The Crucible-Compare and Contrast
The Crucible Essay In 1952 a play was written by Arthur Miller, about events that happened in Salem in 1692. The play was about affairs, accusations, and innocent people being accused of witches. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, Abigail and Mary Warren are introduced as two separate people. Although people might see Abigail and Mary Warren as two separate people and nothing alike, they are more alike than meet’s the eye. Abigail and Mary Warren have three things in common; they are both are deceitful, they both dishonest, and they are both apprehensive.
Accusation played a major part in this story for Abigail and Mary Warren. When, Reverend Paris finds Abigail, Mary Warren, and others dancing in the woods he doesn’t know what to do, and it only gets worse. Others start to find out and soon the girls are being accused of being witches. On page 170 in the book Abigail states to Reverend Paris “Uncle, the rumor of witchcraft is all about; I think you’d best go down and deny it yourself. The parlor is packed with people, sir. I’ll sit with her”. This shows that Abigail is deceitful because, she knows people won’t believe her if she says she is not a witch.
But she knows that if she gets the most respected man in town to defend her they will have to believe him. When Mary Warren finds out what is being said, she runs straight to Abigail. Once Abigail and Mary Warren start talking on page 174 Mary says “What’ll we do? The village is out! I just come from the farm; the whole country’s talkin’ of witchcraft! They’ll be callin’ us Abby! ” This shows Abby is also deceitful because, as soon as she hears this she runs to Abby to help her to lie and make a plan so they can stop the accusations. Lying is another similarity that Abigail and Mary Warren both have.
Mary Warren and Abigail tell lies to take the attention off of their selves. When Abigail is in Betty’s bedroom she tells the lie about Tituba to take the attention from her. She says on page 187 “She comes to me every night to go drink blood! ” Abigail says this about Tituba to take the attention off her to stall, but Mary Warren also does this to buy herself some time to think. When Mary Warren is in court she also tries to blame someone. On page 195 Mary Warren says to John Proctor “Mr. Proctor, in open court she near to choked us all to death. Even though Mary Warren knows this is a lie, she says it so she doesn’t get blamed anymore. But this isn’t the end of the girl’s similarities. Abigail and Mary Warren have one final similarity; they both are apprehensive. While in court when about to be convicted, both girls blamed someone else for being witches and said they saw them with the devil. Then they would say explain that they have found God again so they are off the hook. When all this shenanigans first started, Abigail shouted “I saw Goody Hawkins with the Devil. I saw Goody Booth with the Devil! By saying those names she was taken off the hook, and Goody Hawkins and Goody Booth were now being accused of witchery. This shows that Abigail is apprehensive because, she was scared of what would happen so by blaming it on someone else she didn’t have to worry about what would happen to her. Mary Warren also did the same terrible thing. Right before Mary Warren was to be called a witch by the court she said “You’re the Devil’s Man! ” to John Proctor. That made the court decide to convict Proctor instead of her because she cried that she had found God.
It made Mary not have to be fearful for her own life anymore. In conclusion Abigail and Mary Warren have similar traits for two different characters. Although they might not seem alike, they are more alike then meets the eye. They both did terrible things throughout the play. They also both are responsible for the deaths of innocent people because of their lies to save themselves. Abigail and Mary Warren have three things in common; they are both are deceitful, they both dishonest, and they are both apprehensive.
