What are your reactions to the first act? Pick a character or incident that stood out to you as especially significant in light of our discussions of power, scapegoating, and Puritan theocracy. Write a post giving your impressions and thoughts, integrating at least one quotation from the text. Consider trying to predict where the character will end up as a result of his/her motivations and actions. Respond to at least one classmate by adding an insight to theirs.
60 Comments
Amy Cavallo
9/27/2013 08:53:55 am
I found it interesting that, in Act 1, Abigail starts out by swearing that she wasn't involved with witchcraft of any kind. However, as the play goes forward, she begins to divulge new information that contradicts things she said previously. And when Betty becomes fully awake and starts telling everyone that she was involved in witchcraft, Abigail seems strangely willing to confess so much more information about her own involvement in witchcraft. I wonder, since she was lying so much originally, if she could be lying still just in an attempt to compete with her cousin, Betty. On the last page of the first act, both girls are yelling over each other and saying,
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Zack Sabat
9/29/2013 10:36:46 am
I like how you call out Abigail for lying in the beginning of your post. It makes you think that as the play goes on, were really not able to trust anything she says, as we continue reading, because she lied to everyone to avoid her fate.
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Elijah Sullivan
10/3/2013 01:01:44 pm
I agree completely! I noticed too that this would show us not to trust her. I like that you pointed out that they almost seem to be competing for attention. I feel like that is how Abigail is going to consistently be, throughout the whole play. I'm also very curious as to when her shenanigans will stop.
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Mr. Biggs
9/28/2013 03:28:18 am
Good points, Amy. Abigail reveals and even exaggerates her involvement with witchcraft once she realizes she can use it to her advantage ("I want to open myself, I want the sweet love of Jesus! I did dance with the devil..."). But the web of lies in which this confession is embedded becomes so great that after a while, there is really no clear distinction between truth and lies anymore! It's interesting because we have to wonder how much Abigail believes in Puritanism and her own claims. Sometimes it seems like she doesn't, other times she seems like a true believer in witchcraft.
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Katelyn Johnson
9/29/2013 10:59:30 am
You could even compare this to our discussion in class. When we were trying to figure out what to look for in witches, most of what we were saying was emphasizing one's belief in God as to distract the public eye from one's worship of the devil. Abigail could be using that to her advantage to hide her from being hanged for witchcraft.
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Mr. Biggs
9/30/2013 10:30:42 pm
Totally!
Haley Watson
9/28/2013 11:50:01 am
While reading Act 1, I feel Miller created what I refer to as a blame game.Abigail is the ring-leader of this game so far.
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Amy Cavallo
9/29/2013 05:32:45 am
Haley, this is similar to what I was saying. How do we know who is being honest when everyone's storys are changing and characters are being so manipulative? And I didn't even make the connnection of Abigail wanting to get revenge on Proctor. She seemed extremely aggravated with him after their arguement so it is very possible that she was looking for a way to get back at him and just got carried away with it. And if she is lying, she's just digging herself into a deeper and deeper hole. So, what would be her motivation for lying other than attention or revenge?
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Haley Watson
9/29/2013 05:54:30 am
Amy, totally agree about Abigail! I feel as we keep on reading, we could possibly find another motivations for Abigail's actions.Abigail doesn't seem to have the cleanest reputation in Salem.Besides protecting herself from death, she could be protecting herself from further rumors and forever being a scapegoat. As Abigail keeps digging herself into the ground, everyone may help her.Maybe Proctor's wife wasn't clueless about Proctor fooling around with Abigail.When we read Act 2,we could find more reasons behind Abigail and other characters' motivations.I think 'the accused and the accusers' are just going to help each other dig their graves.
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Ann Palma
9/29/2013 06:48:38 am
I loved how you related Abigail to Pretty Little Liars. On the show, you never know if someone is telling the truth or if they're lying. One minute a character could be the most innocent person and the next minute they're exposed as A. Just like in The Crucible, anyone could be a witch and get away with it completely, while the innocent are being sentenced to death.
