Thursday, October 24, 2013

What are some of the grudges and the personal rivalries in The Crucible?

There are numerous personal grudges in the play, and
actually is one of the causes of the witch trials.


The most
central person rivalry is between Abigail and Elizabeth Proctor. Abigail had an affair
with Elizabeth's husband John. John ended the affair, but Abigail is not willing to take
no for an answer. Her jealousy for Elizabeth's role in John's life leads her to accuse
Elizabeth of witchcraft.


Other grudges occur between very
prominent members of society. Francis and Rebecca Nurse are of a family with lots of
children and grandchildren. They own over 300 acres of land, but Thomas Putnam, another
prominent member of Salem, disuptes with him over land boundaries. Francis also went
against Thomas Putnam's brother in law for the position of minister to
Salem.


It is quite a conicidence that Ruth Putnam is an
accuser of Rebecca Nurse later in the story. There also seems to be an insinuation that
the Putnams are jealous of Rebecca Nurse's numerous children. Mrs. Ann Putnam herself
miscarried and lost many of the children she bore.


The
Coreys, Giles and Martha, are an older couple. Martha Corey is accused of witchcraft
because she sold a pig to a neighbor and the pig died two days later. Since then, the
neighbor cannot keep a pig alive on his farm.

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