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Post by tihuber38 on Oct 8, 2011 21:07:53 GMT -5
Post any quotes you found interesting or important here and discuss them
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Post by tihuber38 on Oct 8, 2011 21:21:49 GMT -5
"Abigail brings the other girls to court, and where she walks the crowd will part like the sea of Israel" (Miller 53).
Marry warren describes how Abigail has seized incredible power in the court. This quote shows how Abigail was able to capitalize on the witchcraft crisis and rise from a powerless and unimportant girl in the community to a respected member of the court who dined with the deputy Governor. In Mary's allusion, Abigail has become Moses, the man responsible for parting the Red Sea in biblical scripture. This incredible transformation of her image is due to her cunning manipulation of the witchcraft crisis when it presented itself.
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Post by sarohwe38 on Oct 9, 2011 13:18:39 GMT -5
"I cannot lie no more. I am with God, I am with God." (Miller 102)
When Mary Warren said this, I took it that this is when she is giving up on her scheme of witch craft. She was influenced by Abigail to go along with Abigail's game, as was an easy target since she is easily persuaded. I personally feel that Mary Warren was always with God and never was fully under Abigail's restricting control. What she said here was instantly overlooked when Abigail entered the scene and said, "I have been hurt, Mr. Danforth; I have seen my blood runnin' out! I have been near to murdered every day because I done my duty by pointing out the Devil's people-and this is my reward? To be mistrusted, denied, and questioned..." After Abigail said this, everything Mary Warren had just previously fought against was overlooked, and Mary no longer looked as if she was telling the truth. Abigail was in control again and had everyone in that courtroom wrapped around her finger. This quote by Abigail shows how she is capable of using manipulation at whatever crisis is at hand to give herself the upper hand.
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Post by sarohwe38 on Oct 9, 2011 14:48:29 GMT -5
"My name, he want my name. "I'll murder you," he says, "if my wife hangs! We must go and overthrow the court," he says!" (Miller 119)
When Mary Warren says this after Abigail and the girls were mimicking everything Mary said and did. Through saying this, Mary is claiming that Proctor forced her to go with him and overthrow the court in order for Elizabeth Proctor to live. They attempt to overthrow it by claiming that Mary is abandoning her game of witchcraft, when Proctor is actually conspiring with the Devil. Mary apologizes to Abigail for bewitching her and Abigail consoles the sobbing Mary.
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Post by caclark35 on Oct 9, 2011 16:55:37 GMT -5
“Make your peace with it! Now Hell and Heaven grapple on our backs, and all our old pretense is ripped away—make your peace! Peace. It is a providence, and no great change; we are only what we always were, but naked now. Aye, naked! And the wind, God’s icy wind, will blow!” (Miller 80-81)
Proctor says this after he tries to convince Mary Warren to confess to Danforth that all of the girls are lying. He is claiming that telling the truth will set Mary Warren free and that she needs to make peace with all of the lies and make up for them. He goes on to say that peace is like a gift from God and that it won’t change her. It only gives her nothing to hide behind or hide from.
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Post by caclark35 on Oct 9, 2011 17:10:10 GMT -5
“Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies! Because I am not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang! How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name!” (Miller 143)
Proctor says this when he is fighting with his conscience over whether or not to confess to witchcraft and therefore save himself from being hanged. He has almost been convinced to confess and all he has to do is sign the confession, but he can’t do it. He knows that he would not be able to live with himself if other innocent prisoners were executed while he was too scared to stand up for the truth and keep his dignity. This quote also shows how much Proctor’s reputation means to him. He would rather die and keep his good name than to lie and keep his life.
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Post by hadobos38 on Oct 9, 2011 18:11:44 GMT -5
"You are pulling Heaven down and raising up a whore!" (Miller 120)
Proctor says this when Danforth has issues for he and Giles Corey to be taken to jail, right before Hale quits the court. Here we see the full power that Abigail has obtained since Act I. Proctor admits to lechery with Abigail in order to save his wife and prove Abigail of being un-saint like. At the end of Act III when Proctor is being taken away, Danforth and the others, except Hale, have pushed aside the fact that Abigail had an affair with Proctor. Her power has escalated so greatly that she was not accused of lechery, even when Hale defends Proctor. The court, which is made of religious men has now been corrupted and no longer rules under God's practices. The trials of the accused are now influenced by Abigail's statements, whether they be true or false. Proctor and Hale both understand this by the end of Act III.
