Crucible Essay

Aaron Rodriguez

Watson

American Literature

January 13, 2014

Crucible Essay

 

  In The Crucible John Proctor maintains his moral values while Abigail Williams fails to maintain hers. In the story Abigail Williams goes into the forest with her friends and Tituba. They recite chants and make a cauldron to produce incantations. Reverend Parris catches their acts of witchcraft and soon is worried about his standing to the public. From this Ritual Betty Parris gets sick and a trial for exposing witchcraft has begun. John Proctor then comes into the story due to the fact of Marry Warren being questioned. Reverend Hale and Judge Danforth also come in later in the story in order to solve the incident. The girls go through the whole story trying to prove their innocence by pointing their fingers at other people. Abigail Williams starts the play as a girl with a major crush on John Proctor but progressively turns into a lustful psychopath. While John Proctor stays level headed and sacrifices himself to save others lives.

  In the beginning of the story Abigail Williams does a couple of witchcraft activities in order to gain the love of John Proctor. When they get caught of their acts she uses intimidation to sway the other girls to do what she says by threatening them by saying “ Let either of you breathe a word or the edge of a word, about the other thing and I will bring a point reckoning that shudder you (Miller 20). This quote shows the reader how she gets the other girls attention. This quote is Abigail’s way to make sure no one will turn on her and follow he lead, She uses fear to cause the other girls to think twice before ratting her out. This is the beginning of her to lose her morality. As we read farther into the book she progressively loosing more and more of her morality. This is seen when she accuses Elizabeth Procter of possessing a poppet which has a needle in it in the exact spot where her self inflicted wound was “Danforth These will be sufficient. Sit you down, children, your friend Marry Warren, has given is a deposition. In which she swears that she never saw familiar spirits, apparitions, nor any manifest of the Devil. She claims as well that none of you have seen these things either. Now, children, this is a court of law. The law based upon the Bible writ by Almighty God, forbid the practice of witchcraft, and describe as the penalty there of. But likewise, children the law and Bible damn all bearers of false witness. Now then. It does not escape me that this deposition may be devised to blind us; it may well be Mary Warren has been conquered by Satan, who sends her here to distract our sacred purpose. If so, her neck will break for it. But if she speak true, I bid you now drop your smile and confess your pretense, you, Abigail Williams, rise. Is there any truth in this? Abigail No sir. Danforth Children, a very augur bit will now be turned into your souls until your honesty is proved. Will either of you change your positions now or do you force me to hand questioning. Abigail I have naught to change sir. She lies. Danforth you would still go on this? Mary Warren, Aye, Sir. Danforth A poppet were discovered in Mr. Proctors house, stabbed by a needle. Marry Warren claims that you saw her make it and witnessed how she herself stuck her needle into it for safe- keeping what say you to that. Abigail It is a lie sir (Miller 102-103). This is a lie to judge Danforth because Abigail knows that she sent Mary Warren to give the poppet to Goody Proctor. She knows that her wound was self inflicted. Abigail is still willing to lie even though this evidence is stacked up against her. This is the first instance where Abigail’s morality begins to fade in this quote. The second part is the reason she is lying to the Judge and the Jury. She is going through this in order to get John Proctor’s love. She is wiling to put Elizabeth Proctor in the position to be persecuted and most likely executed in order to gain a man’s love. This is possibly the biggest fall  of Abigail’s morals. because she is lying, but not only that. She is also putting a innocent woman’s life on the line for her selfish reason of gaining John Proctor’s love. So due to selfish reasons, putting a woman to death and getting Marry Warren to be involved in this activity this is the single event which leads to the downfall of her morality. Abigail starts from only wishes of the death of Elizabeth Proctor to actions on trying to get Elizabeth Proctor killed. This case is completely opposite in the case of John Proctor.

  John Proctor starts the play isolated from the population. He doesn’t care for anyone and is independent. This is shown in his description at the beginning of the book. “Proctor was a farmer in his middle thirties. He need not have been a partisan of any faction in the town, but there is evidence to suggest that he had a sharp and biting way with hypocrites. He was the kind of man- powerful, even tempered, and not easily led- who cannot refuse support to partisans without drawing their deepest resentment. In Proctor’s presence a fool felt his foolishness instantly and a Proctor is always marked for calumny therefore. But we shall see the steady manner he displays does not from an untroubled soul. He is a sinner, a sinner not only against the moral fashion of the time, but against his own vision of decent conduct. These people had no ritual for the hanging away of sins. It is another trait we inherited from them and it has helped to discipline us as well as to breed hypocrisy among us. Proctor respected and even feared in Salem, has come to regard himself as a kind of fraud. But no hint of this has yet appeared on the surface, and as he enters his prime we see, with a quiet confidence and an unexpressed hidden force. Marry Warren, his servant, can barely speak for embarrassment and fear (Miller 20). This quote shows how John Proctor is sinful and how he is viewed by the town of Salem. They know he doesn’t worship their God or any other. He is an outsider to the community and they all try and keep away from him. They see him as a sinner and unholy. This also has some foreshadowing of a transformation of John Proctor. This indeed does happen in the story. He starts as an outsider but saves the town by sacrificing his own lif. This foreshadows a morality change and even though it has not happened yet the readers know that John Proctor will change his views on the town and maintain his morality. This transformation happens at the end of the book when he is hanged. His morals change from not caring for anyone to trying to save the same people who looked at him as a horrible and sinful man. He says “They think not to go like saints. I like not to spoil their names (Miller 141). This shows how he doesn’t want anyone’s name to be tainted by the ridiculous trials. He wants to save them by taking the blame and be hung for their accusations. Even though he is an innocent man himself. This helps him maintain his morality. Arthur Miller uses John Proctor as a symbol for the ideal morals and character for an individual to speak up against injustice.

  The story of The Crucible is based on the message of speaking up against injustice when it has harsh consequences and when it is highly unpopular. John Proctor is the one who speaks up against injustice by opposing Abigail Williams and he friends about their accusations of witches. This starts as John Proctor only trying to convince Judge Danforth the girls are lying to save the accused live by starting to plead for his wife’s innocence by saying “I have made my honor! I have rung the doom of my good name- you will believe me, Mr. Danforth! My wife is innocent, except she knew a whore when she saw one” (Miller 111). This statement is John Proctor’s way of trying to convict Abigail Williams of her manipulation of the court and putting innocent people lives to death. This is where John Proctor speaks up against the injustice by Abigail Williams. Miller Believes that the morals and character that John Proctor possesses must ne in someone who wishes to speak up against injustice.

  In conclusion John Proctor maintains his moral values. While Abigail Williams fails to maintain hers. Arthur Miller believes in order to speak up against injustice we must act like John Proctor and have his characteristics. These characteristics include speaking up against the odds of people believing in you. John Proctor tried to shine the light on the subject and succeeded but had to sacrifice his life in order to show the town the injustice and show them the truth. John Proctor could maintain his values because he was not easily manipulated into believing the girls. He also had the courage to speak up against them and fight for justice. This story teaches us to act like John Proctor and fight gor justice no matter what the cost and maintain our morals along the way even if people who loose theirs try to persuade you.