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Mr. Biggs
9/29/2013 07:54:57 am
Pretty Little Liars is a good connection because it reminds us that, as you say, the girls are bringing their personal drama into these life-and-death situations. It was Abigail's obsession with Proctor that started this whole thing, and the more powerful she becomes, the more she can extract revenge for what she feels she's been denied.
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Bridget Kelly
9/29/2013 10:45:22 am
Your Pretty Little Liars connection totally made me open my eyes to look at Abigail, but also many of the other characters, in a more devious way! I can totally see the characters of the book dancing around in the dark forest, which is the scenery for many intense Pretty Little Liars scenes.
Samantha Havens
10/1/2013 11:19:53 am
Haley, relating this to the show Pretty Little Liars made me understand the book in a whole new way. Abigail reminds me alot of Ali and the whole plot of the show. I agree with what you said about Abigail and Better becoming the more devious characters, most likely because of the devil. Your connection to the present media was very insightful and thought provoking.
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Liv Winnicki
9/29/2013 01:08:12 am
While reading Act I of Arthur Millers, The Crucible, I started to see that everyone in this act would lie to save their own skin. Abigail was a huge part of the lies because in the beginning of the story they mention she lies, and they show her change her story many times and when she's talking to Betty, the story is completely different from how it was when she was talking to Parris. Also Tituba said she wasn't a part of anything going on but as soon as they brought up hanging her she immediately pretended like she knew who the witches were so they thought they need her to cleanse their town. Everyone is picking new people as a scapegoat to make themselves seem more holy. At the end of the act betty and abigail just keep naming woman from the town who they saw, "With the Devil"
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Mr. Biggs
9/29/2013 07:57:27 am
It starts as lying to save your skin and turns into lying to elevate yourself above others in the hierarchy of holiness. Where then does it end? If scapegoating grants power, what's to stop everyone from competing to become the supreme finger-pointer? How does a cycle like this end?
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Brandon Alvaro
9/29/2013 08:24:36 am
I totally agree with the "lying to save their own skin". In the beginnig it is so hard to tell which story is the actual truth becuase there are quite a few that are told just to kepp themselves from being hanged, And i also do believe Tituba changed her story to avoid being hanged, let alone to avoid being suspicous
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Jack Anderson
9/29/2013 01:12:44 pm
I agree with Liv's observation. The blame is being shifted swiftly and willingly. The only thing I wonder is, "When will they run out of people to blame"? The way I see it, the ministers and the higher-ups in the Church will simply chose the lowest ranking citizens of all those accused to ultimately be the ones "guilty" of witchcraft in Salem.
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Ann Palma
9/29/2013 06:27:52 am
While reading Act 1 of Arthur Miller's The Crucible, I took notice to how quickly the people of Salem will make someone else the scapegoat in order to secure themselves. When Reverend Parris announces that he saw movement in a kettle sitting in the grass where the girls were dancing, Abigail jumps at the chance to blame Tituba for making her drink blood. However, Tituba argues that someone else has bewitched the children because the devil has numerous witches. She tells Parris and Reverend Hale that Sarah Good and Goody Osburn are under the devil's control, along with many others. Mrs. Putnam agrees completely with this account, as she blames Goody Osburn for killing 3 of her children. The act ends with Betty and Abigail chanting (48):
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Will Cronin
9/29/2013 11:59:38 am
I agree with the fact that everyone is hiding something and they blame it on others, making them a scapegoat. In the first act, Abigail accuses Tituba of conjuring spirits and making the children drink blood. Because of her diverse ways of life and the fact that she is from a foreign country, makes Tituba a prime scapegoat in Abigail’s eyes. However, Abigail only uses Tituba as a scapegoat to cover her own tracks. I also believe that in the end of the play, Abigail's lies will be revealed and she will be hung, but not before other because of her lies
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Joe Ferguson
10/7/2013 08:59:55 am
I, too, noticed the characters' eagerness to turn others into scapegoats. I feel as if the whole witch situation will become a sort of release for many tensions and grudges between characters. It created an opportunity for revenge, and many of the characters are already utilizing it to the fullest of its extent.
