Preview

How did arthur miller portray the relationship between john and elizabeth proctor in "The Crucible" by arthur miller?

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1782 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
How did arthur miller portray the relationship between john and elizabeth proctor in "The Crucible" by arthur miller?
This play is based on the real events of the Salem witch hunt however is not completely accurate by reducing the amount of girls "crying out" and that Abigail's age had been raised as she was just really eleven years old as with such other things. The play's base is still the same by showing that there were nineteen men and women convicted of witch craft that were hanged and how another man over eighty years old was pressed to death with heavy stones for not confessing whilst dozens stayed in jail for months without trials. This was all McCarthyism that was still around when The Crucible was written and was a witch hunt looking for evil which focused on Communists that they found everywhere. This was how Miller portrayed how primitive the American 1950's were by relating it to McCarthyism in the 1690's.

The basic hysteria that swept through the witch hunt was also kept that looked as it could have been due to frontier war, economic conditions, personal jealousies and even teenage boredom that lead to mad accusations, trials and executions. These people were primitive in medicine and accused the devil of all illnesses or anything else that was an inconvenience. They were also puritans and older generations may have been bitter from having to move from other counties due to there rigid beliefs. All this happened between the spring and summer of 1692 in Salem, America due to congregational strife with plain back stabbing which caused life in fear.

Miller portrayed John Proctors character as kind with strong opinions and principles. He also looked hard working and although he was deeply religious he chose not to go to church regularly because he thought the "Minister was not suitable". John was definitely passionate in anything he believed in regardless of what others said or thought.

Miller portrayed that Elizabeth Proctor's character was cold, plain and was bored of life and that her entire life was a duty. I think she was also worried of what other people thought

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    John Proctor compromised the reputation of his name, and values that he cherishes by having an affair with Abigail Williams. This flaw will forever haunt him. Arthur Miller uses symbolism and irony to support the central idea that Proctor can either die honorably or live a lie.…

    • 334 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Arthur Miller the author of The Crucible introduces John Proctor in a very interesting way. The first scene with Proctor and Abigail, gave the reader a wrong impression about Proctor and Abigail’s relationship. “Proctor: Abby, I may think of you softly from time to time….. We never touched, Abby. Abigail: Aye, but we did.…

    • 352 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Like her husband, Elizabeth has some descriptive terms about her tone; like John Proctor she was bitter during Act II because she has been fooled because of John Proctor's adultery. Then she becomes more compassionate and forgiving because John is on the brink of death in Act III. In the beginning of Act II, Elizabeth is more suspicious of John continuing her sins as she asks” what keeps you so late? It is almost dark”(1266). She was so quick to assume that John Proctor was doing something other than what he was actually doing, providing food for the family. She is a loyal wife that she would go as far as to lie to the court to keep John alive; she does this as he testifies “My husband is a good and righteous man. He is never drunk as some are … but always at his work”(). Although it is a sin this is also a sense of her Redemption because she has forgiven her past adultering husband. And finally in Act IV, when Elizabeth Proctor and John Proctor meet for the last time, she forgives him and blames the unsettled feeling on the household on herself; she goes on to say “John, I counted myself so plain, so poorly made, no honest love could come to me! It were a cold house I kept”(). As John became hysterical, Elizabeth wanted to forgive him and just blames herself in the same manner because she feel so bad and John’s about to die and that leads to try to rectify the situation and the mental pain. Miller perfects the embodiment of a couple who, under all of the issues they have, love each other more than anything in the…

    • 1030 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the play, The Crucible there were many characters who stayed the same throughout the entire story, and there were others who changed. One of the characters who changed over the course of the play was John Proctor. He was an upstanding citizen in the community with one fatal flaw, his shame in sleeping with his servant, Abigail Williams. Over the course of the play, Proctor fights his guilt over what he did and faces whether or not to tell the court as he watches Abigail tear the lives of the people in the community apart. In the beginning of the play, Proctor's only goal in life was to keep his good name in the society, but he changed in an effort to save the lives of others in court. He did so when he finally told of his adultery with Abigail even though by the time he did, it was too late. While his plan to save the other people who were being tried for witchcraft had failed, he succeeded in freeing his own guilt with his confession. From that point on in the story, John Proctor was a heroic figure instead of a cowardly one like he used to be.…

    • 504 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    What do you think about John Proctor? In the Crucible, John proctor was a farmer who desperately wanted to be the reverend. He lived in Salem, Massachusetts with his wife, Elizabeth, and three sons. John proctor is a dynamic character in the crucible because he wants his name to be good and have a good reputation, but he ruins his life from public reputation, he chooses to not admit to committing adultery, but eventually he does, and he becomes selfless and sacrifice himself to save his wife and everyone else in the court by the end of the book.…

