Epilogue

  With her husband dead and his baby on the way, Elizabeth Proctor felt hopelessness to the extreme. Her three sons were lost without the guidance of their father, stunned by the fact that he was killed for a reason so inane. Like any mother, she felt their pain, on top of her own. Elizabeth had loved him, John Proctor. Although John was a simple minded man and very ambiguous at times, she accepted all his faults.  Expectedly, everything that reminded her of John sent pangs of agony to her very soul. As she looked at their children, carbon copies of John, she felt her feelings collapse into one another forming an abyss of despair. Still, Elizabeth held her head high whenever in Salem. She would never let anyone know the sorrow she felt when John’s skeleton welcomed her into Salem. The town’s people expected her as the newly head of a prominent household to keep calm and carry on.

  Elizabeth’s facade finally cracked; a monumental moment for her personal character. The cold, grey, ghastly day that she was handed her husband’s noose was when she was done with it. Rage and anger bubbled up inside her, as if she was boiling her feelings. The community of Salem had meant the gesture to be one of grievance. They had no idea that it pushed her to the edge. Elizabeth however, knew she needed to get away. She knew that the environment she currently lived in would not be suitable to continue raising her children. She felt the twisted, uptight community would only become a choke hold on her children. With that in mind, she planned for a miracle.

 Her miracle came. In Salem, rumor had it that the Massachusett Indians had moved from Boston to an encampment not more than 5 miles away. Elizabeth had always been curious about the indigenous peoples of America, and their views and ways of life. She considered how she was going to get there and how she would deal with the “hostile nature” of the Indians. Being the headstrong woman she was, she decided to impulsively head out.

With her belongings and children packed up on her buggy, Elizabeth took one last look at her estate. She was soon going to be free from the madness-inducing town.  Her state of mind was light and cheerful, and she felt warm although it was mind numbingly cold outside. With compass in hand, she vanished for what she hoped to be forever without a goodbye.

  After a journey of many obstacles including blinding snow and icy roads enveloped in snow, Elizabeth and her children finally arrived at the Massachusett encampment. The natives were surprised to see a pregnant woman, by herself and accompanied by 3 children, roaming about in the wilderness. While they were exclaiming in astonishment, she was so relieved to see them that she forgot about the language barrier. Fortunately, there was already a colonist living amongst them named William. She explained her predicament to him, and then he let the tribe know what she had been through. After hearing her story, the tribe pitied her and let her and her family stay with him.

  After spending much time with William, Elizabeth realized that she was in love with William. After her fourth child was born, a beautiful baby girl, they were joined in marriage. Elizabeth, William, and the kids continued to stay with the Massachusett until she felt comfortable enough to return to Salem. Elizabeth journeyed back with her new family members, and took back her estate and the family’s influential position. They lived as happily as they could after. 

Crucible Essay

    The Crucible was a play written by Arthur Miller in the 1950s filled with lies, deceit, and hysteria. Set in the puritanical town of Salem Massachusetts, one could never imagine the day when a town of God fell to the devil's grasp. However, the city was only puritanical on the surface. In the early 1690s, Salem supposedly became ridden with witches and devils' advocates. Seeing as how Salem was a pure town, the "witches" were hunted down and erased from existence. Based mainly on the lies spun by three people, the one comparative simple lie told in the beginning wound up brutally and ludicrously out of hand. The three people held most accountable for the Salem witch trials in The Crucible were the town's Reverend, Samuel Parris, his niece Abigail Williams, and the influential town member John Proctor.

With all the responsibility placed on him at the time, it is just automatically assumed that the Reverend Samuel Parris was partly accountable for the Salem witch trials. Parris was selfish, greedy, spineless, and extremely concerned about the way he appeared to others. When he first inquired his niece about her and her friends’ questionable doings, he was more so concerned of what his followers might think of the girls' activities and losing his supporters rather than his acquaintances and relatives actually being witches. “Abigail, I have fought here three long years to bend these stiff-necked people to me…” (Miller 11). His personality paved the way for the continuation of the story. The Reverend was told the truth; that the two girls had only fainted from fright from his sudden appearance in the woods. However, as a precautionary method and to save himself from any oncoming trouble, he called Reverend Hale (the other Reverend) to Salem to investigate the possibility of witchcraft. He was too spineless to deal with the rumor of witchcraft himself. Swayed by the hysterics of others while knowing the truth, he let the game of witch crying continue. He was perfectly content with the turn of events until townspeople realized that so much more was happening than just the cleansing of evil. In the latter part of the witch trials, they recognized vindictiveness and ridiculousness, and decided that since Parris was leading them he was to blame. He finally came to his senses and asked for the postponement of John Proctor’s execution, but only until his own well being was threatened. “Tonight, when I open my door to leave my house- a dagger clattered to the ground. You cannot hang this sort! There is danger for me. I dare not step outside at night” (Miller 129).  The lack of leadership while being a leader and the other parts of his personality as well was what made him partially liable for the Salem witch trials. Also responsible for withholding information, though he did not have an appalling personality, was John Proctor.

