Hi Everyone:
As preparation for tomorrow's in-class
essay, identify a character from The Crucible that you found to be
particularly interesting and complex, and explain what kinds of insight
you may have into this character's situation. In other words, what do
you understand about this character that others may not understand.
Keep in mind that tomorrow's question, like almost all MCAS long
composition questions, is character-based.
Since this is an overnight assignment, a response of approximately 100 words is acceptable. Thank you, Mr. Telles.
The character I found to be particularly interesting and complex was Abigail Williams. I understand her mindset, but I do not necessarily agree with the things she did because of that mindset. In my opinion, Abigail did the things she did because of her childhood. Abigail watched her parents get murdered by Native Americans when she was a child. That had to traumatizing. So from then on, Abigail had to be, even slightly, mentally unstable. When Abigail gets caught dancing in the woods, she cries witchcraft and blames everyone but herself for the situation. When things spiral out of control, she acts as a ringleader of the rest of the girls, who were also caught dancing in the woods. Also, Abigail’s affair with John Proctor probably has something to do with her state of mind. Since Abigail grew up parentless, she is most likely very lonely and probably feels unloved. So when she got together with John Proctor, it was probably the most “loved” she’s ever felt. Then when “witchcraft” breaks out, Abigail tried to say that John’s wife, Elizabeth Proctor, was a witch. I believe she did this because of the way John made her feel, and she did not want to lose that because he had a wife. Elizabeth is not the only one to supposedly be seen with the devil, however. Abigail frames numerous other women for witchcraft. She does this by throwing loud, hysterical fits. I believe she does this because of her need for attention; good or bad. Her need for attention can be linked back to her parentless childhood. Because Abigail did not grow up with a mother and a father, because she watched them get brutally murdered, she has this uncontrollable need for love and attention, and it does not matter to her where that love and attention comes from.
ReplyDeleteOnly now do i realize that it only had to be 100 words........... sorry......
DeleteThe character I found most interesting/complex would be Abigail Williams. Her character is very sporadic and mentally unstable. This most likely is a result from her upbringing and poor childhood. At a very young age she watched her parents be murdered by Native Americans. Then she was living her life as the Proctor’s servant. Since she did not have parents there to give her love and attention she craved that loved and attention from others and tried seeking it out through whatever means necessary. Abigail wanted attention even if it meant accusing innocent people of witchcraft and getting them killed. She slept with John Proctor hoping to get attention and love from him and I believe John completely took advantage of her. Although Abigail was in the wrong in many ways, John is the adult in this situation and should have acted more responsibly.
ReplyDeleteOne character I found really interesting and thought provoking was Mary Warren, John and Elizabeth Proctor's servant. In the beginning, she is actually one of the girls who is with Abigail in her endeavors. She testifies against the "witches," and even "faints" during court sessions as the "witches send out their spirits at her." Eventually, she realizes her wrongdoings, and tries to work with John Proctor to overthrow Abigail's manipulative reign over the people of Salem. She attempts to take a stand against Abigail in the court and convince Danforth that Abigail and the rest of the girls are lying. But, Abigail and the rest of the girls torment Mary in the court and force her into a psychological corner. Mary actually turns on John Proctor, accusing him of witchcraft, to save herself from Abigail's torture. I just thought this interesting, as Mary Warren was so determined to expose Abigail, and she falls to her when she becomes weak just to save herself.
ReplyDeleteA lot of interesting characters in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible , everyone had a sort of motive in this whole charade. However of all characters I found Elizabeth Proctor to be the most interesting of them all. At the very end of the entire play after her husband John is taken to be hanged Hale tells her to go after him and talk him back into confessing but she says “ He have his goodness now. God forbid I take it from him!” (145). Earlier Elizabeth told John that she would be happy if he lived basically indicating that she wanted him to confess, but after John’s little breakdown she seem doesn’t do anything she just lets him be taken away. After re-reading those parts and thinking back to that scene in the film I start to see why Elizabeth didn’t run after her husband and talk him back into signing the paper. Once John broke down, torn the paper and was carted away she sees that John has had enough of all the finger pointing and innocent people dying under false accusations, and how this whole charade has turned Salem into an insane asylum and everyone in it including himself into a madman and die doing what’s right. Elizabeth like any wife wanted her husband alive but seeing the hell the whole town has put him through, she sees that he’s doing the right thing not by being hanged for a crime he didn’t commit but, for standing up for himself and showing how absurd everyone in Salem was.
ReplyDeleteA character that I found to be complex would be Mrs. Putnam. Although she does not appear as much as Proctor, Hale, or Abigail her ideology is what drives the plot forward. She has lost all but one of her children and seeks to blame some super natural force on her bad luck. She is the one that sends the girls to speak to the spirits of her dead babies, and is the first to blame the girls illnesses on the devil. She is the one that insists that witchcraft is what is at play in Salem and opens up an opportunity for Abigail to gain control of the situation and drive Salem into hysteria. She is a key character and is used to show how and why the people of Salem were so willing to believe in the witch hunt.
ReplyDeleteThe character I found most interesting and complex is Abigail. Abigail is an attention craving woman fueled by tragic events in her life. Early in her childhood, she watched her parents get massacred. As an adult she “fell in love” and had relations with a man who was already married with children and then denied his previous affection towards her until it was to benefit him. Her accusation of people in the town being witches was just another shout out for attention. Abigail may have been trying to get the attention of everyone, but it is clear to me that she had been going after John since the idea of the whole hoax began. When Abigail was dancing in the woods she was trying to win back Proctors affection by magic, and after being caught she was trying to distance herself between her and the event. After Tituba confessed to a crime she didn’t commit, Abigail may have seen the potential this scandal could bring her if she played her cards correctly. She wanted to have John, but even more than that, she wanted to toy with John and show him that she controlled him. In his attempt to get away from Abigail John would always end up right back beside her. To conclude, Abigail is an interesting and complex character that craves attention and power.
