"The Girls" Role in the Salem Witch Trials
Abigail: Uncle, the rumor of witchcraft is all about; I think you'd best go down and deny it yourself. The parlor's packed with people sir. I'll sit with her.Parris: And what shall I say to them? That my daughter and my niece I discovered dancing like heathen in the forest? (Miller 1039) Even though the lines were never written, the scene is meticulously formed in the back of the viewer's mind. During the dead of night, girls from the small town of Salem go into the woods to have some fun. This simple action forms the foundation for "The Crucible". Two characters, Abigail and Mary Warren, emerge from the group which is simply referred to as "the girls". These two girls add crucial roles to the play, and to the foundation and conclusion of the trials. But, the girls of the small village in which Arthur Miller's The Crucible takes place, have the most involvement an
d influence in the entirety of the Salem witch trials. Mary Warren is one of the main characters in the "The Crucible". Prior to the play's beginning, the girls of the village are caught dancing in the woods in the middle of the night. Mary Warren claims not to have taken part in any dancing and states that she was only watching. This starts a rivalry between her and Abigail. Mary Warren tells Abigail that she (Abigail) and the other girls would get whipped if they told the truth. She also has an affair with John Proctor (the protagonist), which adds a twist to the end. At one point, Mary Warren tells the court that she has seen spirits as a result of the witchcraft. Though an influential character on her own, Mary Warren plays a dual role as "one of the girls". The "girls" in general, create mass hysteria while aiding their cause to attract attention. The play is ba
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Approximate Word count = 596
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)
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