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Post by jiyang35 on Oct 9, 2011 22:05:35 GMT -5
“You know well why not! He’ll lay in jail if I give his name”(Miller 97). This quote belongs to Giles Corey and is soon followed by “I mentioned my wife’s name once and I’ll burn in hell long enough for that. I stand mute”(Miller 97). These quotes are significant showing how helpless the situation has turned. Giles is on the verge of losing his beloved wife but he can only sit and watch. Whatever evidence of witnesses he can use, he knows it will only drag him into more of a predicament and it would only hurt more his loved ones. The town is so filled with the ideas of witchcraft that they are blind to those playing them. There are people in the town abusing their powers in times of crisis but unfortunately many are too ignorant to see or believe it. Giles Corey is one of the wiser characters that can see the whole truth but even so, the situation is still helpless and is further seen when Hale states, “We cannot blink it more. There is a prodigious fear of the court in this country”(Miller 98). The combination of this quotes show how trapped certain townspeople feel. They are afraid of every move they make and fear that whatever they do, it could be considered an attempt to overthrow the church.
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Post by madanie35 on Oct 9, 2011 22:27:32 GMT -5
"Now believe me, Proctor, how heavy be the law, all its tonnage I do carry on my back tonight...I have a warrant for your wife."- (Miller 72)
This quote is stated by Cheever when he at the Proctor's household trying to arrest Elizabeth. I find this quote important because it exemplifies how weaker characters are becoming more powerful due to the witch trials (Cheever), as well as the powerful characters becoming less powerful in the town (the Proctors). This shows how the witch trials completely changed the town.
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Post by chfisch35 on Oct 10, 2011 10:46:42 GMT -5
From pages 56-60, Mary Warren, Proctor and Elizabeth have a tense exchange about how Mary Warren is a 'big shot' and now holds a position in the court. I thought it was very telling of Proctors character when he says to Mary Warren, "What work you do! It's very strange work for a Christian girl to hang old women!"(Miller 58). Proctor seems to usually come in as the voice of reason, and here he's unveiling the idiotic nature of the whole crisis, while pointing out the irony of a Christian girl hanging "witches".
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Post by jekenny38 on Oct 10, 2011 12:19:09 GMT -5
"A man may think God sleeps, but God sees everything, I know it now. I beg you, sir, I beg you—see her what she is. . . . She thinks to dance with me on my wife’s grave! And well she might, for I thought of her softly. God help me, I lusted, and there is a promise in such sweat. But it is a whore’s vengeance. . . ."
This is when Proctor breaks down and admits he is having an affair with Abigail after he tried to expose her as a fraud. From the start, Proctor knows the witch trials are simply a “whore’s vengeance" which is Abigail’s way of getting back on him for ending their affair. He doesn't make his knowledge of that known to the public because it would lead to his disgrace.
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Post by kafisch38 on Oct 10, 2011 13:17:38 GMT -5
"The towns gone wild, I think. She speak of Abigail, and I thought she were a saint, to hear her. Abigail brings the other girls into the court, and where she walks the crowd will part like the sea for Israel. And folks are brought before them, and if they scream and howl and fall to the floor- the person's clapped in the jail for bewitchin' them." (53)
This quote displays the power Abigail holds over several of the characters, and what she plans to do with it. Once she has gained her power in numbers, she can seem to do no wrong in the eye's of the town.
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Post by emsuria35 on Oct 10, 2011 14:04:05 GMT -5
"I am a minister of the Lord, and I dare not take a life without there be a proof so immaculate no slightest qualm of conscience may doubt," (page 99)-Hale- This showed unlike many of the characters of the novel that are using the witch trials as a means of power, Hale truly believes that what he is doing is for the good. He is trying to better the world and believes what he is doing is under the name of good and for the good of the community. This goes along with his naiveness, as he believes what these girls are saying, despite claiming that he needs flawless proof to hang someone. Earlier in the sentence he has signed 72 death warrants, which shows that he believes the testimony of the accusers as proof.
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Post by vemurph35 on Oct 10, 2011 14:42:49 GMT -5
"My proof is there! (Pointing to the paper.) If Jacobs hangs for a witch he forfeit up his properyt- that's law! And ther is none but Putname wit the coin to buy so great a piece. This man is killing his neighbors for their land" (96)
I feel this quote by Giles trying to prove that these people who were once highly respected in the communtiy are not traders or witches is important because it goes along with Bercovitch's belief that these people were not just over here for religious freedom buty to also make a profit. And some people used this crisis to take revenge on neighbors and enemies and take their land or lives away to profit themselves. It also shows that once accused of being a witch and on the outside of the consensus, then it is almost impossible to get back in when the situation is controlled by fear because reason and truth are not trusted anymore.
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Post by ashorow35 on Oct 10, 2011 16:29:11 GMT -5
"I want the light of God, I want the sweet love of Jesus! I danced for the Devil; I saw him, I wrote in his book; I go back to Jesus; I kiss His hand. I saw Sarah Good with the Devil! I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil! I saw Bridget Bishop with the Devil!" (48) [Abigail] After observing Tituba's actions after being accused of witchcraft, Abigail follows the same routine. She realizes that instead of worrying, she can "confess" as a way out of worry. So, just like Tituba does, Abigail confesses, declares her love of God, and accuses someone else. This sequence is the start to the hysteria that overwhelms the play as well as the craziness of the trials.
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