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Katelyn Johnson
9/29/2013 07:35:39 am
When reading Act I of The Crucible, the one thing that stuck in my mind was "every man for themselves". This seems to be shown repeatedly throughout the first act, especially when Abigail blames Tituba. Abigail will say or do anything to save herself from being in any sort of trouble while letting her have what she wants. I found there to be irony when Abigail throws Tituba under the bus and says:
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Mr. Biggs
9/29/2013 08:04:08 am
Agreed, it's quite ironic that Abigail is both the one who initiates the actual witchcraft attempt in the forest, but convinces everyone she has become the light of god made flesh. The scapegoat process is key to this deception. It's as if Tituba absorbs all of the negativity, making Abigail seem perfectly pure by comparison. Of course, none of the Puritans are very pure, and Abigail perhaps least of all. So in a sense, Abigail is exactly the false prophet they deserve. She's pushing the theocratic Puritan system of black-and-white moral judgments to the limit, and eventually it will break under the pressure. But that doesn't necessarily mean she will suffer the consequences she deserves...
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Brandon Alvaro
9/29/2013 08:18:51 am
In the first act, Tituba seemed very suspicious from the start, saying "My Betty not goin' die" and Parris immedialty tells her to get out. Then, in the begining, Abigail denied everything about any witchcraft or Devil that had been seen. She only said that they were dancing and trying to have fun. But when Betty finally wakes up, the truth starts pouring out of Abigail, like the peer pressure from all the adults gets her to admit things that might not have even happened. Then when Tituba arrives again, Abiail puts her on the spot, and the Tituba falls victim to the pressure, and then admits she saw something that seem like witchcraft.This all unfolds in the first act, and high suspicion raises among the poeple in Parris's home.
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Olivia
9/29/2013 09:35:29 am
While reading Act I of The Crucible, I was surprised at how malicious Abigail was. In the first few pages, Abigail acts concerned for Betty. When Mercy and Betty arrive, she becomes more defensive of her story and what they did in the woods. Abigail wants to have revenge on Elizabeth Proctor, and uses the witch accusations to her advantage. I believe that in the future, Abigail will accuse Elizabeth of being a witch (if she hasn't already) to get to John Proctor. Hopefully Abigail will get what she deserves at the end of The Crucible.
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Adel Soliman
9/29/2013 10:55:40 am
All of the characters in this book only think in a win-lose mindset looking out for themselves. In order for one person to have what they want, another has to lose just like in the story, Those Who Walk Away From Omelas. Also, Abigail has nothing on John Proctor. Accusing Elizabeth as a witch will only lower the already pathetic chance she has. Maybe as a taste of revenge Abigail will try to get rid of Elizabeth but it wouldn't get her any closer to John.
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Zack Sabat
9/29/2013 09:43:05 am
In the first act, a character that stood out to me was definitely Tituba. Tituba is Reverand Parris's slave from Barbados. She stood out to me because she becomes the scapegoat of Act I. She gets accused by Abigail that she has come in contact with the devil, and that she cursed Betty Parris. The surprising part, however, is when Tituba confesses to being a witch and devil's advocate. She says that she did come in contact with the devil and four of his acquaintances, but she is not convicted of being a witch because she tells the Reverand that she has seen the light of God and no longer wishes to come in contact with the devil. When she tells the group that there are four more advocates among them in the village, Betty and Abigail start accusing people so they don't get in trouble and accused. "BETTY: I saw George Jacobs with the Devil! I saw Goody Howe with the devil! . . . ABIGAIL: I saw Goody Sibber with the Devil! . . ."
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Grace Giffen
9/29/2013 11:13:02 am
You make a good point, Zach. However, I think that because she is on the bottom of the social scale that she will still end up being blamed for turning all of the children to witchcraft. Also, she is different from the rest of the community because of her unique ethnics and culture that separate her from everyone else. Due to this, I think she will be hanged so then the parents of the other supposed girls can deny their daughter's actions.
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Mr. Biggs
9/30/2013 10:36:32 pm
Someone needs to die for all this. If it's not Tituba, it will be because someone else manages to find an even lower rung on the social scale. This would require doing something pretty controversial though ...
