the story, and they start to realize that it is not all about what the government wants for their life. They soon enough start thinking and speaking for themselves which leads to big decisions and disapproval from the American government. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, he artistically manipulates the authentic facts of the Salem witch trials’ victim John Proctor to fiction in order to similarly represent his interrogation during the Red Scare while also putting a spin on the trials through his style, characterization and tone.

The infamous play, The Crucible written by Arthur Miller takes place in the town of Salem, Massachusetts when a group of girls accuses innocent people in the puritan society of witchcraft. Abigail Williams, a young girl and her friends are caught doing a forbidden action considered to the puritan community, and try to draw the community’s attention away from their wrongdoing. As the puritan civilization starts to believe these juvenile girls about the devil being present in certain individuals, other authentic personals try to fight for their society as a whole. Throughout the book, characters show that the community is more important than the individual by sacrificing their perseverance, passion, and integrity when their morals are challenged.

“ 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.

Hysteria is the vital aspect in the act “The Crucible” about witchcraft which spreads throughout the small town called Salem and involved having tragic events without any facts. Abigail Williams is a major character in the play “The Crucible” Arthur Miller, but she is portrayed as an great antagonist who drives the wheel in the play. She has an unnatural power to manipulate others and gain control over them. Abigail states "I want to open myself! . . . I want the light of God, I want the sweet love of Jesus! I danced for the Devil; I saw him, I wrote in his book; I go back to Jesus; I kiss His hand. I saw Sarah Good with the Devil! I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil! I saw Bridget Bishop with the Devil! (Miller 48). While confessing to witchcraft gets Tituba positive attention, and makes her a believable to accuse others, along with Betty she uses same technique to develop trust toward others. A major theme of the play is blame, revenge, and mistaken innocence. Abigail shifts the focus away from herself by accusing others of witchcraft. This furious act of selfishness soon becomes Abigail drive of power.

The Crucible by Arthur Miller is about the Salem witch trials in the 1600s written during the Red Scare in the 1950s. In The Crucible, the girls of the town are convicted of practicing witchcraft in the woods. Witchcraft in Salem causes paranoia and hysteria. Thirty-nine people were convicted of practicing witchcraft, and twenty people were executed as a result. Of all the characters in The Crucible, the one that stands out the most is Abigail Williams, a 17-year-old girl who is gifted with the power to lie all the time. To start off , Abigail can be seen in Act I when she speaks out that she saw others practicing witchcraft in the woods when she was among the group of girls, therefore being a hypocrite. Second, Abigail lies when she denies

The Crucible is a controversial piece of literature by Arthur Miller. Abigail Williams is in love with John Proctor, whom she has an affair with. John is married to Elizabeth, and when she finds out that John is sleeping with Abigail, she fires her. Abigail hates Elizabeth’s guts. She will do anything to get rid of Elizabeth and have John all to herself. Abigail Williams’ actions stir up trouble in the town of Salem, and she is caught up too deep in her lies and manipulations. The main character Abigail Williams demonstrates that unjust people escape consequences by pointing fingers, turning people against each other, and running away.

What begins as a slight concealment of the truth can often run rampant, quickly becoming a situation that none could ever anticipate or control. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, Abigail Williams is a manipulative and deceitful young woman who generates a panic in the Salem community with accusations of witchcraft. Abigail plays a key role in the story as an adulterer and an influence over the younger girls in the trials. As the story progresses, she employs devious methods to create drama and further heighten the tension and unease in the town.

The Crucible, a play by Arthur Miller, depicts the hysteria that came to Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692. Miller attempts to combine the idea of witchcraft illustrating a similar modern day example, called McCarthyism. In the mid twentieth century, Senator John McCarthy, an advocator of the Red Scare, used similar tactics to hunt communists and send them into exile. These communists then used the same defense mechanisms as citizens in Salem, to clear their names and put the liability on someone else. In the play, a young orphan, named Abigail Williams, felt inclined to attack others in order to dismiss the accusations made against her, and she did so successfully. In order to clear her name, Williams framed many people and victimized herself. As a result of her cruel tactics, Abigail is characterized as a selfish, merciless, and destructive villain. Abigail Williams is the antagonist of the play because she manipulates the other young girls, the court judges, and the life of John Proctor through malicious lies.

The Crucible, a play written by Arthur Miller, takes place during the 16th and 17th century in colonial America. The play is based on the events of the Salem Witch Trials. During this period, many Puritans were executed or jailed on accusations of evil and witchcraft. Many false accusations came from others who were simply just trying to save themselves or cast revenge upon their enemies. The play presents readers with an example of the evil through characters like Abigail Williams, Abigail’s friends, and the officials of the court. Abigail, the girls, and the court are all equally responsible for the deaths in Salem.

Decaying Morals Terror swiftly invades the town of Salem in Arthur Miller’s book The Crucible as accusations and fear play with the minds of the bewildered and ignorant citizens. Because Abigail and the girls fear that they will be hung, they say what they did, which was dancing in the forest, was against their will, saying they were bewitched by others. Abigail and the girls then go on accusing almost everyone in the town. Arthur Miller reveals that fear and hysteria can destroy relationships and tear apart a society through Abigail Williams’s clever but deceitful ways of trying to avoid punishment. For example, in order to avoid punishment, Abigail and the girls accuse people in the town of bewitching them, and, in doing so, begins the

The novel, The Crucible, written by the great Arthur Miller himself, portrays the historical events of the Salem witch trials through a mass of enduring characters. What drives these Puritans is fear which shall expose their true emotions while facing their accusers in the extremely bias courts before inexplorable judges. While eventually all of the people of Salem join this madness, two women distinguish themselves way above the rest. Shame along with revenge lie themselves in the heart of the teenage lady, Abigail Williams, while righteousness and actuality reside into the soul of John Proctor’s faithful wife, Elizabeth Proctor. Although they both raise the tension for the play, Abigail William's and Elizabeth Proctor's differences lead to