...The Crucible By Arthur Miller ACT I SETTING: A bedroom in Reverend Samuel Parris’ house, Salem, Massachusetts, in the Spring of the year, 1692. As the curtain rises we see Parris on his knees, beside a bed. His daughter Betty, aged 10, is asleep in it. Abigail Williams, 17, ENTERS. ABIGAIL: Uncle? Susanna Wallcott’s here from Dr. Griggs. PARRIS: Oh? The Doctor. (Rising.) Let her come, let her come. ABIGAIL: Come in Susanna. (Susanna Walcott, a little younger than Abigail, enters.) PARRIS: What does the doctor say, child? SUSANNA: Dr. Griggs he bid me come and tell you, Reverend sir, that he cannot discover no medicine for it in his books. PARRIS: Then he must search on. SUSANNA: Aye, sir, he have been searchin’ his books since he left you, sir, but he bid me tell you, that you might look to unnatural things for the cause of it. PARRIS: No-no. There be no unnatural causes here. Tell him I have sent for Reverend Hale of Beverly, and Mister Hale will surely confirm that. Let him look to medicine, and put out all thought of unnatural causes here. There be none. SUSANNA: Aye, sir. He bid me tell you. PARRIS: Go directly home and speak nothin’ of unnatural causes. SUSANNA: Aye, sir, I pray for her. (Goes out.) ABIGAIL: Uncle, the rumor of witchcraft is all about; I think you’d best go down and deny it yourself. The parlor’s packed with people, sir.--I’ll sit with her. PARRIS: And what shall I say to them? That my daughter and my niece I discovered dancing ...
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...Kenya Finch Mr. Osborn Per. 7 March 17, 2012 Character Analysis Essay The world is made of all different types of people with different qualities. Some qualities we all share and some we don’t. We value some more than others and look down at some. Often the qualities that are look down on is what society seems to create the most around and pay the most attention to. Throughout the reading of The Crucible there are many characters that have been introduced with different qualities. One of the characters that have been introduced that has qualities that stands out more from others which are manipulative, devious, and inconsiderate. The character I’m talking about is Abigail Williams. All throughout the story Abigail displays all these qualities and many other but those three are the ones that are displayed the most. Out of all qualities Abigail displays devious is the one greatly revealed. Throughout the story there are many events that happen that Abigail had something to do with, with each event Abigail always has a different story from what actually happens and convinces people that her story is the truth. One event that happens that displays this would be when Abigail was in the woods with the girls dancing and took it to the next level by drinking blood and taking off her clothing. Before the questioning of what happen in the woods Abigail states “Shut up! All of you. We danced. That is all, and mark this, if anyone breathe a word or the edge of a word about the other...
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...Salem witch trials Sabrina Armstrong Com/220 April 24, 2010 G.L. Beck Salem witch trials: a drug induced hysteria What happened in Salem in 1692? The people involved in the Salem witch trials were more than just names, dates and places; they were people with lives and families as well. The Salem witch trials started with three girls falling ill with mysterious symptoms that the doctors could not explain by medical science during that point in history. Many people still wonder today why the hysteria took place. Some people believe that, what caused the hysteria was a by-product of children’s self-delusions. Other people believe that while, the hysteria fueled the Salem witch trials it was not the cause of the trials. A handful of people instead believe that it was drug induce by a toxic fungus called ergot. Ergot is a mold often found on plants such as rye, wheat, and barley, which during the witch trials and still today people made bread from these plants. St. Anthony’s fire is also another name for ergotism. Ergot is a type of food poisoning; that during; Medieval Times was frequent. Although ergot does not include LSD, it does contain ergotamine, which is the hallucinogen that LSD derives from. The evidence suggests that digesting food with ergot in it will poison people and make them sick; this was a major aspect in the Salem trials but no one realized this until recently, when historian and behaviorist psychologist Linnda Caporael did a study on the trials...
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...puritans in his colony in the church and for the most part out of any trouble. Wouldn't hesitate to bannish "trouble makers" or outspoken individuals from the colony. Bacon's Rebellion - The Virginia planters in the outlying areas in 1776 lead by Nathaniel Bacon. Planetrs in this area would aquire more lands by forcing and killing Indians off their lands. They had asked the leaders in Jamestown to form an expidetion against the Indians, when they were not suported they formed their own army of 500 men. The only thing that this accomplished was a way for everyone to seek lower labor costs, bringing in more black slaves. Salem Witchcraft Trials - Between Janurary and April of 1692 people in Salem Village were diagnosed of having been touched by the evil hand and declared bewitched. By this time there were over 150 people accused of being witches. Trials started and 28 of them were convicted of being witches and sentenced to death, a total of 19 were hanged, while 5 confessed of being witches and were spared and a few others escaped....