ReplyDeleteIn The Crucible, many important quotes stuck out to me. The one that I could relate to the most was in Act 3 said by Danforth, "You must understand, sir, that a person is either with the court, or counted against it, there be no road in between." I could relate to this quote the most because growing up with my family, we were a huge fan of the TV show survivor. One of the contestants in this show said "You're either with me or against me." For some reason this always stuck in my mind and when I read Danforth's line I made the connection. Also, I could relate this into real life at times. Being the youngest in my family I was often forced to pick one of my siblings sides or I would be "against" them. In The Crucible, are either with the court and tell them people who practice "witch craft" or you are against the court and give no names. Their is no road in-between and you can't do both.
ReplyDeleteOne character from The Crucible that really stuck out to me was Abigail Williams. Abigail had a traumatic past, from watching her parents get slaughtered to becoming the center of a witchcraft scandal. Though I am not excusing her actions, I can see why she did it. Abigail is attention hungry and when she realizes she is not receiving any from John Proctor, she resorts to desperate measures. John was her only source of attention from anyone in the village and when he rejects her for Elizabeth, she takes "if I can't have you, no one can" to heart. This was she can get attention from the 'witchcraft' and remove Elizabeth from John's life. Accusing the town of witchcraft was a win-win situation for Abigail and it gave her the attention she desperately desired.
ReplyDeleteA character from The Crucible that I found interesting and complex would be John Proctor. Proctor is a tragic hero in this play. His lust for Abigail Williams was the spark that started the witch hysteria in Salem. Many innocent citizens of Salem could have been saved if Proctor had confessed earlier about his lechery. Elizabeth Proctor had pleaded with him many times to do so with no success. Proctor was a strong social figure in the town, and everyone feared him. Most of the town people would not have dared to speak out against him, yet he was still afraid to confess his sin. Proctor gave excuses throughout the play, saying he never believed people would join in this witchcraft nonsense. Though at the heart of the matter, Proctor did not want to spoil his name. Even after he has confessed to adultery and has been accused of witchcraft, keeping his name good is still important to Proctor. Proctor would rather die than have his only name ruined, because he believes without his name, he could never be who he once was. Without his name, Proctor believes he could never teach his sons to become good men. He also seems to think that casting away his name, he would lose the last bit of truth that is left in him. Without his name, Proctor could never be himself. His Ideology is that you only get one name, giving it up to the lies of the court would be giving up his soul and identity and everything about him. He might have also chose to be hung because Proctor remembered the people who have been hung and pressed for sticking to the truth and finding there goodness.
ReplyDeleteA character from The Crucible that I found particularly interesting was Abigail Williams. Although she committed many crimes, she has also been threw a lot in her life. In the beginning of the book she mentions how she saw both of her parents get brutally killed by Indians. For someone who witnessed such a traumatic event like that, she almost has an excuse for behaving the way she does. Abigail was also rejected by John Proctor after falling in love with him. Abigail Williams was desperate for the attention that she was lacking from her parents and from John Proctor. By accusing people of witch craft she was getting that attention she craved so desperately.
ReplyDeleteOne of the characters I find myself the most understanding of is Mary Warren. Mary is constantly under the pressure of the other girls and knows that what they are doing is wrong. She knows that if she tries to reveal the truth, however, she will be cast out and turned upon. I can sympathize with her situation as many people can, only on a less consequential level. It is easy to recognize a situation where people fear to do things differently due to the resulting actions of the group. Any time a group of people does something that needs to be hidden, there is a similar pressure on each of the members to keep it quiet.
ReplyDeleteA character from The Crucible that I found to be particularly interesting and complex was Abigail Williams. Throughout the book we see Abigail cause a lot of trouble for those around her. It is hard to imagine that such reckless acts are not a result of the pain she had experienced throughout her life. Abigail had a very difficult childhood, after watching her parents get murdered, she then lived as an orphan. Abigail was very young when she saw this horrific incident, so it’s not too absurd to think that seeing that scene of brutality by people towards her parents made her think badly of the world. Abigail acted badly onto others as she had seen others act badly onto her parents many years before. Early childhood is such an influential time on our minds, and during Abigail’s childhood she saw violence and loneliness.
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite characters from The Crucible because I know where she's coming from and I understand is Elizabeth Procter. Elizabeth's struggle with her husband's adultery and her trying to forgive is tragic really. She can't even say the things she may want to about it because if she did, she'd get in trouble for speaking to a man in a reprimanding since its America in 1962, and women don't have rights. The ability to forgive someone who you thought you could trust after they betray you in such a hurtful way is what makes Elizabeth so strong. The fact that John expects her to forgive him right away, and have no suspicion towards him ever, is asking too much of her, and I love how she does talk back to her husband a little bit. Elizabeth is so wonderfully complex and you never truly know what she is thinking throughout the play.
ReplyDeleteAs I was double checking on the blog post, I noticed that I posted my blog post from the previous blog. I copied and pasted them from my google docs account and I didn't do it correctly so it pasted the previous post.
ReplyDeleteAs a reader of the Crucible, you watch the characters make surprising moves. I understand Elizabeth Proctor the most because she is a very strong women. Her ability to forgive her husband after he cheated on her. Also, the only revenge she made on Abigail was to fire her and kick her out. She could've blacken her name in the town. When she was arrested, she wasn't mad or sad. She just took it and allowed the people to take her away from her family. When the judges asks her if John has done adultery, her only was of getting out of the court, she said no to try and save her husbands name. In The Crucible, I understand Elizabeth Proctor the most.