Act One begins with the Rev. Samuel Parris praying for his daughter Betty who lies faint in her bed, suffering from a strange malady. Betty and Abigail, Parris’s niece, and some of the other village girls had been surprised by Parris in the forest as they were engaged in a voodoo ritual led by Tituba, Parris’s black slave. Betty fainted and still had not recovered. Ann and Thomas Putnam, prosperous villagers, arrive and claim that the children are suffering from “the Devil’s touch” at the hands of witches. When the adults leave to pray with townspeople who have heard rumors of witchcraft, Abigail and Mercy Lewis and Mary Warren wake Betty.
Betty accuses Abigail of “drinking blood” and says that Abigail will be whipped. Abigail threatens the other girls with grievous harm if they admit too much to the elders. At this point, John Proctor, a farmer who had an affair with Abigail, enters. Abigail tells John of her continuing love and desire, but Proctor rejects her saying nothing happened between them. Soon the Rev. John Hale, a specialist in witch hunting arrives and examines Betty who has fainted again.
He then questions Abigail and Tituba. Tituba, afraid of being hung as a witch, professes faith in God and confesses that two townswomen, Goody Good and Goody Osburn, came to her with the Devil. Abigail and then Betty claim they have been bewitched but now turn to God. The act closes as the girls ecstatically chant the names of the townspeople whom they accuse of consorting with the Devil. Act Two opens in John Proctor’s house eight days after the girls’ first accusations. Deputy Governor Danforth has arrived in Salem to supervise the court proceedings against the townspeople accused as witches.
The Essay on Betty Parris
The character Betty Parris plays an important role in the story of the Crucible. As one of the girls who danced in the forest she is part of the play’s central conflict. She is the cause of the townspeople blaming witchcraft in the first place and she is also part of the reason that most of the characters are killed by the end of the fourth act. Through her actions over the course of the play, ...
Fourteen people are imprisoned, and there is talk of hanging. John Proctor’s wife Elizabeth encourages him to go into town to testify against Abby and the girls. There is tension between the Proctors because Elizabeth has not forgiven John for his affair with Abigail. The Proctor’s servant Mary Warren arrives, and although forbidden to go to town, she has been attending the trial and is “crying out” with the other girls against the accused witches. Just as John is about to whip her, she shocks the Proctors by saying that she defended Elizabeth when Abigail accused her. She gives Elizabeth a doll she has made while at the trial.
As John and Elizabeth are arguing about what to do, the Reverend Hale arrives to ask questions and to test the “Christian character” of the house. He finds that John can recite all of the commandments except the one forbidding adultery. Next, two townsmen, Giles Corey and Francis Nurse, arrive to seek John Proctor’s help because their wives have just been arrested for witchcraft. As the men discuss the events, the marshal arrives with a warrant for Elizabeth’s arrest. She has been accused by Abigail of sending her spirit through the doll to stab Abigail in the stomach with a needle. Over John Proctor’s violent protest, Elizabeth is hauled off in chains.
After the visitors leave, an enraged John Proctor demands that Mary Warren tell the court about the girl’s fraudulent behavior. As the curtain falls, Proctor is determined to fight the proceedings even revealing his own sexual misconduct. In this extra scene appearing at the rear of the reader’s edition, Proctor meets Abigail in a woods to warn he will charge her with adultery if she does not recant her charge against Elizabeth. Abigail, unmoved by his pleas, appears to be deluded and says he is pretending to reject her. Act three takes place in the Salem meeting house that serves as the general court. In this act, we see the helplessness of the innocent in the face of unjust legal authority.
Francis Nurse, Giles Corey, and John Proctor present their cases to Deputy Governor Danforth and Judge Hathorne. When Proctor presents a petition signed by 91 people attesting to the good character of the men’s wives, Danforth issues warrants for the questioning of those who signed. Corey charges Putnam with inciting his daughter to accuse a townsman of witchcraft in order to get the townsman’s land. Corey has a witness to support the charge but, fearing that the witness will be arrested, refuses to name him. Corey is, therefore, arrested for contempt of court. Proctor presents his case and a deposition by Mary Warren that she never saw Satan or any spirits and that the other girls are lying to Danforth. However, when Abigail and the other girls are brought before the court, Abigail denies the charges against her with indignation and leads the girls in a frenzied act of being bewitched by Mary.
The Essay on John Proctor People Abigail Witch
... was most responsible for these trials would be Abigail Williams, John Proctor, and Deputy-Governor Danforth. The play erupted near the beginning with many ... do so because of Elizabeth, so Abigail plots to get rid of Elizabeth in an attempt to get Proctor to marry her so ... have easily charged Abigail with fraud at a part in the play, but decides not to. John had an affair with Abigail when Elizabeth was ...
Proctor interrupts the charade by grabbing Abigail and accusing her of being his whore. To test the truth of this charge, Danforth brings in Elizabeth and questions her about her husband’s fidelity. Elizabeth lies to save her husband’s reputation, but in so doing undermines the charge against Abigail. The girls renew their act of being possessed by the spirit of Mary Warren. Overcome by their hysterical display, Mary gives in and accuses Proctor of being a witch. Danforth accepts the charge, and Proctor laughs in his face, blaming Danforth and himself for being afraid to reveal the truth. Danforth acts to preserve the reputation of his court more than to seek justice.
The Rev. Hale, now convinced of the evil of the court, denounces the proceedings and walks out as Danforth calls to him. The final act opens in a Salem jail cell where Sarah Good and Tituba await hanging. They are happily deluded by the belief that they will be taken to Barbados by the devil. The Salem trial is ending. Rumors of a rebellion against witchcraft trials in a nearby town ignite fear that the people of Salem will riot if upstanding citizens are hung.
Hale, disillusioned and humbled, pleads with the prisoners to save their lives by making false confessions. He requests Danforth pardon the accused, but Danforth refuses saying twelve have already hung for the same crime. When Hale asks Elizabeth to counsel Proctor to lie and save himself, she balks but agrees to see him. Alone with Proctor, Elizabeth forgives him for being unfaithful and blames herself for not being able to love him enough. She cannot counsel him to lie and instead tells him to make his own decision and to be his own judge. Proctor, refusing to be a martyr, confesses to being a witch, but stops at indicting others.
The Essay on John Proctor Abigail Danforth People
In the play 'The Crucible' by Arthur Miller, Miller displays how easily people can be fooled by the innocence of youth. He also exposes the gullibility of common people, even people such as Danforth andHathorne, who play the role of the 'wise' judges. A single girl, Abigail, causes the downfall of the whole society. Abigail scares the younger part of the society into submission. The people who ...
When Proctor tears up his confession, Elizabeth rushes to him and they embrace. As Proctor and Rebecca Nurse are led to be hung, Hale begs Elizabeth to plead with Proctor to save himself, but Elizabeth cries, “He have his goodness now. God forbid I take it from him!” The curtain falls as the sunlight illuminates Elizabeth’s face and the drums “rattle like bones.”