    • 830 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the play, The Crucible, John Proctor is a remorseful, candid, and an industrious man. The author, Arthur Miller, created John Proctor so the readers would like him. Proctor has flaws that he tries to fix, but still has a hard time with his wife, Elizabeth. Arthur Miller makes sure the reader still can see John Proctor as a likeable man after his…

    • 503 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Core 1 - The Crucible

    • 853 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The novel, The Crucible was written in 1953 by Arthur Miller, which was based on the Salem Witch Trials existing in the late 1600s. In the play, Abigail and several other young women accuse innocent citizens of Salem for the action of witchcraft. During the trials, many individuals were unfairly persecuted; such as John Proctor. This event in history may be associated with the Red Scare, in which individuals were tried for their questionable influences of communism in the United States. When Miller compares the character of John Proctor to himself, the reader is able to relate the similar experiences that both men faced. The Crucible demonstrates the struggle against corruption involving the court, which lead to the death of many innocent individuals in Salem. The Crucible generates an allegory for Arthur Miller’s struggles with McCarthyism because of his similar experience relating to John Proctor’s battle against the Salem Witch Trials, and the relation between the actions of the court in both situations.…

    • 853 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    John Proctor was a leading figure of the Salem community during The Crucible. “He was the kind of man- powerful of body, even tempered, and not easily led- who cannot refuse support to partisans without drawing their deepest resentment. In Proctor’s presence a fool felt his foolishness instantly...” (1269). Proctor served as a voice of reason and when he agreed with something, it…

    • 441 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Salem witch trials were caused by jealousy, paranormia,and teenagers. Jealousy was a huge part because of the rich people having better land or have more money so people accused them to be able to own their stuff. Paranormia was a part of it because people were scared that the devil was entering their body to make them do bad things. Teenages were also part of it becsuse teeagers didn’t get a long with everyone, so when they didn’t they acted like the person was put a witchcraft spell on them. This is why the Salem witch trials in 1692…

    • 436 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Miller shows the audience throughout the play with direct and indirect characterization that John Proctor is eaten by guilt, and that he has things to hide.. Like in act he said, “ ...I should have roared you down when you first told me your suspicion. But I wilted, and like a christian, I confessed!...”(Miller 1164). John Proctor was a angry man who could not let go of his guilt and pride. He could not accept his wife Elizabeth”s forgiveness because he could not forgive himself. The author author also uses indirect characterization to show that John Proctor has skeletons in the closet which the guilt is hanging over him. When Miller says, “ In Proctor’s presence a fool felt his foolishness instantly- and a Proctor is always marked for calumny…

    • 486 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Salem Witch Trials of 1692 is one of the most well-known historical events. In 1692, 20 people were hanged for being a so-called “witch.” Most accusations were made by six girls, which included Betty Parris, Abigail Williams, and Ann Putnam Jr.. Witches were people whose bodies had supposedly been taken over by The Devil. But what really caused the Salem Witch Trials hysteria? The three reasons that caused the mass hysteria were how certain people, ages, genders, and marital statuses were targeted, the fact that the girls were so good at acting, they were able to fool the entire village, and that neighbor conflicts created tension and jealousy.…

    • 534 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Abigail Williams - 1

    • 651 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible in response to McCarthyism in 1953. During this time the Puritan society was in authority. This society was one where religion was highly practiced, women had the least rights, forms of entertainment were banned and adultery was seen as major sin. However, Miller’s, The Crucible makes the strongest female character; Abigail the conveyance of all the Puritans would have believed as evil. Throughout the play, The Crucible the major character Abigail is presented as breathlessly beautiful yet highly malicious. She is displayed as antagonistic and static while instigating the witch trials for revenge.…

    • 651 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    children were thought of as the vice of god and they were pure of blemishes.…

    • 459 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Salem witch hunt was a wave of paranoia and ignorance and caused hundreds of innocent people to die. This started in in the spring of 1692 and did not end until September in 1962 because people really stared to doubt the truthfulness of the trials. The first convicted witch was a woman by the name of Bridget bishop. This was a large impact on history and even had many books such as the crucible and many others. The other main cause is that back in this time most people did not understand things like we do today so they would blame the devil rather than a practical analysis.…

    • 545 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a play that takes place in 1692 in the small Massachusetts village of Salem. Salem is a Puritan community; they are a very restrictive society with strong beliefs. They believe in hard work and prayer, therefore they consider material and sexual desires unnatural and evil. Abigail Williams, the main character is the reason for the witch trials that begin in Salem. She is dishonest, manipulative and her seductive ways is what makes her the antagonist of this play.…

    • 872 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays