In Act 1 of The Crucible, Reverend Parris discovers girls dancing naked in the woods, with evidence of witchcraft present. Abigail accuses Tituba of being a witch, Goody Osburn of witchcraft, and threatens Mary Warren, Mercy. Hale, a committed Christian and hater of witchcraft, saves him from falling into blind fervor.
The central character, John Proctor, believes it is possible to declare his own separate peace as others are swept up by moral anarchy masquerading as justice. However, he later realizes that Tituba, a slave, has no power and confesses to witchcraft. Elizabeth Proctor is accused of witchcraft by Abigail Williams, who wants to marry Elizabeth’s husband, John, with whom she had an affair while serving in the Malleus Maleficarum, or The Witches Hammer.
Abigail Williams is described as a strikingly beautiful seventeen-year-old orphan with an “endless capacity for dissembling”. Her crimes include fornication, participating in witchcraft, dancing in the forest, lying in a court of law, and falsely accusing innocent citizens of crimes they did not commit. Many characters are accused of witchcraft and sentenced to death because a person accuses them of being a witch without evidence.
The Crucible is a dramatized and partially fictionalized story of the Salem Witch Trials, which took place in the Province of Massachusetts Bay from 1692 to 1693. Two of the accused women confessed to being witches and were reprieved, paradoxically, if they admitted to being a witch, they were freed.
The Crucible is a play written by Arthur Miller, set during the Salem Witch Trials, where many people were accused of witchcraft. As neighboring towns like Andover overthrow their witch trials, it seems that being someone who accused others of witchcraft might not be so safe after the witch hunt was over.
📹 What really happened during the Salem Witch Trials – Brian A. Pavlac
Dig into how the infamous Salem Witch Trials began and why they remain a cautionary tale of the dangers of groupthink and …
Who is most to blame in The Crucible?
In Arthur Miller’s novel The Crucible, Abigail Williams is identified as the primary suspect in the Salem witch trials.
Who manipulates in The Crucible?
In Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible, Abigail Williams is depicted as a particularly manipulative character, as evidenced by the stage directions in Act One.
Which characters in the play seem genuinely gripped by the witchcraft hysteria?
Abigail Williams and Reverend Hale are two prominent figures in Salem, both of whom contributed to the atmosphere of hysteria that surrounded the witch trials. Abigail is the primary accuser, naming numerous accused witches, while Reverend Hale exerts pressure on her to provide names and insists on court follow-ups.
Who caught the girls doing witchcraft in The Crucible?
In Act 1, Parris, a minister, observes his daughter Betty and niece Abigail engaged in dancing in the forest, accompanied by other girls and an enslaved Barbadian woman named Tituba. Parris then proceeds to accuse them of witchcraft, which results in Betty appearing unconscious.
Which characters confessed to witchcraft in The Crucible?
Proctor acknowledges the practice of witchcraft, although he declines to incriminate any other individuals. Danforth informs him that the court requires proof in the form of a signed, written testimony. Rebecca Nurse is present when Proctor’s confession is heard.
Which characters were accused of witchcraft in The Crucible?
The individuals designated as witches, namely Tituba, Giles Corey, Martha Corey, Rebecca Nurse, Goody Osborne, Goody Good, and John Proctor, are scheduled to be executed in accordance with the sequence of their accusations. Notably, Elizabeth, John Proctor’s pregnant wife, is not among those to be executed.
Who was at fault for the Salem witch trials?
The Salem Witch Trials involved several accusers, including Samuel Parris, a pastor who preached about the Devil’s work. The Parris Household, including Elizabeth “Betty” Parris and Abigail Williams, were the first “afflicted” girls, who began experiencing unexplained fits in January 1692 after experimenting with fortune-telling. They were diagnosed as possessed and remained the main accusers throughout the trials. Tituba, a female slave likely of Native South American ancestry owned by Parris, was the first to be accused of witchcraft by Betty and Abigail.
She also confessed and accused others, first naming Sarah Good and Sarah Osborne. Tituba told elaborate stories about rituals and animal familiars, leading to further accusations. Parris refused to pay her jailing costs, so she spent thirteen months in jail before someone else paid for her. Her fate after being released is unknown.
Who is the first person Abigail claims practiced witchcraft?
Tituba, the initial female accused of witchcraft during the Salem Witch Trials, was readily identified as a target due to her willingness to fulfill Abigail’s magical requests.
Who is most to blame for the hysteria in The Crucible?
In Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible”, Abigail Williams is credited with causing mass hysteria in Salem due to her desire for John Proctor. She manipulates the community through her charm and deceit, including attempting to kill Elizabeth and save her name. Abigail, who worked as a maid in the Proctor home, had an affair with John, leading to her firing. Abigail’s obsession with Proctor led to her actions, including murdering innocent people. She also engaged in physical relations with John, which led to her falling in love with him. Abigail’s manipulation and deceit contribute to the hysteria in Salem.
