The Crucible
January 11, 2013
Title
Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible set in 1692, takes place in a small village in Salem, Massachusetts. At this time many puritans, who were of greater strictness in religious discipline, were to believe in witchcraft and considered it a very wrongful sin. This had led to much hysteria around the village. Miller’s work The Crucible presents a study of Manipulation, a tragic hero and hysteria in Salem during the 1600’s.
In Arthur Miller 's novel "The Crucible,” the abuse of power and the use of manipulation is rampant. Manipulation is presented not only through the abuse of power but by lying, and jealousy. This is especially true of Abigail, the teenage niece of Reverend Parris. She started this story by giving herself to a married man. Who happened to be John Procter. In the 16th century, western life was very different from today. In the puritan religion, children were expected to keep their heads down and be thankful for their existence. Abigail Williams gains power by manipulating the group of girls in the church into following her and to convince the court that the things they see are real when actually it is all pretend. While alone with the girls she said, "Let either of you breathe a word, or the edge of a word about the other things, and I will come to you in the black of some terrible night and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you. And you know I can do it..." Abigail also lies to the court in order to protect herself from any punishments. Her false statements had led Elizabeth to be sent to jail. Elizabeth was a straight forward honest woman. Not one lie has ever left her mouth. But when she was asked if John committed adultery, she lied. She had known that John has had an affair with Abigail Williams yet she told a lie to protect her husband. Jealousy is also one of the sources for manipulation. Jealousy also played a big role in who was to blame for the deaths in Salem. Since Abigail lusts for John, she wishes
Title
Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible set in 1692, takes place in a small village in Salem, Massachusetts. At this time many puritans, who were of greater strictness in religious discipline, were to believe in witchcraft and considered it a very wrongful sin. This had led to much hysteria around the village. Miller’s work The Crucible presents a study of Manipulation, a tragic hero and hysteria in Salem during the 1600’s.
In Arthur Miller 's novel "The Crucible,” the abuse of power and the use of manipulation is rampant. Manipulation is presented not only through the abuse of power but by lying, and jealousy. This is especially true of Abigail, the teenage niece of Reverend Parris. She started this story by giving herself to a married man. Who happened to be John Procter. In the 16th century, western life was very different from today. In the puritan religion, children were expected to keep their heads down and be thankful for their existence. Abigail Williams gains power by manipulating the group of girls in the church into following her and to convince the court that the things they see are real when actually it is all pretend. While alone with the girls she said, "Let either of you breathe a word, or the edge of a word about the other things, and I will come to you in the black of some terrible night and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you. And you know I can do it..." Abigail also lies to the court in order to protect herself from any punishments. Her false statements had led Elizabeth to be sent to jail. Elizabeth was a straight forward honest woman. Not one lie has ever left her mouth. But when she was asked if John committed adultery, she lied. She had known that John has had an affair with Abigail Williams yet she told a lie to protect her husband. Jealousy is also one of the sources for manipulation. Jealousy also played a big role in who was to blame for the deaths in Salem. Since Abigail lusts for John, she wishes
Cited: Miller, Arthur. “The Crucible.” Prentice Hall Literature: The American Experience. Penguin. Ed. Tim O’Brien. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice. 2005. 1257-1358. Print.