Arthur Miller truly does depict a fine summary of the true treacherous consequences of lying within his play The Crucible. Centered on the Salem Witch trials, a common theme emerges among some characters to betray others to save one’s own personal self, while others decide to retain their own dignity and moral compass. A select few characters even try to heal the damage and evil done to the townspeople and the court. Lust, fear, and cowardice drive the true evil force of betrayal, while logic, care, and forgiveness allow others to begin the process of moving on and helping other characters to also heal. No two characters represent each side better than those of Abigail Williams and Elizabeth Proctor. Abigail Williams wields …show more content…
Elizabeth is a mild, peaceful and caring mother who only means to maintain a healthy family household, but due to her husband foolish actions and the wrath of Abigail, she only receives hurt and hardship. It is unbelievably unjust for Elizabeth, who has only tried to heal her family and resume her life with John, is convicted of witchcraft, when in reality, Abigail is the real monster. Elizabeth is obviously hurt from John’s affair with Abigail, and only wants him to move on from her. Elizabeth tries to remind John by saying, “I do not,judge you. The magistrate sits in your heart that judges you. I never thought you but a good man, John - with a smile - only somewhat bewildered,” but for even suggesting that John confront Abigail, he becomes angry with her and accuses her of never letting anything go. Even with John’s hurtful reply, she just absorbs the pain and does not lash out. In addition to this, she still is a good wife, for in she and John’s last goodbye, she actually apologizes for her being somewhat unresponsive recently in their marriage, even though she has done nothing wrong. As is shown when Elizabeth says, “I have sins of my own to count. It needs a cold wife to prompt
to Abigail and part of him still wants to be with her. But John is not
Arthur Miller’s The Crucible is a tragic play set in 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts, where Miller uses the Salem Trials as a metaphor for the 1950s McCarthy hearings. In Salem, people value their good names. The Puritan community acts as a theocracy in which there appears to be no right to privacy, and people must conform to a strict moral code. The theme of reputation, lying, and deceit are shown in Abigail, John Proctor, Elizabeth Proctor, Mary Warren, and other characters. In the play’s dialogue, Miller uses Biblical allusions, situational irony, and dramatic irony to develop these themes.
Comparing and Contrasting the Roles and Characteristics of Elizabeth Proctor and Abigail Williams in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible
In society, we are blind to lies that are taking place around us everyday. Small lies, big lies, lies right in front of our face, and we are oblivious to almost all of it. This is shown really well in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. Throughout the play, which takes place during the witch trials that took place in Salem, lies make up a big portion of the plot. Some of these types of lies that are used are described very well in Stephanie Ericsson’s essay The Ways We Lie. These variations of lies amplify the outrage created, through McCarthyism, and the Salem Witch trials that take place in the play The Crucible.
Life’s journey is difficult for many, and at times the only way to endure its struggles is to lie. During Puritan times there was a persecution directed toward many innocent people. Known for brutal executions, the Salem Witch trials, this period in history represents the most frowned upon time in that people found themselves searching for ways out of mistakes and how to cast blame on others. This makes lying common to save reputations and lives. In The Crucible, significant characters go to extreme lengths to protect their reputations by lying.
People are often told that lying is the wrong thing to do; it is evil, inhumane, and overall terrible. Despite this fact, lying has been shown to hand people multiple benefits. These benefits can be anything from getting out of doing house chores to looking cool in front of classmates. Because of this, many people use this form of deception to remove themselves from unwanted problems in the community. The Crucible, a play written Arthur Miller, portrays a disrupted society where people are accused of witchcraft for any abnormal activity. The accused witches are either forced to “confess” to their involvement with witchcraft or be executed in the gallows. The characters in the play display to the readers that lying provides protection towards people in different ways.
Opening Statement: Abigail Williams vs. Elizabeth Proctor May it please the court, counsel, members of the jury; this is a case of conspiracy of the murder of Elizabeth Proctor. You are here because in the spring of 1692, the defendant, Abigail Williams, committed the crime of conspiring to murder Elizabeth Proctor. It is the burden of the prosecution to prove to you beyond a reasonable doubt that Abigail Williams is guilty of plotting the murder of Elizabeth Proctor.
