Motivates Abigail Williams And Anne Putnam example essay topic

Arthur Miller writes about the tragic results of human failings in his play, The Crucible. He presents characters from the past and infuses them with renewed vitality and color. Miller demonstrates the horrifying results of succumbing to personal motives and flaws as he writes the painful story of the Salem witch trials. Not only do the trials stem from human failings but also from neglect of moral and religious considerations of that time. Characters begin to overlook Puritan values of thrift and hope for salvation. Focusing on the flawed characters, they begin to exhibit land lust, envy of the miserable and self-preservation.

Thomas Putnam establishes conflict by vying for land with other characters. From the outset, he is bitter and quarrelsome over his boundaries. He shouts to Giles Corey, 'I'll have my men on you, Corey! I'll clap a writ on you!' (Miller, ) Greediness does not play a role in a time of close-knit societies and in seeking the salvation of God. Putnam displays a threatening tone towards Giles over land. By threatening Giles, Putnam begins a cause to get what he believes is his.

He immediately becomes a danger to whoever owns land, particularly Giles. Putnam disregards all his values in an attempt to gain worldly possessions. As the play progresses, Giles explains in court, 'If Jacobs hangs for a witch he forfeit up his property... ' (Miller, ) Giles reveals Putnam's real motive for crying witchery. As Putnam continues his lie, he subjects innocent people to their deaths. This despicable act can only be defined as greed.

Moral values are absent as Putnam convinces the courts of witchery. Eventually this leads to the death of Giles by pressing. Putnam personifies greed in The Crucible by neglecting the lives of others while attempting to acquire more worldly possessions without qualms. Contrary to Puritan beliefs, he concerns himself over worldly wealth while ignoring the wealth that may come in the life after.

Furthermore, many causes of the witch trials stem from the envy of people in lower positions. Envy motivates Abigail Williams and Anne Putnam to accuse their enemies as witches. After discovering that Abigail accused her, Elizabeth Proctor exclaims, 'She'd dare not call out such a farmer's wife but there be a monstrous profit in it. ' (Miller, ) Elizabeth speaks of a monstrous profit, and she knows that it is her husband. She realizes that Abigail wishes to see her dead in order to win him. Abigail's envy for John causes her to ignore moral issues and to coldly pursue John regardless of who stands in her way.

She screams and writhes as, 'Stuck two inches in the flesh of her belly, [Parris] draw a needle out. ' (Miller, ) Envy even pushes Abigail to inflict pain on herself. To frame Elizabeth, she resorts to extreme and desperate means of proof. She casts away all shreds of morality, religion, and common sense to pursue her treasure. Anne Putnam exposes similar motives for accusing Rebecca Nurse. Francis Nurse quotes the arrest warrant for his wife, 'For the marvelous and supernatural murder of Goody Putnam's babies.

' (Miller, ) Goody Putnam envies the Nurses because they already have a large clan of offspring while they are left with one weak child. Envy and jealousy play a key role in Goody Putnam's decision to blame Rebecca. To obtain vengeance, they accuse Rebecca in hopes to solve their own misfortune. The Putnams envy her success and instead of celebrating their happiness and cherishing their only child, they choose the immoral action and strike back at their scapegoat, Rebecca. Abigail plays a cruel trick on Proctor to try to resolve her envy, and the Putnams condemn Rebecca Nurse to death for some false hope in their lives.

Envy encourages ordinary people to feel disappointed, but it encourages the ones without strong ethics to strike back and take revenge. In The Crucible, this revenge takes the form of unreasonable trials of innocent people. Finally, we discover the flaws of many characters as they value self-preservation over moral and religious concerns. Although Reverend Parris heads the church of Salem, he exhibits other motives when the trials begin.

He cries to Danforth, 'There is danger for me... ' (Miller, ) Parris' real motive for conducting the trial is to improve his image in Salem. As soon as he discovers the town's dissent, he retreats and urges the court to halt the trials. Throughout the play he tries to preserve his good image. To Parris, the witch trials are not a religious cleansing, but a personal boost of esteem and importance. To prove her innocence by pleading to God, Abigail saves herself by accusing others of witchcraft before she can be accused.

She confesses, 'She made me do it! She made Betty do it!' (Miller, ) Abigail lies saying that Tit uba forced her to perform the barbaric acts in the woods. She uses her status to her advantage and hides behind the veil of religion and salvation as she accuses various people of witchcraft. The strings of trials all result from her attempts at gaining support of the town. Loosing sight of morality and hiding behind religion, Abigail tries anything to save herself from punishment. Miller provides insight for the reader of The Crucible as he exposes the many failings that are within his characters.

The trials of Salem are not based upon moral or religious issues, but primarily on personal motivations. The Putnams and Abigail accuse many for their own personal gains while Reverend Parris hides behind religion as he supports them. We can note that all these characters are after the same goal. They concern themselves over issues and possessions that exist in their world. The worst aspect of human relations result from these trials. Although the actions in the book may not have truly taken place, many people fell victim to the horrific consequences of the real trials.

The characters within The Crucible struggled with their status in society as did the real people of Salem. Their behavior shows what will happen if we succumb to our desires without realizing the moral wrong that we may subject to others and ourselves. In order to prevent that possibility, we should recognize the consequences of our actions before it becomes too late to do anything. Miller exhibits his understanding of human nature by revealing these characters to our face and forcing us to watch as they warp their values and ideals to uphold the acceptance of this behavior. As The Crucible is read, people are forced to see how wrong it is to place the value material things over the price of a human's life; and by knowing this, hopefully people will start to discover these aspects within themselves, and will gain the courage to change.