How many people confessed to witchcraft in The Crucible?
Elizabeth apprises Proctor of the fact that nearly one hundred individuals have confessed to witchcraft.
Who is responsible for witchcraft in The Crucible?
Arthur Miller’s The Crucible revolves around three key characters: Abigail Williams, Judge Danforth, and Thomas Putnam. Abigail is the primary figure responsible for the Salem witch trials, as she is the first to accuse innocent people of witchcraft. Putnam, driven by greed, is completely controlled by his desire for more land. The girls of Salem, particularly Abby, are also heavily controlled by their greed, with them being members of the court and having the power to be executed for any accusations.
Abigail is not greedy for land but for the power bestowed upon her and the other girls. She enjoys being seen as a saint, as girls in this time were used to being ignored and powerless. Thomas Putnam is a significant character in initiating the Salem witch hunt, as he blames unnatural causes for the illness among the children and firmly believes in the witchcraft.
📹 Video SparkNotes: Arthur Miller’s The Crucible summary
Check out Arthur Miller’s The Crucible Video SparkNote: Quick and easy The Crucible synopsis, analysis, and discussion of major …
This article also left out an IMPORTANT event: Mary warren works for the Procter Famliy. When she goes over to the Procter home, she tells the family about who is accuessed and she gives Elizabeth a doll that she has made. Mary had stuck a pin inside the doll for safe keeping. Elizabeth takes the doll and sends Mary away. When Elizabeth is aressted; the officals find the doll and see that the doll has a pin inside it. They think that Elizabeth had done that to the doll to hurt Abigal. (Voodoo)
That was good but you forgot to mention the whole bit where Danforth discovers Elizabeth is pregnant and when he gives Proctor the opportunity to save Elizabeth, he denies as he cannot give up on his friends who have also gone to the court to testify. Other than that, good study tool before my exam tomorrow (shootout to anyone else studying this play with 12 hours left until their exam).
For anyone wondering, marginalised and empowered perspectives were explored in the text. The crucible in itself is an allegory for the McCarthyism that took place during 1950s America where those who were allegedly branded as “communist supporters” were killed as much like the girls in the witch hunt trials of Salem. It is a masterpiece as it’s socio-historical context can be linked to modern society with Muslims being called or claimed as terrorists and hence feared by the rest of society. The mass amounts of hysteria displayed in the film were all to reveal the dark corruption in political systems of America during Arthur Miller’s lifetime. Fun Fact: A crucible is a piece of lab equipment that can withstand extremely hot temperatures. In the film/play, it is used as a symbolic device as the embodiment of the heat of mass hysteria in Salem Massachusetts 1692.
@Lamborghini09 Ex. He hung his coat as he entered the room. Ex. John Proctor was hanged at the end of the play. Objects get hung, people get hanged. Hung isn’t entirely wrong when refering to the killing of people, it’s just less customary and many people will try to correct you. Therefore it’s better to err on the side of caution and go with hanged when refering to the execution of people, and hung when refering to placing an object somewhere. Hope that helps.
@bravesquire She was 11 years old, in REALITY. And John Proctor was around 60. Miller changed the ages to create more sexual tension and drama – in the play, Abigail is 17 and John Proctor is in his thirties. Many believe Miller added this because he also had an affair during his marriage. In REALITY, Abigail Williams and John Proctor DID NOT have an affair.
my teacher told my class that this play is based on a true story but slightly altered by a man who was accused of being a communist and wrote this play to show his society that the people accusing others of being communists (taking their jobs and making it hell for them if they didnt tell the names of other communists) were pressing too much fear into them, thus he fought a long battle which cost him ALOT of funds… he made this play to show the people what was happening to them…
Some of the characters were, or were based off of real people in the Salem Witch Trials that did similar things; the play is an allegory to how McCarthyism in the 1950s for fear of Americans being Communists is not different from the horrific things the Puritans did in fear of witches. Although fiction, it’s a dramatization of the exact sort of things that really did happen multiple times in history.
slept through the class reading this whole thing. No one but me and one other girl were okay saying the word “whore”. I know noting about this play except “whore” is said seven times. I only paid attention when the word was coming up. Anyhoo, im here so I can write an essay about this acting like I know anything that went on while we read this. wish me luck 🙂
@alwayschai Arthur Miller was born in 1915. The tragic witch trials happened in the year 1692. In 1693 – the remaining prisoners were released and acquitted. Unless Arthur Miller forced himself out of the womb as a foetus and travelled back in time to grow up during the witch trails – and to die in 2005 at the age of 313 years – I would suggest you do more research.