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...because I think that history is very relevant to many different age groups. The points in history that I will focus on are the slave era and the Salem witch craft trials because these were dark points in our Americas history and important to learn. The linguistic intelligence; I could teach the children how people communicated in the early years and how poetry was often used as a code to get word to people during slavery years to help people to escape towards freedom. Then I would teach them how to write their own poem about someone or something that they consider important with a hidden meaning in their words. The spatial intelligence; I would teach the children how to visualize what the world looked like for people of the slave era; especially if a person was born of color. To help them to visualize this, I would put them in groups of five and have each group build a small model mock town and make presentations for the class to all see. The musical intelligence; I would tell the children how the women of the slave era made up songs to direct other runaway slave freedom towards then I would have them break up in groups and make up their own song to direct others towards a common goal and see if anyone could follow it. The intrapersonal intelligence; I would have the children take a closer look at not just the victims of the Salem witch trials but also the persecutors which started the whole series of events. I would have them look at how they lived and why they made the choices which...
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...Joshua Smelser Professor Lee Hinds Composition 2 September, 10, 2012 Fear As a Living Person In the movie, The Crucible, inspired by Aurther Miller and directed by Nicholas Hytner, fear is a subtle but important aspect in the movie. In fact, if fear was an actor in the film, it would be the lead character, leading to deaths, lies, and betrayal. Now the movie starts off with the towns teenage girls dancing in the woods, conjuring up spells to make boys like them. As they dance around, some naked, reverend Paris a man with power in a city of puritans discovers the girls. This would be the first time fear appears in the movie. Out of fear the girls scatter to avoid getting in trouble with the reverend. All but two girls get away, the reverend’s daughter Betty, and his niece Abigail. After this scene fear gets its biggest part in the movie. Betty falls into a coma nothing can wake her. The town including her father believes that the devil has got hold of her. I believe that Betty is just scared to get in trouble, and there are pieces of evidence that prove it. First off through the entire movie all the girls of the town are lying that they can see the devil. Why would this be untrue for this small girl? Second during church Abigail and the girls march up to Betty’s room and explain to her that everything is ok, her father knows and is not angry. Remarkably she wakes and says she wants her mom. If Betty was truly possessed I am sure she would not wake at the first instance...
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...The Crucible Essay The play, The Crucible, takes place in Salem, Massachusetts during the Salem Witch Trials. The trials are started by a group of girls who do not want to get in trouble for dancing and conjuring up spirits in the forest. The theme that is brought about in this play is the nature of authority. In The Crucible, many characters present various views of the nature of authority. There are three examples of this theme: The authority of the church over the lives of the villagers, the control Abigail has over the people who are accused of witchcraft and her friends in the trial, and the power of the judge over the trials. The first example of the nature of authority is the church’s power over the villagers’ lives. The church and the everyday lives of its members are controlled by the preachers. Puritans were highly religious people. They had to live under a set of strict religious policies set forth by the church. The Puritans were governed by a theocracy, which is a form of government in which God or a deity is recognized as the supreme civil ruler. The Puritans in the late 1600’s believed that the preachers were the purest men on the face of the earth. Unfortunately, that is not so. As evident in the novel, even preachers can become corrupted. John Proctor puts it as “I like it not that Mr. Parris should lay his hand upon my baby. I see no light of God in that man. I’ll not conceal it.” (856). Miller proves that this is so with his depiction of Reverend Parris’s...
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...Rachel Pilkinton Mrs. Dierks English Composition 2 January 21, 2012 Dream or Reality? Nathaniel Hawthorne’s story, “Young Goodman Brown”, is set during the Salem witch hunts and trials in the Salem Village. The true evil of this time, I believe, is not the people accused of being witches, but the accusers, the “witch hunters”, and the people who murdered innocent people for heresay, are the true evil of this time. I believe the story itself is all a dream, a dream that represents an actual reality; a reality that shows what is thought to be good is actually evil. Young Goodman Brown, like his grandfather and father, hunted what they thought was evil, like witches, Indians, medicine men, shamans, etc. He believed the work he was doing was for the good. I believe this is a dream showing Goodman Brown that the work that he , his family, and his fellow towns people are and have done in the name of God, may in fact be the work of the Devil, maybe the line between good and evil is blurring a little for Young Goodman Brown: when he arrives deep in the forest, he sees all the people in his life that represents good: his revered pastor, the good ole Deacon Gookin, Goody Cloyse; the old woman that taught him his catechism( the principles of Christianity), and still to this day, his spiritual guide, he even thought he saw his dead father, his mother, and all the people he believed to be the most holiest of people gathered and...
