At the end of Act Two, both John Proctor and Mary Warren face crucibles: Mary must decide to tell the truth or not about Abigail and what the girls did in the forest while John must decide to go to the court and tell that he had an affair with Abigail. Who should confess? Does this person have the ability to do this? What do you predict will happen if this person goes to the court with the truth? Why do you think this? (The deadline to post a response to this blog is midnight Wednesday, February 9, 2011)
Monday, February 7, 2011
What's a Puritan To Do?
At the end of Act Two, both John Proctor and Mary Warren face crucibles: Mary must decide to tell the truth or not about Abigail and what the girls did in the forest while John must decide to go to the court and tell that he had an affair with Abigail. Who should confess? Does this person have the ability to do this? What do you predict will happen if this person goes to the court with the truth? Why do you think this? (The deadline to post a response to this blog is midnight Wednesday, February 9, 2011)
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While I believe both John nd Mary have the power to stop the accusations, Mary is the least at risk. John is willing to admitt the affair but it will most likely cost his life. Abby can also deny this affair and Salem will believe her over John. Since Mary is one of the "bewitched" girls, it is more likely the court will believe her confession. I believe if Mary can come to realize what she and the other girls are doing, she will be able to confess even though Abby will hate her for it. If Mary confesses, Abby will have no way to prevent the truth coming out and her reign over Salem will end.
I think Mary should be the one to confess. Eventhough she was in the woods with them that night, she is more likely to be able to save the lives of all the accused. Unfortunatly, I dont think she has the strength to do so just because of the power that Abigail has over her. If she were to admit it, then the madness growing would come to an end.
While I agree that both John and Mary should confess, the one that should confess the most is Mary. She is one of the girls under the control of Abigail and knows THE WHOLE TRUTH. Her word could prove to be very powerful if she were to confess. She was actually there the night of the mysterious events and saw what happened. She knows what Abigail is trying to do with all these accusations of witchcraft. Now, Elizabeth is taking the fall, and either way, the town will find out about John's affair. It seems to be completely up to Mary Warren. I think she does have the power to do this, but just has not found that power yet. It is deep within her. If she were to confess, the court would be in an uproar against Abigail (probably leading to her telling about her affair with John Proctor to further slander his family's name) and Abigail would lose all her status and possibly more.
I think that Mary should confess. The secret that Mary is keeping from the court affects more people in the town than John’s secret about his adultery. I think that Mary does have the ability to confess because she is becoming a stronger person as each act goes by. I predict that when Mary goes to court she will have the strength to confess against Abby. When she does confess the court will find great evidence in her truth and Abby will be convicted. I think this because I believe that the truth will eventually come out.
I think that they both should confess while they have the power to do so. Together they could destroy Abigail's credibility as a saint and the word of truth in court. Alone, their claims would likely be dismissed, Mary as a girl bewitched and John as a man desparate to save his wife. However, I am not sure if Mary will be able to bring the truth to light, for if she has no garruntee that she will be safe from Abigail, it is likely that she will be to scared of Abigail to confess. But if they stand together, I believe that Abigail's reign will be overthrown, and the society will recover from the trials.
I also believe both Mary and John should both confess, but all in all the only person who could make a real difference is Mary. Mary has said she is bewitched,and if she confesses the truth,that she is not bewitched,then she is more likely to be able to convince the court that Abigail is out to kill Elizabeth. In return the court will be able to dismiss these trials and let innocent people go free. Also even though John had committed adultery his actions are not as signgicant to the problem at hand as Mary's actions are. Mary has begun to show signs that she can stand up for herself,but I still do not believe that she will be able to face Abigail,and expose her for the lier she is. Maybe with a little more confidence Mary will be able to expose the truth but as for now she is not ready.
I believe Mary should confess because it is more likely the court will believe her over John. John is the rebel of the town therefore people are less likely to believe him. Also John's wife, Elizabeth, is one of the accused, so if he confessed now to his relationship with Abby and tells what she said people would think he was saying it to free his wife. Mary has more credibility that John she is one of the bewitched girls so people are more likely to believe her. Mary has the ability to tell people what Abby has really done and said, but she has to overcome her fear of Abby. Also if Mary tells on Abby then Abby may try to seek revenge on Mary. I believe Mary should tell the court everything Abby has done and said.