Adel Soliman
9/29/2013 10:44:14 am
Karma is definitely going bite everyone in this book/play in the butt. Even so, I feel at the end, Abigail and Betty over did it with the names. Betty initially said there were only 4 people who accompanied Lucifer yet shouted many more names than just 4. I would've found it suspicious when Abigail jumped in and went of a spree of names. One thing I found impressive though were the characters ability to create such a story on the spot without it contradicting anything else they said. Being put on the spot as they were, I find it hard to believe they knew exactly what to say to please them.
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Grace Giffen
9/29/2013 10:46:47 am
I think that Betty's role in Act 1 was very important. As she was sleepwalking, she gave the audience, or in this case the reader, a glimpse into the truth. Through out the entire beginning of the story, Abigail continuously denies any form of witchcraft, but Betty revealed to the audience that they did indeed practice witchcraft. Betty exposed the fact that she did try to fly, just as the people had supposed. She also revealed that they summoned souls the night in the forest. I think the benignity of her character added a different depth to the story and, at least for a little while, revealed that the girls were indeed guilty, and that the suppositions and accusations to come are actually false and made out of fright.
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Bridget Kelly
9/29/2013 10:57:36 am
Something I really liked about Act I was that it opened up right in the middle of the drama. Many other novels' beginnings can drag on and seem boring, but The Crucible draws readers in right away. Another aspect of the play that I admire is how I want to keep reading on to find out more that happens. The characters and scenarios are so suspenseful and mischievous that I very badly want to know the truth. I really want to find out who is really to blame for the night in the woods, and what exactly happened then too. Also, it's very interesting seeing the ideas of scapegoating, and power/society playing into the storyline already. For example how Tituba is being deemed the scapegoat for what happened in the woods, and how the power of the people in the society could easily vote for someone to be executed or punished. I find this especially scary to think about considering the Salem Witch trials actually took place back in the day. In the world today, it is crazy to even imagine society having such unjustified power over innocent people.
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Katie Peter
9/29/2013 11:17:41 am
In Act 1 of The Crucible, we see many different layers of each character. They all have their cover stories and artificial personalities and then there is the deeper emotion hiding inside all of them. And every single one of them seems to have a story to hide from the public so that they are not punished. To hide these secrets the characters will do absolutely anything to cover up their secrets. For example, when Abigail slaps Betty, an ill person at the time in the act, to shut her up. Abigail is so consumed in covering up her crimes that she will do anything to conceal them. But it isn't just Abigail who has something to hide, other characters will be punished if their secrets are revealed as well.
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Will Cronin
9/29/2013 11:46:39 am
While reading Act I of The Crucible, I was intrigued by Abigail being so spiteful. She begins the act being worried for Betty’s wellbeing. However, she spins a web of lies that starts to entangle everyone. She accuses Tituba of conjuring spirits and making them drink blood. Because of her diverse ways of life and the fact that she is from a foreign country, makes her a prime scapegoat in Abigail’s eyes. Abigail herself admits that she has some entanglement with necromancy. She also fabricates her involvement with witchcraft by later saying that “I want the sweet love of Jesus! I danced for the Devil.” At this point, there is no clear distinction whether or not Abigail is telling the truth or lying. Finally, near the end of the act, Abigail and Betty begin shouting that they have seen a number of people “with the devil”. This is another attempt at scapegoating that they do to draw attention away from themselves.
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Eric Banal
9/29/2013 01:05:42 pm
I agree, Will. I too believe that Abigail accused Tituba of these witchcraft-like activities all because she is a slave and is from a foreign country, and therefore, in Puritans' eyes, makes her a lesser form of a human being.
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Mr. Biggs
10/1/2013 09:45:44 pm
It's interesting because the whole point of Vodou is to become possessed by spirits, in other words to become non-human (for a time). This would be the ultimate blasphemy to Puritans because God has decreed the form and purpose of human beings.
Joe Ferguson
10/7/2013 09:04:23 am
I, too, agree with your idea about Abigail's reasoning for choosing Tituba as her scapegoat. It seems obvious, in hindsight. As a slave, a foreigner, and a member of a vastly different religion than the others, she quickly becomes the odd man out of the group, someone that everyone can easily gang up on for personal protection.