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...influence on early American New England and on many of its historians and writers, one of which was Nathaniel Hawthorne. The influence of Puritan religion, culture and education along with the setting of his hometown of Salem, Massachusetts, is a common topic in Nathaniel Hawthorne's works. In particular, Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown" allows the writer to examine and perhaps provide commentary on not only the Salem of his own time but also the Salem of his ancestors. Growing up Hawthorne could not escape the influence of Puritan society, not only from residing with his father's devout Puritan family as a child but also due to Hawthorne's study of his own family history. The first of his ancestors, William Hathorne, is described in Hawthorne's "The Custom House" as arriving with the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630 "with his Bible and his sword" (26). A further connection can also be seen in his more notable ancestor John Hathorne, who exemplified the level of zealousness in Puritanism with his role as persecutor in the Salem Witch Trials. The study of his own family from the establishment of the Bay Colony to the Second Great Awakening of his own time parallels the issues brought forth in "Young Goodman Brown." In looking into the history of Salem and especially early Puritan society Hawthorne is able to discuss the merits and...
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...tragic structure of the play and to our understanding of the community of Salem itself The relationship of John Proctor and his wife Elizabeth Proctor is a strong bond. Even though John Proctor had cheated on her with Abigail, Elizabeth still forgives him. But there are a few rough patches in the relationship; like the lack of trust. But Elizabeth loves John Proctor so much that she lies in court to prevent John’s name being tarnished, but this lie inevitably ends up killing John Proctor. In the beginning of the play John speaks about Elizabeth once to Abigail. Abby has said that Elizabeth was a cold and sickly wife. John says to her that she has no right to speak of his wife in such a manner and renounces the comment about her being sickly. ‘You’ll speak nothin’ of Elizabeth!’ He does not, although dismiss Abby’s charge that Elizabeth is a cold wife. He seems to be over protective of Elizabeth, when Abby is speaking ill of Elizabeth he threatens to whip her. In the beginning of Act 2 there was a great feeling of detachment and tension in the Proctor household. We see John trying to start a conversation with Elizabeth and she only gives him short answers to please him. ‘Pray now for a fair summer... Aye.’ This shows the detachment and tension in the Proctor household. Then the tide turns to her questioning him and he is the one that becomes short with her because she is requesting that he go to Salem and confess that Abigail is liar, to do that though he must confess his sin...
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...Assignment During 1692, mass hysteria emerged in Massachusetts over the growing beliefs of witchcraft. People who believed in witchcraft had the notion that that the Devil could give certain people known as witches the power to harm others in exchange for their loyalty. This craze was probably inspired by a similar incident in Europe that just recently ended at the time. Within one year in Salem, over 200 people were accused of being witches and 19 men and women were convicted and hanged at Gallows Hill as punishment. In addition, a man over 80 years old was killed after put under mass amounts of weight as a result from denying the charges put on him. These accusations were all lies that resulted from the ongoing frontier war, economic conditions, congregational strife, teenage boredom, fear of Native Indian attacks, and personal jealousies. In 1689, a few years before the whole witchcraft hysteria began, the English rulers William and Mary proclaimed war with France in the 13 colonies of the United States. Known as King William’s war, it caused hundreds of people to migrate into Salem, Massachusetts for refuge. The population in fluctuation affected the economy because resources became scarce. As a result, people started to become sick and social relations became tense. In response, people became aggravated and a lot of quarreling occurred. In addition, the people were very scared about being attacked by the Native Americans. People started to think that all of this turmoil...