I believe that between John and Mary, Mary should be the one to confess. Although John did commit adultery his crime is miniscule compared to what Mary saw. If Mary were to confess she would in return save many innocent peoples lives. Yet, she may act firm towards John her naturally timid nature, and fear of Abigail, keep her from confessing in open court.
I believe that Mary needs to confess. While John's confession would be helpful, Mary's would probably put an end to the madness that is going on in Salem. Mary's confession would have a bigger impact on the situation at hand, John's affair is in the past even if he would still be killed for it. Mary's taking a stand would also probably influence the other girls to no longer fear Abigail and come forward and confess. Her confession would probably have a much bigger impact on the trials at hand, whereas John's confession would simply end his life and make people think poorly of him. Mary needs to confess because once one confesses the other girls would realize they have nothing to fear and Abigail would no longer have any followers.
Although it will most likely cause an uproar in the court I believe that both John and Mary should confess. Mary should confess so noone will be hanged for what the girls had done andtried to hide. The problems that Mary will face are catastrophic in the small town of Salem but it will save many from the calumnies of the girls. John should admit to his adultry to expose the reason behind much of the accusations of Abigail. No matter how big the price John must pay for his sin I beiieve he should admit to it because it will allow him to forgive himself. Doing this John will also give Abigail the oppurtunity to move on past John.
I believe that John should confess. If he does confess his crime of adultery, he will be relieved of the burden he has been carrying from it. John is a good man and he knows that telling the truth is right so I think he does have the ability to confess. If he goes to the court with the truth, then everyone will realize how bad Abigail is. I think this will happen because everyone believes she is a saint and once they figure out she has lied then they will not trust her anymore.
In my opinion, John Proctor should be the one who should confess of his adultery. He is being dragged down by the memory of the adultery he has committed, and if he were to admit this, I feel as though it would relieve a heavy burden on his heart. However, if he were to confess, I also think that the court officials may not believe him. His wife has just been arrested, and he is suddenly just coming forth with the confession of adultery. It may in fact have the opposite effect that he is hoping for. Abigail's testimony could become stronger.
I think that Mary should be the one to confess. Since it was the dancing in the forest that started everything, Mary's story will prove all the accusations to be wrong. If John tells about his affair with Abby, then he could be sentence to time or hanged. It was not the affair that started all the problems. Mary Warren has the power to confess and nothing should be holding her back. I think that if the she does confess, her and the other girls will be punished somehow for lying. Also, Abigail may tell the court about her and John. In addition, Parris's good reputation in the town will no longer exist. Either way, there is something bad that may happen, but I think that Mary confessing is the best choice.
I believe the confession that would help the most and do the least damage to the person is Mary Warren's. She has less to lose than John. If Proctor were to confess he would surely be killed for adultery and that would solve nothing. Mary witnessed the girls dancing in the forest and knows the real story. She knows that Abby is faking it, she knows everything that has gone on. I believe Mary Warren is a weak person, but she will eventually confess to save the town and all of the accused. If Mary were to confess, I think that Abby would of course deny it, but the other girls may realize that they now have the opporutnity to blame everything on Abby and get rid of her. I think the girls will do anything to save themselves, and they would jump at the chance to get rid of Abigail since she has been threatening them all along.
I believe that, out of everyone, Abby should confess. She started this to get out of trouble for dancing, but has let it spiral out of control to an extent that people are being executed. Although both John and Mary should confess, it is Abby's testimony that would put an end to it all. Despite what she says in Act 2 Scene 2, she knows she is not God's finger and she knows that what she is doing is wrong. She said it herself. Therefore, she should be the one to confess and not John or Mary.
I believe between John and Mary, Mary should be the one to confess to the court the truth. She is at the least risk between the two and would mosy likely not receive too severe of a punishment. Once she has confessed I bleieve everyone will see how manipulative and deceiving Abigail truly is. It would cost John his life to confess, therefore I believe Mary should go before the court and confess the truth to everyone in Salem.
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