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The play, The Crucible, illustrates how people react to mass hysteria created by a person or group of people, as people did during the McCarthy hearings of the 1950 s and the Salem witch hunts of 1962. Many Americans were wrongly accused of being Communist sympathizers. The activities of the House of Un-American Activities Committee began to be linked with the witchcraft trials that had taken place in the town of Salem. This provided Miller with the catalyst to write The Crucible. Without the knowledge of the McCarthy hearings and the Salem witch hunts, The Crucible may be seen as a melodrama and the events in the play, sensationalized. It is not a melodrama because it is not overly dramatic; the McCarthy hearings and the witch hunts inject realism in the play.
The play deals with historical events and with characters that have a historical context. Through the use of dialogue, stage directions which enable us to envisage the scene on stage and characterisation we can see how dramatic tension is created by Miller. These aspects are to be explored for each act. Act One begins with Reverend Parris praying fervently over his daughter, Betty Parris, who lies unconscious on her bed. The stage directions indicate that the room is quite dark with only a candle burning and sunlight through the window lighting the room. Parris is frightened, confused and angered by Betty's illness, perhaps wondering what he has done wrong to be inflicted with such misery.
This shown by the way he prays, then weeps and then starts praying again as if he unsure even of his emotions. He is very tense and is quickly angered without provocation, for example when Tituba inquires about Betty he turns on her in fury and shouts at her to get out. He then starts to sob and in his fear he starts to mumble to Betty to wake up, his feeling of inadequacy is expressed through his fragmented, disjointed sentences. Oh, my God!
God help me! Betty. Child. Dear Child. Will you wake, will you open your eyes! Betty, little one He turns on Abigail and confronts her and through the conversation between Reverend Parris and his niece Abigail, the audience learns that the towns girls, including Abigail and Betty, had engaged in activities in the forest led by Tituba; Parris slave from Barbados.
At this moment they are only provided with conflicting accounts of the truth from Parris and Abigail. Parris: Abominations are done in the forest- Abigail: It were sport, uncle! Parris: I saw Tituba waving her arms over the fire when I came on you screeching and gibberish coming from her mouth. Abigail: She always sings her Barbados songs, and we dance.
They are found out because Parris finds them and jumps out from a bush startling the girls. Betty faints and has not yet recovered, as she is afraid they will be punished. Mr. and Mrs. Putnam enter during Parris interrogation of Abigail and we soon learn that Mrs.
Putnam delights in others misfortunes due to the number she has experienced herself. When she sees Betty lying unresponsive on the bed, she grips on to the idea that witchcraft may have a role in this incident. Mrs. Putnam (full of breath, shiny-eyed): It is a marvel. It is surely a stroke of hell upon you.
Parris: No, Goody Putnam, it is- Mrs. Putnam: Why, its sure she did. Mr. Collins saw her goin over Ingersolls barn, and come down light as a bird, he says! The way she cuts Parris off while he is speaking, shows her excitement at the possibility of witches.
It also shows how she is unwilling to listen to common sense and rationale. Her response indicates to the audience that there is more behaviour like this to come. Mrs. Putnam continues pursuing her idea of witchcraft being present in the town and after a while Parris is forced to go down and reassure and the crowd which is growing outside his house. Now it is just Abigail, Betty and Mary Warren on stage. Abigail tries to wake Betty up and reassure her that everything will be all right but she refuses to awaken, not realising she is making the situation and consequences worse for everyone involved.
Abigail does not want anyone to find out what she was doing in the forest as she and the other girls would be severely punished if they were exposed. To overcome this, she harshly threatens Betty Parris and Mary Warren not to say anything. Let either of you breathe a word, or the edge of a word, about the other things, and I will come to you in the black of some terrible night and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you And you know I can do itI can make you wish you had never seen the sun go down. We can tell this is a deadly moment on stage because of the clear threats made by Abigail to the cowering, frightened girls. She supports this by the way she frantically shakes and pulls Betty around the room. This would show the audience that Abigail is a real threat and now has the girls in her power.
As the scene develops, Thomas Putnam, John Proctor and Giles Corey are arguing about the ownership of some land. This is the first instant in which the community is shown to be divided, the conflicting interests of the people are shown and that all is not perfect in this Puritan society. It shows that selfishness and vindictiveness is ripe in Salem. Ironically it is Mrs. Putnam who spots this and says, There are wheels within wheels in this village and fires within fires! When all the other characters leave and Proctor and Abigail are alone, Abigail attempts to seduce him.
The atmosphere starts off calm but soon there is anger and frustration between them. John Proctor tells Abigail that he wants nothing more to do with her. The use of exclamations shows the anger building between the two. Abigail also reveals what John describes as later, her whores vengeance on Elizabeth. She refers to her as, a cold, snivelling woman in her conversation now with John and before with Parris too. The speed of the dialogue is increased due to the short sentences, they also interrupt one another as they become more and more irate.
Proctor: Abby, thats a wild thing to say- Abigail: A wild thing may say wild things Abigail: And you must. You are no wintry man. I know you, John. I know you. Proctor: Wipe it out of mind. We never touched, Abby.