John Proctor was an influential man in Salem. An honest and hardworking farmer, he was respected widely throughout the community. However, he wasn't perfect. He had his moments, and some rather extreme moments at that; specifically, the infidelity with Abigail. The act of adultery complicated many matters for John and his family's well-being. His previously ill wife was obviously jilted by this committed sin. However, he wasn't fazed. "Then how do you charge me with such a promise? The promise that a stallion gives a mare I gave that girl" (Miller 62)! The affair meant nothing to him. Strangely enough, he still had a thing for Abigail, and even though he constantly denied it, Abigail was obsessed with him, thinking that he loved her instead of his wife. However, his leftover feelings for her completely disappeared once Abigail accused his wife of being a witch. "You mad, you murderous bitch"(Miller 152)! Proctor never believed in witchcraft from the beginning. He knew the truth about the incident that triggered the trials, as Parris did also. Proctor confessed the truth and the affair to try and help not only his family, but as well as other families in Salem. Unfortunately, his act of good was useless. By the time the truth came out, Abigail was too powerful and had the court in her clutches. Also, his wife denied the very existence of the affair, thinking she was saving him. One of her fellow witch criers blatantly accused John of being a witch himself. John decided he would rather hang than to indict others of being seen with the Devil. "I speak my own sins; I cannot judge another. I have no tongue for it" (Miller 141). If only John had not been so naive and weak-minded, the madness could have stopped before it got out of hand. Another influential Salemite, although for the wrong reasons, was Abigail Williams.

     Abigail Williams before the witch trials was of little importance. However, during the witch trials, she exploited her power like no other. It was her that first instigated the crying of witches. When the Reverends began to question the girls, Abigail took care of them. She was a natural born leader, always being quick on her feet. Taking charge, she blamed Tituba. “She made me do it! She made Betty do it” (Miller 43)! However, Tituba was able to shift the blame to others in the village. Once Abby saw this and how well Tituba’s actions were being received, she decided to play along. “I want to open myself! I want the light of God, I want the sweet love of Jesus! I danced for the Devil: I saw him; I wrote in his book; I go back to Jesus; I kiss His hand. I saw Sarah Good with the Devil! I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil! I saw Bridget Bishop with the Devil” (Miller 48)! Since Abigail was a natural born leader, others followed her example without hesitation and began accusing other members of Salem. She continued to make accusations, even though she knew none of them were true from the start. She even knew that the girls had fainted form fright. “Oh posh! We were dancin’ in the woods last night, and my uncle leaped in on us. She took fright, is all” (Miller 22-23). However, she continued her power play. “Are you! I’ve heard that people ride a hundred mile to see your face these days” (Miller 148). She used her new found power to take care of her personal revenges on people she didn’t like. For example, she accused the wife of her once lover, John Proctor, of witchcraft. She wanted to be his wife, and took the perfect opportunity to get rid of her. She was the major cause of the Salem witch trials.

     The Crucible was written about the Salem witch trials. Those trials were caused mainly by three people: Reverend Samuel Parris, John Proctor, and Abigail Williams. Reverend Samuel Parris was at fault for withholding crucial information. John Proctor was responsible for the same thing, as well as being intimate with Abigail Williams. Abigail Williams was responsible because she was vindictive and power hungry. All these traits combined to make one of the most outrageous moments in American History.

Crucible Post 2

As a race, humans are individuals and different from one another. Our differences are not only projected on the outside, but on the inside as well. Beliefs and opinions differ from person to person. However, one objective that every living thing has in common is the will to survive. Surviving is the purpose of living. Most everybody would do anything if their lives depended on it. However, if our survival depended on crossing the line between the truth and deceit, there would be problems.

In society, a virtue that has been constantly drilled into its members is truth. Although some members do not follow this path of honesty, the majority does. Our whole country was built on the foundation of truth and the lack of it. However, most people would falter when given the choice of life or death on the basis of their opinion. In my case, my choice of beliefs would be different for different situations. If my life depended on a lie, I would lie without hesitation. However, if there was even a possibility that my lie would cause harm to someone innocent, I would not. However, if my opinion would change someone's opinion about me, I would stay true to my beliefs. It is important to me to be myself, which is why I would stand up for my beliefs if I would still be alive after voicing them.

How has the Power in Salem Shifted at the End of Act 1?

Salem, Massachusetts was exceptionally different during its early history. In the late 1600s, the social structure was not at all similar to what it is today. Instead of a town led by a Mayor and municipal officials, clergymen were in charge of Salem. This was mostly due to the fact that all towns in the American colonies followed this leadership structure. However, because of the large Puritanical population, Salem’s clergy controlled the city even more rigidly. In the time of the Salem witch trials, the leader of the city was Reverend Samuel Parris.  Reverend Parris preached regularly about his concern of witchcraft and servants of the Devil. Samuel Parris had low self-esteem and this made him easily influenced by others.

Reverend Parris witnessed his daughter and her peers behaving in extremely non-puritanical ways. This led him to conclude that they were bewitched. Reverend Parris did not know who was bewitching the girls. His niece, out of fear of punishment, claimed that his house slave, Tituba, was the one bewitching the girls.  Tituba was most likely targeted by the Reverend’s niece because of her low status and unconventional behaviors. Tituba’s unconventional behavior was influenced greatly by her Barbados ancestry and cultural identity. When confronted about being a witch, Tituba spoke of being bewitched herself by other community members. As soon as Tituba confessed, one of the girls coincidentally woke up from her coma. This made Reverend Parris more convinced that witchcraft was being practiced in Salem. After seeing how Tituba deflected the blame onto others in the community, the girls decided to follow suit.  At this moment, the power shifted from Reverend Parris to the witchcraft accusers.