In Act II, Scene 1 of the Crucible, it is the first time we meet Elizabeth Proctor. We already know about John's affair, but have not had a chance to see how Elizabeth is reacting to it. In this scene, it is visible that they have not yet solved their problem. The stage directions actually have them placed far from each other, as if they are not comfortable enough to stand close together.…
Elizabeth Proctor is a kind, caring woman who loves God and has never strayed from the path of the lord. Abigail Williams is a girl who has disobeyed at least three of the Ten Commandments of the lord most notably thou shan’t lie and thou shan’t covet thy neighbor’s wife or husband. Goody Proctor is falsely accused of witchcraft whereas Abigail is the one going left and right accusing people of being a witch. What most people don’t realize is that Abigail wanted John Proctor for herself and would do anything to do so. Elizabeth has done nothing wrong in the town of Salem yet everyone believes the voice of a 12 year old girl. To summarize the story, John Proctor is a man of god.…
In January 1693, while still in jail, Elizabeth (Bassett) Proctor gave birth to a son, John Proctor III. Elizabeth and John III remained in jail until May 1693, when a general release freed all of those prisoners who remained jailed. Unfortunately, even though the general belief of the people was that innocent people had been wrongly convicted, Elizabeth had in fact been convicted and was considered guilty. In the eyes of the law she was considered a "dead woman" and could not claim any of her husband's estate. Elizabeth petitioned the court for a reversal of attainder to restore her legal rights. No action was taken for seven years. In June 1696, Elizabeth filed an appeal to contest her husband's will. At the time John wrote his will, he had assumed that Elizabeth would be executed and had left her nothing. On September 22, 1696 Elizabeth married again to Daniel Richards. In July 1703, several more people filed petitions before any action was taken on Elizabeth’s appeal for reversal of attainder. The Massachusetts House of Representatives finally passed a bill disallowing spectral evidence. However, they only gave reversal of attainder for those who had filed petitions. This basically applied to only two people – Elizabeth Proctor and Rebecca Nurse. In 1705, another petition was filed requesting a more equitable settlement for those wrongly accused. In 1709, the General Court received a request to take action on this proposal. In May 1709, 22 people who had been convicted of witchcraft, or whose parents had been convicted of witchcraft, presented the government with a petition in which they demanded both a reversal of attainder and compensation for financial losses. On October 17, 1711, the General Court passed a bill reversing the judgment against the 22 people listed in the 1709 petition. There were still an additional 7 people who had been convicted, but had not signed the petition. There was no reversal of attainder for them.…
I can't believe that awful, no good man, John Proctor. He had the audacity to choose that whining wife over me. I am way better than that goody too shoes Elizabeth Proctor. We have vastly different character traits; we are like day night. She is a naive, simple woman. I on the other hand am an adventurer. I am knowledgeable, healthy, and certainly far from simple. Why, any man would be lucky to have me as their wife. Elizabeth is a old hag who should just disappear. I am a beautiful, young, healthy woman. Yet alas, the man I want so desperately is connected to this evil witch of a woman! I mean can she be anymore annoying? She is always nagging me and everyone else in…
In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, several characters are tested with their own crucible, one such example being John Proctor. His specific trial is a fairly common test: the burden of ethical decision-making, referring to the process of evaluating and choosing amongst alternatives in a manner consistent with ethical principles. Being most closely tied to an utilitarian viewpoint, John Proctor exercises his right to self-determination and makes the right choice in allowing himself to die as it is the best action for being the one that brings the most good to the most people.…
Arthur Miller has created a version of Salem in which the people are dependent on easily fabricated and unreliable evidence in order to prove or disprove a person guilty of witchcraft. Attempting to show that Elizabeth Proctor is guilty of witchcraft, Mr. Cheever explains that the poppet he found could be evidence that Elizabeth stabbed Abigail Williams. He says of Reverend Parris, “Stuck two inches in the flesh of her belly, he draw a needle out. And demandin’ of her how she come to be so stabbed, she testify it were your wife's familiar spirit pushed it in,”(71) after he draws a needle out of the poppet’s stomach. Elizabeth and John explain that Mary Warren made the poppet during court and brought it home that night. Mary even confesses…
Does a situation ever present itself where friends may do something wrong, lies sometimes protect friends, or others sympathize for pretended hurt? If these descriptions seem familiar, the characters in The Crucible by Arthur Miller may too. A crucible is a thorough trial or examination; therefore, the term coincides with the title of the play because the courts rigorously try individuals for the crime of witchcraft within the text (“Crucible” 1). The Crucible’s plot unfolds in the 1690’s in the Puritan town of Salem, Massachusetts (Miller 1038-1118). Within the story, several characters’ outlooks on life and their manner of interacting with the other characters change because of the trials, while contrastingly, a portion of the characters remains stagnant. Miller’s work properly illustrates how some characters, such as Elizabeth Proctor and John Hale, grow and subsequently improve relationships amongst themseleves as a result of interactions that provide opportunities for changes in ideals and relationships; while other individuals, like Judge Danforth, do not.…
The Crucible, a play written to criticize the Red Scare, involves a theme which focuses on how the characters change as an effect of the intensity and hysteria of the town’s witch trials. Elizabeth Proctor and Reverend Hale, two major characters in the play, experience internal changes as the play progresses due to the individual pressures of the witch trials. Elizabeth Proctor faces the test of having been accused as a witch, having her husband be accused and condemned as a witch, and trying to move past her husband’s affair with a local girl. Reverend Hale was challenged by the corruption of the ministry in Salem and encountered much adversity while doing his job, seeking out witchcraft. Both of these characters come to realize the witch trials only result in death and lies, which causes these characters to evolve.…
John Proctor is the tragic hero of The Crucible. Although he can be cast as the hero, John Proctor causes his tragic face by the end of the play. He had risked his life for others. Caring for others and he had risked his life for someone really important then him. Even his wife, Elizabeth Proctor.…
When a lot of anger is built up, it can cause someone to look for blame in people around them and how society works. The most common place they take out their frustration, especially for women like Elizabeth Proctor, is internally. Elizabeth Proctor had an image that she had to upkeep, and unlike her husband she had to keep most of her opinions to herself, and in secret. In the Crucible Elizabeth’s thoughts aren’t being heard from too often because the opinions that are constantly being shared are those of John Proctor. John Proctor is constantly thinking out loud about whether there is witchcraft in Salem, whether or not he is a witch, and whether he can allow himself to continue his affair with Abigail. “I cannot mount the gibbet like a saint.…
I believe that Abigail Williams was the villian in The Crucible. To begin with, she accused many innocent people of witchcraft. In act one for example, she accuses Tituba. Her accusations ended harming many people. Another detail that shows that she is a villain is that she runs away when things end up not going her way. In act four when she realizes that she was loosing people's attention she gets on a ship to get away from the town. As one can see, Abigail Williams is truly a horrible person.…
In the story “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller, there are many dramatis personas that are significant. Two very significant characters in the crucible are Abigail and Elizabeth. Elizabeth is married to John proctor and Abigail throughout the story tries to seduce and have an affair with him. This shows that Elizabeth, however, is better than Abigail because good people are able to identify with her, they fight for proctors love in different ways, and they both drive the plot of good versus evil.…
Have you ever craved to be the center of attention? Spun a lie to feel important? However what happens when that certain lie begins to spiral out of control? In The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, this complex situation happens to Abigail Williams; she is a mere child of seventeen years old, who frightens her peers due to her belligerent behavior. Therefore, when she begins to falsely accuse townspeople of being witches, her peers begin to blindly imitate her. Their duplicity soon has their whole town, Salem Village, in an uproar. There’s a mass panic as neighbor turns upon neighbor, eagerly wanting to add to the numbers of the accused. Abigail feeds off of their hunger for witches and continues to accuse people with no thought about their well-being, which begins a destructive cycle fueled by her flaws of selfishness, childishness, and self-entitlement that eventually results in the…
Abhishek Shulka once said, “What seems like the right thing to do could also be the hardest thing you have ever done in your life.” These words are often true for many people that have ever had to make a tough decision. Though most will do what is easiest for them the strong willed will do what they believe is right. Strong and independent, Elizabeth proctor always tries to do the right thing, though two compelling desires and obligations pull her mind in conflicting directions; these conflicts add depth to her character and show who she is morally and emotionally.…
Elizabeth's positive qualities are also her negative ones. She is a virtuous woman who is steadfast and true. These traits also make her a bit of a cold fish. When we first meet her, she's especially cold and fishy. She's got good reason to be, though, because her husband has recently had an affair with their housekeeper, Abigail Williams.…