Role Of Witchcraft In The Crucible

Decent Essays
Abigail started saying there was a little yellow bird flying around the room. She said it was the work of Mary. The other girls started to go along with Abigail because lying in the courts is worthy of getting you hung. John Proctor reached for Mary and she lost it. She ran away blaming him for making her do witchcraft. She made it seem like she had been practicing it and only because of John.
John was going to confess, but the only way he could do so is if he put his signature up on the wall of the church. This would ruin his name. Nobody else had to hang it up, so why would John? John doesn’t believe witches, so why would he do witchcraft? Because he didn’t want to hang up his confession, he was hung for being a witch.
Abigail was the

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Hunting Witch Hunters In the Crucible by Arthur Miller, the author implies that there are multiple reasons that Danforth, Hathorne, and the other authorities choose to believe Abigail and the other girls, Rather than choosing to believe more respectable townspeople like Proctor and Giles. The Crucible is a story of mass hysteria in the town of Salem Massachusetts in the 1690s, where many people are accused of being witches, and many were even hanged for the accusations. The reason for Danforth and others choosing to believe the girls over Procter and other elders changes throughout the story, from the hysteria taking hold of the town at the beginning, to the simple reasoning that they couldn’t believe that these little girls would go as far…

    • 684 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “It is better that ten suspected witches may escape than one innocent person get condemned-unknown” You might be wondering what this means or why it's even here. In Salem, Massachusetts 1600s there began the witch trials. In the play The Crucible written by Arthur Miller he explains what people were feeling and how they reacted including John Proctor. John Proctor was a farmer who everyone respected, he had a wife and three kids. Towards the end of the book he was asked to confess to witchery to stay alive.…

    • 514 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Since there is no proof that they were doing witchcraft, they just took Abigail’s word for it. Sometimes the victims cannot even save themselves and lie about doing witchcraft to stay alive. No one really gets into trouble if they do admit it. Once they accuse Mary she tries to come clean about it saying that everyone is lying there is no evil spirits. Abigail easily played it off, and was pretending she was getting attacked by Mary’s evil spirit.…

    • 515 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    McCarthyism Vs. Witchcraft The difference between McCarthyism and Witchcraft is nonexistent. In the play, The Crucible, by Arthur Miller witches have become the talk of the town and is having everyone question one another. Witchcraft was a major issue in the Puritan culture, as it clashed with its religious beliefs.…

    • 395 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Just like in the crucible women were accused of witchcraft over the strangest things. Women during the witch trials and could be brought into court and tried on the charges with no physical evidence. People took the accuser’s word as nothing less than the truth. Women in Africa could be charged for having items or participating in practices related to witchcraft. These witch accusations were taken as a new law.…

    • 91 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the play The Crucible, John Proctor states,”Because it is my name! Because I can not 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 that hang! How may I live without my name?…

    • 466 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    As discussed earlier, he did not want to be known to his children as a coward who signed falsely to only save his life. He also did not want to be a part of the town that lied only for the selfish reason of saving his own life, when many other brave souls didn’t lie. Finally, he did not want to be known forever as a witch to the town and anyone who would see his name hanging on the church door. Thus, he ripped the contract up that stated he was a witch and decided he would be hung. On page 1233 as the very last line of act 4, Elizabeth exclaims after watching the horrific sight of her husband being taken for his soon to be brutal death, “He have his goodness now, God…

    • 1349 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    John is the reason why so many falsely accused witches were hanged because of his intentions with Abigail. John roared at Abigale saying, “Abby I may think of you from time to time. But I will cut off my hand before I reach for you again” (Miller 150). Because of Proctors past with Abigail, the blame for the trials fall beneath his feet . Abigail's ambition to be with John created such a conflict that she blamed Elizabeth, his wife, of witchcraft so that she would be hung and Abigail could be with Proctor.…

    • 798 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Witchery In The Crucible

    • 446 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Their religion is very strict, you come to church every sunday, don't work on the sabbath, and you believe the ministers word like it’s the words of god himself. Anything they have done to go against this would make them look like a witch if they was accused by people of the town. When accused most of them are asked to say the 10 commandments and if they can’t say them then they are said to be a witch. The punishment for witchery if you confesses is to be beat severely, and if you don’t confesses then the punishment is to be hang or to be pressed until you confess.…

    • 446 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Imagine a little boy riding his bike down a gravel road. He takes a turn too sharp and takes a really bad fall and scrapes up the entire left side of his face. His cheek stings; he touches it, and sees blood on his hand. The boy screams and runs frantically into his house. When his mother finds him she is completely horrified, seeing her child bloodied and crying.…

    • 662 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Imagine living in a place where people are at each other throats, and in most cases physical aggressions occurs. In addition, the people being aggressed were not some dangerous, and malicious criminals, most of them were next door neighbors, or a baker, or even your teacher, they were a members of society who probably played an important role in the community, yet they were still being accused of the misfortune of others, instead of identifying and assessing the real issue, and solving. This place I so generously refer to is located in none other than in Salem, Massachusetts, but more specifically the historical event that took place there, the Salem witch trials. Any normal human being would probably choose a less violent, per say, place to…

    • 408 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Despite her fear, Mary eventually goes into town with John. Mary admits to Judge Danforth and the others that all of the supernatural occurrences in the court were actually a hoax to fool the court. Unwilling to believe this story, Judge Danforth calls upon Abigail and the other girls. Obviously siding with Abigail and her coven of fake witches, Danforth questions both Abigail and Mary. When Mary refused to once again take Abigail’s side, she begins to shiver, clasp her arms about herself and lie once again.…

    • 1008 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The film The Crucible which was directed by Nicholas Hytner does a good job demonstrating how it was like during 1692 in Salem when the witch trails were a popular topic. Giving us a better understanding of how serious the concept of witchcraft was during this time and how it was seen as practicing the devils work. It was a concept that was not messed around with and was took very seriously. Even if it seemed that someone was practicing witchcraft they were brought to the court to be hung. The actors play their roles extremely well, there is only one who does not play their role very well.…

    • 788 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    It’s 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts and the town is in shambles and the stench of death is in the air. “Witch hunts” are the cause and everyone is fearing for their lives. These “witch hunts” were very violent and were a way of accusing those who look and and live differently than the others, whose judgement and thinking may differ from what we want, and those who have committed actions considered very sinful and horrifying. The Crucible has expressed these circumstances in ways that can easily be seen and related in our society today. We as a society are trying not to judge or think of others differently because of how they look and how they live their lives, but more or less it happens.…

    • 798 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    What is Arthur Miller trying to communicate about the human condition in The Crucible? Humans are easily swayed by hysteria and when that occurs bad thing can arise. Humans tend to lose their minds and give in even to the most craziest ideas, news, accusations, etc. Address each of his themes with respect to the following topics.…

    • 791 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays