Kinsey Shelton Shelton 1
Mrs. Martz
December 19 2011
Honors English lll

“Love is often gentle, desire often a rage.” Mignon McLaughlin, The Second Neurotic's Notebook, 1966. In The Crucible, a story of love, lust, and lies is set in Salem, Massachusetts 1692 we saw love , gentle and sweet displayed between The Proctors just before his hanging. Also, with John we saw how desire quickly became uncontrollable after his affair with Abby. Salem was an austerely strict Puritan village. Life in Salem was harsh. Children were expected to behave as little adults, and any show of emotion was discouraged. Any reading outside of the Bible was considered sinful. This was the world that our play takes place in and focuses mainly on the lives of the Abigail Williams, Reverend and Betty Parris, and John Proctor.
Abigail Williams was the 17 year old niece of the Reverend Parris. Abigail witnessed the murder of both of her parents and now resides with her uncle and cousin, Betty. The Parris’ have a slave, Tituba, from Barbados who formed a special bond with the girls. Innocently Tituba entertained them with stories from her homeland, stories of spirits and the future. Something that is surely forbidden, but the girls were intrigued. Abigail is the oldest and the leader of their group. Slowly, Tituba’s story became more popular and their secret group quickly grew. Shelton 2
Abigail takes a job as a maid in the Proctor home, taking care of the children and managing the housework. Goody Proctor, the Proctor mother, fell ill at sometime causing Abby to fill her absent role. Sometime while serving as their maid, John Proctor and her grow close. She and him commit adultery. Elizabeth suspects something and John confesses, then kicks Abby out. Thus starts Abby’s vengeance to get Elizabeth Proctor out of the way to have John all to herself. This warped fantasy she is living out is something she intends to make a reality. The girls begin to dive deeper into Tituba’s stories, the power they seem to contain attracting the girls. The meetings they have and everything that goes on remains a secret. Things happen such as cracking an egg into a cup of water and, when looked at just right, shows a picture of your future husband. One morning the girls all sneak out of bed to have a special ritual around a fire. Tituba does toad purposely dropped in. Abby drinks blood to kill Elizabeth. The girls become hysterical and some are stripping and peeling of clothes, overcome by the power. This is the precise moment Rev. Parris happens to come by. Quickly he stumbles and turns away, but it is too late. Over the next few months these trials cause all the girls to become “superstars” because of how much publicity they are getting. They list many of the town “witches” including Elizabeth Proctor, Rebecca Nurse, Bridget Bishop. In an alone moment with John Proctor states, “The road past my house is a pilgrimage to Salem all morning. The town's mumbling witchcraft. (Abby) Oh, posh! Winningly she comes a little closer, with a confidential, wicked air. We were dancin' in the woods last night, and my uncle leaped in on us. She took fright, is all. (Prcotor) Ah, you're wicked yet, aren't y'! (A trill of Shelton 3 expectant laughter escapes her, and she dares come closer, feverishly looking into his eyes.) Here we learn that they have both told lies, and continue to deceive people about their past relationship. Also, here Abby confesses to just dancing in the woods, nothing of her “bewitchment”. The difference however in the lies is the degree to which they bring them out. Meanwhile, the Proctors have since gotten a new maid named Mary Warren. Lately John has tried to appease Elizabeth, just to get back in her good graces. Elizabeth gave him the run down on the latest in the witch trials. Going back to the touchy subject of the Abigail, Elizabeth tried to get him to go into town