In order for a community to thrive and remain peaceful, it must be founded on trust. By being able to trust neighbors, a community can avoid conflict and ultimately destruction. However when vengeance sneaks in to the hearts of those living in the community, trust can be easily broken. People will start to question the ideals and characters of their peers, creating a lack of trust which will turn neighbor against neighbor. In his play, The Crucible, Arthur Miller shows how private vengeance can destroy a community through the motives and actions of Abigail Williams, Mrs. Putnam, and Mr. Putnam.
Abigail, seeking revenge, causes trouble for Mrs. Proctor. In the beginning of the story, the tension between the Proctors and Abigail is very apparent. …show more content…
Proctor. Being the seductive woman that she is, lured Mr. Proctor into a scandalous affair. At the first encounter of Abigail and Mr. Proctor in The Crucible, John is urgently trying to shoo Abigail away from him. She vehemently hisses, “Oh, I marvel how such a strong man may let such a sickly wife be--- . . . She is blackening my name in the village! She is telling lies about me! She is a cold, sniveling woman, and you bend to her. Let her turn you like a---!”(Act I). Abigail’s burning hatred for Elizabeth, as shown clearly through her words, slowly but surely fuels her flame for vengeance. All Abigail wants is to be Mr. Proctor’s lover and in order for this to become a reality, she first has to get rid of his “sniveling” wife, Elizabeth (Act I). Her first step towards revenge is revealed the night that Mary Warren swiftly enters the Proctor’s home. She goes on to tell the Proctors that while she was sitting in the court that day she had heard Elizabeth’s name mentioned when they were discussing witchery. When Elizabeth hears that Abigail was the one who mentioned her name, she cries out, “She wants me …show more content…
Throughout Salem, Mr. Putnam has the reputation of being a resentful man. His, along with his family’s, reputation was “smirched by the village, and he meant to right matters however he could.” (Act I). Also known as the man who tried to break his father’s will, angry that his stepbrother was receiving more, Thomas became obsessed with property lines and the ownership of land shown in his adamant words while arguing with Proctor about lumber, “…That tract is in my bounds, it’s in my bounds Proctor.”(Act I). Thomas even goes on to threaten Giles, shouting, “You load one oak of mine and you’ll fight to drag it home!”(Act I). Putnam’s lust for land, matched with his desire to avenge the family name, drives him to accuse an innocent townsman, George Jacobs, of witchcraft. Giles, catching on to his selfish scheme, claims that Putnam forced his “. . . daughter to cry witchery upon George Jacobs” and “…is killing his neighbors for their land!”(Act III). By convicting this blameless man, Mr. Putnam can now “purchase the convicted man’s property while he was serving his sentence in prison” therefore satisfying his land hunger (Bloom). Thomas also feels that by condemning a townsman he is able to get revenge on the town for the stain they wrought on the Putnam name. In reality, his accusation was only a disguise that allowed him to
Abigail, seeking revenge, causes trouble for Mrs. Proctor. In the beginning of the story, the tension between the Proctors and Abigail is very apparent. …show more content…
Proctor. Being the seductive woman that she is, lured Mr. Proctor into a scandalous affair. At the first encounter of Abigail and Mr. Proctor in The Crucible, John is urgently trying to shoo Abigail away from him. She vehemently hisses, “Oh, I marvel how such a strong man may let such a sickly wife be--- . . . She is blackening my name in the village! She is telling lies about me! She is a cold, sniveling woman, and you bend to her. Let her turn you like a---!”(Act I). Abigail’s burning hatred for Elizabeth, as shown clearly through her words, slowly but surely fuels her flame for vengeance. All Abigail wants is to be Mr. Proctor’s lover and in order for this to become a reality, she first has to get rid of his “sniveling” wife, Elizabeth (Act I). Her first step towards revenge is revealed the night that Mary Warren swiftly enters the Proctor’s home. She goes on to tell the Proctors that while she was sitting in the court that day she had heard Elizabeth’s name mentioned when they were discussing witchery. When Elizabeth hears that Abigail was the one who mentioned her name, she cries out, “She wants me …show more content…
Throughout Salem, Mr. Putnam has the reputation of being a resentful man. His, along with his family’s, reputation was “smirched by the village, and he meant to right matters however he could.” (Act I). Also known as the man who tried to break his father’s will, angry that his stepbrother was receiving more, Thomas became obsessed with property lines and the ownership of land shown in his adamant words while arguing with Proctor about lumber, “…That tract is in my bounds, it’s in my bounds Proctor.”(Act I). Thomas even goes on to threaten Giles, shouting, “You load one oak of mine and you’ll fight to drag it home!”(Act I). Putnam’s lust for land, matched with his desire to avenge the family name, drives him to accuse an innocent townsman, George Jacobs, of witchcraft. Giles, catching on to his selfish scheme, claims that Putnam forced his “. . . daughter to cry witchery upon George Jacobs” and “…is killing his neighbors for their land!”(Act III). By convicting this blameless man, Mr. Putnam can now “purchase the convicted man’s property while he was serving his sentence in prison” therefore satisfying his land hunger (Bloom). Thomas also feels that by condemning a townsman he is able to get revenge on the town for the stain they wrought on the Putnam name. In reality, his accusation was only a disguise that allowed him to