Ilook for John Proctor that took me from my sleep and put knowledgein my heart! I never knew what pretense Salem was, I never knewthe lying lessons I was taught by all these Christian women andtheir covenanted men! And now you bid me tear the light out of myeyes? I will not, I cannot! You loved me, John Proctor, and whateversin it is, you love me yet!
Abigail Williams utters these wordsin an Act I conversation with John Proctor, clueing the audiencein to her past affair with him. For Proctor, we quickly realize,their relationship belongs to the pastwhile he may still be attractedto her, he is desperately trying to put the incident behind him.Abigail, on the other hand, has no such sense of closure, as thisquote makes clear. As she begs him to come back to her, her angeroverflows, and we see the roots of what becomes her targeted, destructiveromp through Salem. First, there is her jealousy of Elizabeth Proctorand her fantasy that if she could only dispose of Elizabeth, Johnwould be hers. But second, and perhaps more important, we see inthis quotation a fierce loathing of the entire townI never knewwhat pretense Salem was, I never knew the lying lessons. . . .Abigail hates Salem, and in the course of The Crucible, shemakes Salem pay.
Iwant to open myself! . . . I want the light of God, I want the sweetlove of Jesus! I danced for the Devil; I saw him, I wrote in hisbook; I go back to Jesus; I kiss His hand. I saw Sarah Good withthe Devil! I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil! I saw Bridget Bishopwith the Devil!
This outburst from Abigail comes atthe end of Act I, after the slave-girl Tituba has confessed to witchcraft.Abigail spent the first act worrying desperately about the possibilityof being disgraced for having cast charms with her friends in theforest. Titubas confession, however, offers an example of a wayout, and Abigail takes it. She confesses to consorting with theDevil, which, according to the theology of Salem, means that sheis redeemed and free from guilt. Then, as the next step in absolvingherself of sin, she accuses others of being witches, thus shiftingthe burden of shame from her shoulders to those she names. SeeingAbigails success, the other girls follow suit, and with this patternof hysterical, self-serving accusations, the witch trials get underway.
Youmust understand, sir, that a person is either with this court orhe must be counted against it, there be no road between. This isa sharp time, now, a precise timewe live no longer in the duskyafternoon when evil mixed itself with good and befuddled the world.Now, by Gods grace, the shining sun is up, and them that fear notlight will surely praise it.
This statement, given by Danforth inAct III, aptly sums up the attitude of the authorities toward thewitch trials. In his own right, Danforth is an honorable man, but,like everyone else in Salem, he sees the world in black and white.Everything and everyone belongs to either God or the Devil. Thecourt and government of Massachusetts, being divinely sanctioned,necessarily belong to God. Thus, anyone who opposes the courtsactivities cannot be an honest opponent. In a theocracy, one cannothave honest disagreements because God is infallible. Since the courtis conducting the witch trials, anyone who questions the trials,such as Proctor or Giles Corey, is the courts enemy. From there,the logic is simple: the court does Gods work, and so an enemyof the court must, necessarily, be a servant ofthe Devil.
Aman may think God sleeps, but God sees everything, I know it now.I beg you, sir, I beg yousee her what she is. . . . She thinks todance with me on my wifes grave! And well she might, for I thoughtof her softly. God help me, I lusted, and there is a promise insuch sweat. But it is a whores vengeance. . . .
This quotation is taken from Act III,when Proctor finally breaks down and confesses his affair with Abigail,after trying, in vain, to expose her as a fraud without revealingtheir liaison. Proctor knows from the beginning that the witch trialsconstitute nothing more than a whores vengeanceAbigails revengeon him for ending their affairbut he shies away from making thatknowledge public because it would lead to his disgrace. This scene,in the Salem courtroom, marks the climax of the play, in which Proctorsconcern for justice outstrips his concern for his reputation. Thisre-prioritization of values enables him to do what is necessary.But he finds, to his horror, that his actions come too late: insteadof Abigail and the witch trials being exposed as a sham, Proctoris called a liar and then accused of witchcraft by the court. Hisattempt at honesty backfires and destroys him.
Becauseit is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! BecauseI lie and sign myself to lies! Because I am not worth the dust onthe feet of them that hang! How may I live without my name? I havegiven you my soul; leave me my name!
Proctor utters these lines at the endof the play, in Act IV, when he is wrestling with his conscienceover whether to confess to witchcraft and thereby save himself fromthe gallows. The judges and Hale have almost convinced him to doso, but the last stumbling block is his signature on the confession,which he cannot bring himself to give. In part, this unwillingnessreflects his desire not to dishonor his fellow prisoners: he wouldnot be able to live with himself knowing that other innocents diedwhile he quaked at deaths door and fled. More important, it illustrateshis obsession with his good name. Reputation is tremendously importantin Salem, where public and private morality are one and the same.Early in the play, Proctors desire to preserve his good name keepshim from testifying against Abigail. Now, however, he has come toa true understanding of what a good reputation means and what courseof action it necessitatesnamely, that he tell the truth, not lieto save himself. I have given you my soul; leave me my name! herages; this defense of his name enables him to muster the courageto die, heroically, with his goodness intact.
Explanation of the famous quotes in The Crucible, Home SparkNotes Literature Study Guides The Crucible Important Quotations Explained SparkNotes is
The Crucible - Quotations with analysis - SlideShare
The Crucible - Quotations with analysis Quotations with analysis 1. The Crucible Clipping is a handy way to collect and organize the most important
The Crucible - Important Quotations - StudyMode
Let StudyMode.com get you up to speed on key information and facts on The Crucible by Book Notes > The Crucible > Important Quotations; The Plot Summary
The Crucible Summary and Analysis (like SparkNotes) | Free ...
The Crucible Summary and Analysis If there is a The Crucible SparkNotes, important quotations, chapter summary,
The Crucible Summary - Shmoop
The Crucible Summary . BACK; NEXT ; Act I of The Crucible opens with Salems minister, Famous Quotes . The who, what, where,
The Crucible: Top Ten Quotes | Novelguide
The Crucible: Top Ten Quotes, Top Ten Quotes, Free Study Guides and book notes including comprehensive chapter analysis, The Crucible; Novel Summary: Act 1;
The crucible quotes explained - nxqnlneu.cf
Explanation of the famous quotes in The Crucible, including all important speeches, comments, quotations, and monologues.Everything you ever wanted to know about
The Crucible Act I Quotes - Shmoop
SHMOOP PREMIUM Summary SHMOOP PREMIUM SHMOOP PREMIUM The Crucible Act I Quotes. See more famous quotes from literature . BACK; NEXT ; 1; 2; 3; 4; 5; 6; 7; 8; 9;
The Crucible Act 1 Summary & Analysis by LitCharts | From ...
Need help with Act 1 in Arthur Miller's The Crucible? Check out our revolutionary side-by-side summary and LitCharts LLC Not affiliated with SparkNotes
The Crucible Act 4 Summary & Analysis by LitCharts | From ...
4 in Arthur Miller's The Crucible? Check out our revolutionary side-by-side summary and analysis. 2016 LitCharts LLC Not affiliated with SparkNotes LLC