This is effective as it shows the tension between Proctor and Abigail and their conversation sounds unrehearsed and natural. It is also the first time the audience see the two ex-lovers alone together. When Reverend Hale arrives, he is told by Parris of the dancing in the woods with which Abigail is involved. At first, she denies seeing the Devil or any form of spirits. She cannot get Betty reawaken and support her, as she cannot explain why she will not wake. Therefore to avoid being accused of witchcraft and consequently hanged, she quickly lays the blame on Tituba.
The girls know that Tituba did not consort with the Devil but because of growing belief in witches and mounting hysteria of the people, their pleas of innocence go unheard. Tituba, being social inferior as a Black is very afraid and hurt by Abigail's betrayal. It is suggested by the stage directions earlier on in the play that she had seen this coming. Hale and Parris ruthlessly interrogate Tituba, while she cries her innocence in futility, Parris threatens to whip her if she does not confess and Putnam shouts that she should be hanged. With all these people shouting around her, she falls to her knees, begging to be spared. She realises it is futile to protest and she confesses she conversed with the devil.
Hale says he will help her tear free of the Devils hold. Her terror is showing outwardly, [she is rocking on her knees, sobbing in terror] The hysterical nature of freeing her from the Devils hold is expressed through the short, quick sentences which are repeated quickly and fervently by Tituba. She is prepared to do and say anything to avoid being hanged. Hale: Now, in Gods holy name Tituba: Bless Him.
Bless Him. [she is rocking on her knees, sobbing in terror] Hale: And to his glory Tituba: Eternal glory. Bless Him Bless God Once she has opened herself, she is questioned on who she saw with the Devil and in what form he came. Again, she is barraged by demands for answers and she senses she must say something just to satisfy them. [Tituba pants, and begins rocking back and forth again, staring ahead] Her rocking shows how nervous she is and that she is frantically thinking of something to say. She names Goody Good and Goody Osborn who Mrs.
Putnam was accusing earlier of witchcraft. They ask her for more names and suddenly Abigail stands up and cries out that she too wants to open herself. She picks up from Tituba's naming of the Devils people. She realises as long as she does this, she will not come under suspicion herself, obviously Betty realises this too as this quotation suggests [calling out hysterically and with great relief]. At the end of the act, Abigail and Betty ecstatically chant names of townspeople whom they accuse of consorting with the Devil. Betty: I saw George Jacobs with the Devil!
I saw Goody Howe with the Devil! The curtain begins to fall at this point but the screaming and chanting of names can still be heard. The audience on this hysterical, disturbing note, they are curious to discover the aftermath of these new accusations which the audience find unbelievable. They also find it disturbing that the supposed rational adults believe and are taking notice of the girls. The opening of Act Two contrasts to Act One as it opens on a quiet note in a scene secluded from the commotion of the town. The audience sees John and Elizabeth alone together and feels the tension between the couple.
Through their stilted conversation, it is clear that the two have difficulty discussing Johns affair and Elizabeth has not yet forgiven him, even though he yearns for it. I mean to please you, Elizabeth. Proctor is angry when he finds out that Mary Warren went to court after he instructed her not to do so. This is indicated by violence in his actions and words. Proctor: [As soon as he sees her, he goes directly to her and grabs her by the cloak, furious] How do you go to Salem when I forbid it? Do you mock me? [shaking her] Ill whip you if you dare leave this house again!
The audience feels that he is just using her as an outlet for his anger and frustration at Elizabeth as this threatening occurs after a heated discussion between John and Elizabeth. John had demanded that she not suspect him of continuing on his affair with Abigail. He is also tired of being patient with; Ill not have your suspicion any more. Proctor [with solemn warning] You will not judge me more, Elizabeth. When Mary begins to cry we do not empathize with her; especially after we learn that Elizabeth is one of the accused.
Mary Warren relates to Elizabeth and John Proctor of how she was in court testifying against the accused and that she Elizabeth, was somewhat mentioned. The audience feels frustrated with her false confession; she clearly does not realise the extent of the harm she and the other girls are causing. Mary Warren: He sentenced her. He must. [To ameliorate it. ] But not Sarah Good. For Sarah Good confessed yes.
Elizabeth: Mumbled! She may mumble if shes hungry. Mary Warren: But what does she mumble? Elizabeth realises what Abigail aims to achieve from these trials. She talks about, a promise made in any bed and she succinctly tells John of her suspicions, thinks to kill me, then to take my place. She advises him to Abigail, as he is about to leave Reverend Hale arrives.
Proctor is suddenly nervous, thinking Hale may have heard their conversation. There is an awkward moment when Elizabeth invites him in to sit. He talks to them and then questions Elizabeth and John Proctor on the commandments. Elizabeth is eager to recite them and show what a good woman she is but John is asked to recite them.
All the commandments are recited except for adultery, which is the main reason for the tension between the couple. When Eliza...
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Research essay sample on Salem Witch Hunts Proctor And Abigail
