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Conflict Between Abigail And The Proctor In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

Decent Essays

In act one of The Crucible, there exist two major conflicts which are underlying causes of the witchcraft hysteria. The conflict between Reverend Parris and the village leads Reverend Parris to make decisions which the average minister may not make in order to protect himself. These decisions will eventually create poor results and serve to feed the general hysteria. The conflict between Abigail and the Proctors leads Abigail to do things which are highly indicative of witchcraft. While there are many reasons for the hysteria, the conflicts between Reverend Parris and the village and between Abigail and the Proctors are truly what blow things out of proportion. Reverend Parris is an interesting man to be a Puritan minister for many reasons, …show more content…

Putnam is a high ranking individual in the village of Salem due to the large amount of land he owns, which makes him very wealthy by comparison to the average Salem resident. Putnam has resentment for Reverend Parris because Putnam’s brother-in-law, Reverend Bailee, had applied to be minister of Salem, but did not get the position, which was a massive blow to Putnam’s ego. Thus, there is a great deal of conflict between Reverend Parris and the village due to his concern for self preservation, his sermons which scare the congregation, and the resentment towards him from a high ranking member of Salem society. The other, arguably more significant conflict is that between Abigail Williams and the Proctors. At one point, Abigail worked for the Proctors, and during this time, she had an affair with John Proctor. Elizabeth Proctor, John’s wife, figured out this affair and immediately dismissed Abigail from their service. Abigail, though, was still in love with John which lead her to the ridiculous decision of asking Tituba for a charm to kill Goody (Elizabeth) Proctor which would leave John Proctor without a wife and able to marry

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