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Jack Anderson
9/29/2013 01:09:27 pm
In Act 1 of the Crucible, the character i find most interesting is Tituba. Tituba is a servant of the Parris' and has been accused of summoning the devil. As soon as people start shifting blame for Rebecca's illness, they all find common ground in blaming Tituba. She is powerless, and naturally, the predators have found the weakest prey. She is in no position to stand up to the accusations whether they be false or not because it won't matter. All she can possibly do is "admit" to her sins and try and make the situation as good as it can be for herself. I think this means most likely switching the blame off of herself. She has already tried to do this by saying "I do believe somebody else be witchin' these children" and then later blaming the devil, saying he made her do it. However, I don't think this will suffice and I think she'll end up shifting the blame to a real person, someone else in the community.
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Jack Anderson
9/30/2013 08:44:40 am
*Betty's illness
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Eric Banal
9/29/2013 01:18:38 pm
In act 1, a notable event that stood out to me was how in the end, how Abigail and Betty were accusing multiple people of fraternizing with the devil. "Abigail: I saw Goody Hawkins with the Devil!
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Adel Soliman
9/30/2013 11:36:13 am
If you look at this part after reading act II, there is reason to believe that there could have been some form of past vendetta between Betty, Abigail, and the people they accused. By the time Abigail accused Elizabeth, she had realized the great power she has. Anyone who has ever caused her trouble can easily be taken down with the utter of a single word. As of now she will probably play her role right ending with the sentence or death of Elizabeth, but i predict she will over use her power and become careless leading to hear discovery and downfall.
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Tara Schwinn
9/29/2013 01:30:39 pm
I find it strange that all of the girls were hesitant to say what they were doing and where they were the night of the incident until the end of the story. Then, they all start blurting out these names that they saw with the Devil like they wanted to be the ones to tell what was going on. I definitely dont think that we can trust any of these girls, especially Abby, based on thier recations to this problem.
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Jack Anderson
9/30/2013 09:07:35 am
I completely agree with Tara. I think the girls' hesitation is a huge indicator of how untrustworthy they are. I think that this subject will soon come to light in court when they are brought to testify. I think that because each girl will give such a different version of what happened that the citizens of Salem will become suspicious of their truthfulness.
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Mr. Biggs
9/30/2013 10:32:09 pm
Good points - their untrustworthiness makes them a threat to each other if they can't keep their stories straight. It seems like the girls are trying to just imitate Abby, but she doesn't necessarily care what happens to them.
Ann Palma
10/1/2013 05:09:40 am
I feel like the girls are trying to scapegoat someone else in order to save themselves. It's as if their tactic or strategy is to accuse someone of being a witch, so that all the attention of society will be drawn to the alleged witch and no one will suspect any of their wrong-doings. However, I believe that this method can only hold up so long, until the lies come out and all eyes are drawn back to them.
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Amy Cavallo
9/30/2013 07:51:47 am
Upon reading Act 2, I found my attention being drawn back to Abigail, even thought the second act only mentions her briefly. It was especially thought provoking for me when Mary mentioned that she was sitting next to Abigail all day in court and then felt the need to make a poppet with a needle in it stomach. Furthermore, instead of keeping it for herself, like most people would, she insisted on giving it to Elizabeth. And later on that night, that doll is the evidence that caused Elizabeth to get arrested. So, my idea was that maybe Abby could've bewitched Mary into making the doll, with the needle in it, and giving it to Elizabeth. She could be using this as a plot for revenge against John Proctor or just to get rid of Elizabeth so that she could have John to herself. It seems like Abbigail was angry at John for not loving her and choosing Elizabeth over her. Therefore, she could be jealous of John's love for Elizabeth and because of this, she could've acted in a jealous rage, spelling Mary to create the doll and give it to Goody Proctor, knowing she had been accused and that the suspected women would be arrested that night. Then, she could've stabbed herself in the stomach with a needle to make it appear that Elizabeth's "spirit" had been sent out over her, which no one could contest because there's no proof of it happening or not. So I believe that as the play goes on, Abigail is seeing that she can get away with lying so she's doing it more often and on a bigger scale, thinking she won't get caught. She's become even more manipulating and deceptive.