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...The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, depicts the story of the Salem witch hunt and the chaos it caused. One of the main characters is John Proctor. Proctor is put through many life-changing decisions. In many cases, a decision he made in one situation led to another problem. John Proctor is the tragic hero of this story. If John Proctor was not such an admirable character, he probably would not have been in the massive mess he was. Proctor made a very humanly mistake in the beginning. In considering his wife's sickness and loneliness, he looked to Abigail. Proctor's passion and sexuality no doubt frightened Elizabeth. He probably felt rebuffed and disappointed when she did not or could not return the expressions of love from him. Abigail most likely adored him because of his strength and honesty. "Gah! I'd almost forgot how strong you are, John Proctor" (21)! With this statement, Abigail shows that she never really forgot about him. He was always running threw her mind. She thought he would still be into her too. After his affair with Abigail, he made an even bigger mistake. He rejected Abigail and went back to his wife, without thinking what Elizabeth might due in response. Abigail sought vengeance. Cheever: ...I have a warrant for your wife. Proctor: Who charged her? Cheever: Why, Abigail Williams charged her. Proctor: On what proof, what proof (22-23)? Proctor had eventually figured Abigail would do something like this. This quotation shows that...
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...The Crucible Thesis: In The Crucible, Miller repeats ideas to emphasize their importance in contributing to Salem; these motifs like names and lies are repeated to show their impact on Salem. In the Salem Witch Trials of 1693, there are many injustices committed against innocent people. The play The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, talks about how people falsely accuse others of witchcraft. It starts when some of the younger girls in Salem, especially the antagonist Abigail, are caught dancing in the woods and lie about the incident. They confess to witchcraft and falsely accuse others so they can be absolved of guilt. In The Crucible, Miller repeats ideas to emphasize their importance in contributing to Salem; these motifs like names and lies are repeated to show their impact on Salem. The motif of names is important to understanding the escalation of the witch trials in Salem. Names help make the situation worse because people falsely name others who are witches, which fills jail cells and makes the number of accused witches go up. People also try to protect their reputation. In Act 1, right after Tituba confesses to witchcraft, Parris and Hale try to convince her to name others who are witches. Tituba then says, “And I look- and there was Goody Good… Aye sir, and Goody Osburn” (Miller 47). Tituba is merely naming people to get herself out of trouble. During this time, it is not enough to just confess, they want you to also name others who are...
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...Biography on Giles Corey Giles Corey was a successful farmer and an active member of the Salem church. Born in England in 1611. Giles was one of the six men to be executed during the Salem witch trials. He moved from England to Salem . There he owned an many acres of land, which resulted in the appearance of his being a rich farmer. In 1675, Giles pummeled and killed a farm worker named Jacob Goodale. He was found guilty of the murder and ordered to pay a substantial fine. This model citizen was not looked lightly upon when the word “witch” started floating around. In April of 1692, Ann Putnam, Jr., Mercy Lewis, and Abigail Williams all accused Giles of witch craft. Ann said that Corey supposedly came to her on the 13th of April and asked her to write in “the devil’s book.” She later said that a ghost came to her, asking to be avenged against his killer, Giles Corey. When the trials first began Giles Corey was already 80, and was married to Martha. On March 19, 1692, Martha was arrested for witchcraft. Giles decided to testify against his wife ,no one knows why, but later tried to take back what he had said. Giles Was arrested after being accused of witchcraft and remained there in jail with his wife until his trial on September 16, 1692. Giles went to the trial and pleaded not guilty, but refused to put himself on the court because of his contempt for the court. Because the court had believed and accepted the others testimony, Giles understood that there was a slim chance...
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...Bryanna Miller English 2 L1 The Crucible essay March 13, 2014 “Because it’s my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies! Because I am not worth the dust on the feet of them to hang! How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name!” (43) This is the reasoning John Proctor, a tragic hero, gave to why he wouldn’t sign his name on the document confessing to witch craft. This is also one of his last statements he made before he was hung to prove that he is a hero. John Proctor is a tragic hero because not only does he bring trouble on people, but in the end he tries his hardest to fix his mistakes, making him a hero. Proctors mistakes and attempts to fix them also helps the author, Arthur Miller, of the play The Crucible, get the theme, your mistakes will catch up with you, across. John Proctor is known as a tragic hero because he has made many mistakes and brought trouble into people’s lives, but he tried to make up for the mistakes and fix the problems he caused. The mistake he made in the play was when he had an affair with Abigail. This causes troubles, with not only his wife Elizabeth’s life, but also with Abigail’s life. This causes great trouble for Goody Proctor because she had to live with the fact that her husband cheated on her, because divorce was very looked down upon in the community. To try and get over the affair John had, she tried her best to pretend that it didn’t happen, and that everything...
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