Lying leads to terrible tragedies. Lying for so long will create consequences and over time they will be difficult to overcome. Arthur Miller’s The Crucible takes place in Salem, Massachusetts, in the beginning of the 1692: Salem Witchcraft Trials. The story is centralized around John Proctor, a white, landowning Puritan, who betrays his wife, Elizabeth, by having sexual relations with Abigail Williams. Back in the day, everything was black and white, meaning if something is not about God then it must have been about the Devil, they were religious people and would not accept the fact that Proctor had sexual relations with someone else outside of his marriage. He denies that nothing ever happened between him and Abigail. While Proctor is not
Lying leads to terrible tragedies. Lying for so long will make it unpleasant to move on and the more difficult it will become. Just like how The Crucible ends. The Crucible is set in Salem, Massachusetts, at the beginning of the 1692 Salem Witchcraft Trials. The story is centralized around John Proctor, a white, landowning Puritan who betrayed his wife, Elizabeth by having sex with Abigail Williams. Back in the day, everything was black and white, meaning if something isn’t about God then it must’ve been about the Devil, they were religious people and they would not accept the fact that he had sex with someone else outside of marriage. He denied that nothing ever happened between him and Abigail. While Proctor is not taking responsibility for his actions, he causes a big commotion: people getting arrested and hanged, Abigail and a group of other girls are being accused of being part of Witchcraft. In the fourth act, Proctor is stuck in a situation where he either says the truth about who is part of witchcraft or he gets hanged. Proctor does not confess because he does not want people to use his name in vain and he knows that if he confesses it will leave a bad example for his sons, he decided to die an honest man than to live a fraud. At the end, Proctor ripped the confession knowing that he will be hung. Throughout the play, Arthur Miller creates two themes: the past will always haunt you and as people run away from their problems, their problems will continue to follow
A single lie can ruin your reputation. In the Crucible, having trust on someone is essential to a person, and you can be in a risky situation and make a mistake to protect a person. The play has viewed that people's errors can lead to severe consequences. In the play, Proctor had lied to Elizabeth’s face about being alone with Abigail. Proctor determines that he cannot lie anymore because his name is all he has considered for since he has lost it all. In Arthur Miller’s play, the Crucible, he demonstrates the theme of blindness and silence through the actions and choices of the characters.
In the play, The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, many characters commit the sin of dishonesty, each with a different motive. The strict Puritan setting of the play often forces the characters to compromise their honesty because they feel as though their only solution is to lie. Even though Abigail and John Proctor did have an affair, Proctor denies the .Everyone will lie to save their life.Abigail,Proctor,and the rest of the girls are some of the people that lie.
Some people think a lie will just fade away and nobody will find out but little do they know the truth always comes out. Lying only makes a situation worse not better and in this play it shows why lies can put you in a serious or dangerous situation. The Crucible written by Arthur Miller relates to the salem witch trials and is based on a small village that believes there are witches running around the village using witchcraft to turn people against god and sell themselves to the devil. In the beginning Mr.Parris, the father of Betty Parris is kneeling down beside his daughter Betty because he believes that the girls has used witchcraft and caused his daughter to behave strange. This leads him to question Abigail to find out what went on in
When enduring the pressure of harsh trial and suffering, one can make or break their reputation. Lying so closely ties to reputation in the drama The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, that distinguishing between the two is almost impossible. However, there are different types of reputation lies being told in the play; such as, Abigail lying to hurt others and boost her reputation, or Mary Warren risking her reputation by telling the truth in order to save John and Elizabeth until she realizes the truth is only putting her life at risk. The fear of a negative reputation pushes people into dangerous situations where lying is the only safe option.
Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible uses the ideals of Puritan morals to convey the dangers of hysteria and paranoia. This demonstrates the individual’s struggle to weigh integrity and ethics, for themselves and the community during times of distress. Within the play, Miller uses the lechery of John Proctor and Abigail Williams to exemplify the skewed theocratic system that bases law and virtues off Puritan morals. Throughout the crucible, many characters are forced into actions against their principles in Puritan society, striving to escape persecution of themselves and loved ones. Elizabeth Proctor lies for her husband John Proctor, due to her belief in puritan morals, marital vows and a “good name”.
In The Crucible by Arthur Miller dishonesty plays a huge role in the major conflicts. The plot of the story revolves around dishonesty. It is the lies spread by the people of Salem themselves that stand as cause for the trials in the first place. And it is the lies of Salem citizens that keep those trials going.