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Haley Watson
9/30/2013 08:15:13 am
Amy, wow,that's a really good prediction for what may have happened between Abigail and the poppet.I feel one of the reasons why Abigail charged Elizabeth for witchcraft was to get Proctor for herself.However, if all goes Abigail's way, would their Puritan community allow her and John to live happily ever after?Everyone would somehow find out Proctor committed adultery, which is a 'big no-no' whether Elizabeth is alive or not.
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Haley Watson
9/30/2013 08:30:12 am
While reading Act 2, I think, common with the characters in the play,Mary Warren is very deceiving. For example, first she comes home to the Proctors and makes a great deal about how important it is for to be in court.Then, she says she had to "sit for long hours in a chair, and passed time with sewing." Now getting into the Puritan mindset, would someone who is supposedly so interested in court be sewing to pass time? Maybe she's being quiet and bored, waiting for the devil to speak to her...
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Bridget Kelly
9/30/2013 09:40:30 am
I totally agree with what you said about Mary Warren. I also find her to be very mischievous, and I can't help but think she has to have some sort of secret she is hiding. I definitely see how your prediction with Mary being accused of witchcraft could come true. It would be easy to scapegoat her since she used the sewing needle, and thus, was not paying attention during the court meetings. In another direction, I could totally see Mary using her power in the court to defend herself. Since she is a member of the court, which she made a big fuss about to the Proctor, I could see her, like many other leaders we have read about, abuse their power to cover any misbehavior or such accusations. If she does have any type of secret she wants buried, it would be easy for her to use her power in the court to save herself and put the blame on someone else.
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Mr. Biggs
9/30/2013 10:34:14 pm
We already saw a hint of scapegoating Mary in Act I when the girls accuse her of wanting to tattle and confess. But Bridget's point about how Mary could turn that around makes a lot of sense, too. The system is so illogical and inconsistent that it just depends on how well one person manipulates the rest.
Liv Winnicki
10/1/2013 06:34:38 am
When Mary warren gave the poppet to Elizabeth it made me believe that she was setting Elizabeth up for the sake of Abigail. I think that hale and everyone is ignorant to not realize that mar warren is being deceiving and if they're looking for a witch they should look for her.
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Liv Winnicki
10/1/2013 06:40:10 am
I found it strange that Elizabeth and John proctor were fighting most of the act, and then when Elizabeth was about to get taken in, John immediately ran to her rescue to say she isn't a witch. I think that he was defending her for the love of her and sake of defending her, I think he just didn't want anyone to see him as having the devil within his home. He didn't want the town thinking that he's unholy. Also it was interesting when he admitted her doesn't like the new minister and that he doesn't believe in witch craft. I think John proctor kind of mirrors the author Arthur miller. I think as a writer parts of ourselves come out in the characters we create and Arthur miller when he created John proctor created parts of himself, not believing in all the controversial things going on in his time period. And all the things he was accused of
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Zack Sabat
10/1/2013 10:59:20 am
Liv, I agree with you. I also find the relationship between John and Elizabeth somewhat strange. I think that John is trying to get on Elizabeth's good side because he doesn't want Elizabeth to go running and tell the whole town about his affair with Abigail. He also wants to prove his love for her because she obviously has doubts after she found out about the affair.
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Ann Palma
10/1/2013 07:03:07 am
While reading Act 2, the line that kept coming back into my mind was when John Proctor questions, "Is the accuser always holy now? Were they born this morning as clean as God's fingers?" (77) Throughout the play, the town of Salem goes into mass hysteria every time someone is accused of being a witch. The witch is tried and hanged if he/she does not confess to worshipping the devil. However, no one ever questions the accuser's intentions. For all they know, the indictor could be calling someone out as a witch to protect themselves from being detected or to seek revenge for unfortunate miseries. For example, Abigail could have easily set up Mary Warren into making the poppet for Elizabeth, stabbed herself in the stomach with the needle, and implicated Elizabeth as a witch in order to avenge her or to have Proctor all to herself. Yet, no one in Salem would think otherwise; Elizabeth's a witch because she was inculpated and that it the definite truth to them. A major hamartia of the citizens of Salem is that they are ignorant and fail to discover authentic evidence. Instead of finding out the truth, they rely on someone "seeing them with the devil," without realizing that the people who may be deceiving them aren't the ones dangling from a rope.
