Power Dynamics in The Crucible Essay Sample

Rumors backed up with a good image can do dangerous things. The Crucible by Arthur Miller showcases the dark impact gossip can have on people. Puritans reigned as a dictatorship and those who did not follow their principles would be hanged for witchcraft. The play tells a fictionalized story focused on a group of young women in Salem who were falsely accused of witchcraft. The trials and increasing accusations led the town into hysteria causing nineteen deaths. The dynamic in the town led to the hysteria and the increasing accusations, as power was abused. Abigail Williams, in The Crucible by Arthur Miller, holds referent and coercive power over the town by her ability to bend the views of people in power, manipulating girls from the town into following her plans, ability to convincingly tell a story, and act out her desired outcome.

Power dynamics can be split up in five different forms, legitimate, reward, expert, referent, coercive, and informational.  Referent power, as explained in French and Ravens Article, Five Forms of Power, is having an influence on others acquired by having a good reputation. The abuse of referent power can be explained as, “someone who is likeable, but who lacks integrity  and honesty, may rise to power – and use that power to hurt and alienate people as well as to gain personal advantage” (   ). The dynamic of this can be observed in many characters in the book since referent power is easily attainable. On the other side of power hurting others there is coercive power which is defined as, “The belief that a person can punish others for noncompliance” (  ). Coercive power and referent power can work together to keep the referent power believable by manipulating others to go along with lies being spread. Abigail Miller is an example of using referent and coercive power.

In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, Abigail Williams displays this relationship with Mary Warren because of Abigail's malicious use of her good reputation to accuse Mary of witchcraft. During the heat of Abigail's south siding interrogation, She needed to shift the focus from her onto someone else, someone who she did not like. Abigail started seeing a bird talking to her and the other girls joined in making a reaction out of Mary, “..utterly confounded, and becoming overwhelmed by Abigail’s - and the girls’ - utter conviction, starts to whimper, hands halved raised, powerless, and all the girls begin whimpering exactly as she does” (Miller 3. 1. 108). The height of the witchcraft trials in Salem sparked by Abigail's desire for revenge led to the possible hanging of Mary. Uniquely, every townsperson can see through the lies spread by Abigail, the court judges see Abigail for her reputation.

Abigail’s motive to gain power is based on jealousy and revenge over others in the town. For Abigail to change her power over others for more humanitarian reasons would be out of character as her main desire of her power was to convince John Proctor to leave Elizabeth and eradicate everyone in her way. The use of the fear of witchcraft against her enemies and causing them to die is very serious, “And God gave me strength to call them liars, and God made men to listen to me, and by God I will scrub the world clean for the love of Him!” (Miller 2.2.141). Believing that it is her god's mission for Abigail to get rid of everyone she believes as liars is not someone who would so easily use power to not hurt people. With this in mind, the warped reality Abigail was living in set the worst intentions into her mind and the lack of empathy of those she affected.

The judgement and strict principles of Puritan society set up situations like the Salem witch trials to happen. The fear of others different then them and the impact they can do to the town caused the fear of witches to appear. As the insecurity of the Puritan empire caused the accusations to take power, “Our opposites are always robed in secual sin, and it is from this unconscious conviction that demonology gains both its attractive sensuality and its capacity to infuriate and frighten” (Miller 1.1.34). Any mentions of a sinning activity or ideology could infuriate and frighten the powerful townspeople to eradicate the people participating in it. Notably, Abigail knew the weight of being accused of an opposite of puritan values to weight her choice of power gain. The spiraling of accusations and deaths led to the growth of Abigail's power, “ How many names are here? Ninety - one, Your Excellency.” (Miller 3.1.87). The more evidence and more people being accused made the high Puritans worried that their dominating uphold on Salem would be overturned. With this intention, it made them want to clear out the rebelling people.

Abigail Williams in The Crucible by Arthur Miller, is characterized as a manipulative and vengeful person. She is using her good reputation and innocence to take out everyone in her way to John Proctor by her ability to bend the views of the people in power, manipulating girls in the town to follow her plans,  and ability to act out her desired outcome. With the types of power shown by French and Ravens, Five Forms of Power, coercive and referent power were accessible and abused by Abigail.