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Eric Banal
10/1/2013 10:55:28 am
I agree with Ann. In Act 2, I started to get a better sense of what the Salem witch trials were like. Many people accused another for witchcraft with no evidence. When reading the quote from John Proctor,"Is the accuser always holy now?", you can realize that John Proctor has a good sense of what people are going to be doing in the witch trials era. John realizes that many people are going to blindly accuse another of witchcraft just so they can get away unscathed themselves. However, no one ever questions the motives of an accuser but John starts to and he believes that an accuser's motives is to cover up their own doings, which in this case is witchcraft.
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Will Cronin
10/1/2013 11:20:17 am
This makes a lot of sense in Act 2. Abigail accuses Elizabeth for witchcraft and no one but John Proctor questions why she accused Elizabeth. There was no real evidence to prove that she was guilty and Abigail only accused her to achieve her own motives.
Samantha Havens
10/1/2013 11:37:48 am
Throughout Act One and Two I have come across a common theme is good vs. evil. With the idea of satan vs. god as the biggest conflict. An example of evil in the eyes of the people, is Abigail. She is the biggest liar and I predict she will cause pain in many other characters throughout the novel, including John Procter. The "good" character would have to be Rebecca Nurse, she seems to be the most caring and I could imagine she will stick up for everyone accused of witchcraft.
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Katelyn Johnson
10/1/2013 12:40:48 pm
One thing I kept in mind while reading Act II was Abigail, the poppet, and the needle. Poppets represent innocence and goodness, which clearly Abigail lacks. Abigail puts on this act that she is very childish, and in some ways she is such as lying. Like the needle found by Elizabeth inside the poppet, there is that one bit of truth and the lack of innocence inside of Abigail. The needle represents revenge and desire. Abigail is clearly upset with Elizabeth for taking away her chances of ever being with John Proctor. She probably believes what better way to get back at John and Elizabeth Proctor than to stab herself in the stomach, accuse Elizabeth for that and witchcraft, and win back John Proctor's heart.
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Grace Giffen
10/1/2013 01:34:21 pm
When the poppet was first introduced to the story, I immediately connected it to the "poppet" from Pirates of the Carribean. In the Pirates of the Carribean, the term poppet was first used to signify innocence, but as the story continues, it is revealed that the "poppet" was a hidden evil. This is much like the poppet from the Crucible. Both were first presented as benign but then transformed into a metaphorical evil. Because of this comparison, I think that Mary Warren was framed by Abigail to sabotage Elizabeth.
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Mr. Biggs
10/1/2013 09:42:31 pm
Two good quotes about the association of the Poppet with innocence... it definitely makes us think of Abigail's guilt in contrast to the childlike cleanliness it represents.
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Elijah Sullivan
10/3/2013 01:16:35 pm
In Act 1, I recognized how in control Abigail seems to think she is. She lies her way through the whole act only giving snippets of information as her lies are seen through and like how Amy pointed out, almost competes with Betty for attention. Abigail seems to want to be on top of everything. This is also shown on page 20 when she is threatening the girls about revealing anything. She says "Now look you. All of you. We danced. And Tituba conjured Ruth Putnam's dead sisters. And that is all. And mar this. Let either of you breathe a word, or the edge of a word, about the other things, and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you. And you know I can do it; I saw Indians smash my dear parents' heads on the pillow next to mine, and I have seen some reddish work done at night, and I can make you wish you had never seen the sun go down! Now, you—sit up and stop this!" First off she starts talking to them as if she has just made herself their leader. She then goes on to threaten them if they dare speak a word of what they actually did, and then she bossily goes to Betty and commands her to stop sobbing and to sit up.
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August 2016
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