Throughout time one of society’s weaknesses had been it willing to follow and be affected by one individual. This is seen in Arthur Miller's play the crucible. Miller's play is set in salem during the infamous witch trials. The crucible critiques society being able to follow and believe in on person. Abigail sets an example of this when gains control over and initiates the hysteria in salem through her selfishness and manipulative qualities.
Abigail starts trouble in salem when she selfishly blames others so that she can save herself and to get what she wants. This is first shown when abigail says” she made me do it! She made betty do it!”(187). Arthur Miller creates a mood to show abigail's willingness to blame others to save herself. Abigail's
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actions caused by her desire to save herself is what begins the witch trials in salem. This priority of putting herself first is also shown when cheever says “Demanding’ of her how she came to be stabbed, she testify that it were your wife's familiar spirit pushed it in”(203). The use of diction showed by the account of words such as demanding’, stabbed, and spirit dramatize abigail's actions. These actions later affect the play's plot by leading to the arrest of both Elizabeth and John proctor, both events causing the climax of the play. To summarize abigail's strong belief in only watching out for herself led to the trouble in Salem. Not only does her selfishness contribute to the hysteria but her ability to control those around her elps continue the uproar in salem.
The ability of hers is shown several times throughout the text. You can see this when mary says “she'll kill me for saying’ that!”(205). This hyperbole shows the reader the effect that abigail carries and her ability to create fear in the other characters. It is seen later when abigail says “let you beware, Mr.danforth. Thank you to be so mighty, that the power of hell may not turn your wits? Beware it!” (219). Miller's use of personification to emphasize abigail's threat towards Danforth. This literary device affects the plot by giving abigail power that she holds over the most influential in salem. Abigail's misused and abused power over those of salem adds to the madness in salem.
To summarize, abigail williams in the crucible is to implicate for the lunacy of salem population. Because of her self-worship, and her ease in using other. This is still a popular occurrence in today's society. For instance the U.S been affected by the action of one or a small group like in the crucibles salem being controlled by the actions of one. Humanity has allowed one person to scare the rest of the population to follow despite the negative outcomes. Even though this has been recognized as a popular recurrence within history, it still occurs in today's world with no sign of stopping or
slowing.
Have you ever wanted something so badly, that you would do anything to get it? Abigail Williams, one of the main protagonists in the play The Crucible, is a prime example of this. The Crucible takes place in Salem village, where over twenty people are being persecuted for witchcraft. She wanted to be with John Proctor, a married man with three children, more than anything. The extent that she was willing to go is belligerently horrific. Abigail's flaws of immaturity, jealousy, and deceitfulness led to her ultimate downfall of her beloved John being sentenced to death.
Abigail Williams is motivated to lie about her affair with John Proctor. What motivates her to lie is the thought of getting hung. Another big reason that she could be lying is for vengeance. Abigail loves John Proctor and one night they had an affair and touched. Since then, Abigail has been jealous towards John’s wife, Elizabeth. Abigail goes into the forest with some other young girls and Tituba, who makes a potion to have boys fall in love with them. This is a great example, “ABIGAIL, pulling her away from the window: I told him everything; he knows now, he knows everything we—BETTY: You drank blood, Abby! You didn't tell him that! ABIGAIL: Betty, you never say that
In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, Miller demonstrated that it was Abigail William’s flaws – mendacity, lust, and arrogance – that led her to be responsible the most for the tragedy of the witch hunt in Salem, Massachusetts. Driven by lust, Abigail was able to lie to the Salem community in hopes of covering her and her friends’ deeds and gaining the attention of John Proctor. Her arrogance enabled her t0 advance her deceit.
Abigail Williams forms a continuous string of deceitful lies about the presence of witchcraft in Salem and her involvement with it, triggering the beginning of the trials and causing mayhem to permeate the town. Playwright Arthur Miller characterizes Abigail as "a strikingly beautiful girl, an orphan, with an endless capacity for dissembling"(8). Her fabrications induce calamity in Salem, and entangles many innocent people in her slanderous web of stories. In most cases, Abigail lies to evade discomfort or punishment. This pattern is first displayed when Reverend Hale interrogates Abigail:
...and accusations. The extend to which Abigail has manipulated Judge Danforth is shown here. Danforth’s unconditional reliability in Abigail motivated the people in Salem to accused each other to save their own skins. This brought about chaos and commotion to the people of Salem.
At that instant, Abigail was able to abuse her new found authority and use it as power against the people of Salem. This new found power led to 91 citizens of Salem to be accused of witchcraft. To begin with, Abigail had her own amount of authority that she had used as power in order to keep the other girls quiet about what had happened in the woods. “Let either of you breathe a word, or the edge of a word, about the other things, and I will come to you in the black of some terrible night and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you (20).” Abigail Williams had her own personal conflict of confusing authority for power. Abigail and the other girls thrived on this chance to take control of the situation. It was an opportunity for Abigail to not have to follow rules, speak hesitantly, or be precautious of her actions. At the time of the Salem witch trials, everyone had their own duty to preform. The woman would cook and clean and the men would work to provide. Having an opportunity where the tables were turned and the young women had the possibility to have an input was overpowering. It was easier for Abigail to have power over others rather than having the power to control herself.
Abigail Williams is accused of witchcraft early on. In order to avoid conviction she confesses to witchcraft, accuses Tituba of forcing her to drink blood and do witchcraft, and accuses Elizabeth Proctor, Sarah Good, Goody Osburn, Bridget Bishop, Goody Sibber, Goody Hawkins, Goody Booth, and countless other innocent people in court. She throws herself down in the court and does other dramatic actions in order to convince the court that a person is in fact a witch. This leads to people being falsely accused of witchcraft and forced to accuse others in order to live. Because of Abigail's growing power in the court, people become fearful of her. One of the most important people who begins to fear her is Elizabeth Proctor. Elizabeth is afraid that Abigail will accuse her of witchcraft. She also gives more insight into Abigail's behavior in court. She states that Abigail will “scream and howl and fall to the floor” when the accused are brought forth (50). The people and the court begin to believe that Abigail can see who the witches are. Her words and actions become the deciding factors in a defendants fate.
How can a girl who condemned seventy two to a death sentence and drank a charm to kill a man’s wife, a man she has slept with on more than one occasion be the victim? It’s possible when the town she lives in is worse than her. Although Abigail Williams is typically thought of as the antagonist of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, she is in fact a victim as much as any other tragic character in the play.
In The Crucible, Arthur Miller shows that the tragedy of the Salem Witch Trials stems from human failings, particularly the need for vengeance, greed, and fear. Abigail Williams is an example of all three. Her fear prompts her to first accuse random women, her need for vengeance directs her toward Elizabeth, and her greed for power affects the lives of everyone around her. Individual flaws, when acted on collectively, inevitably cause the downfall of Salem.
In Arthur Miller's The Crucible, the main character Abigail Williams is to blame for the 1692 witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts. Abigail is a mean and vindictive person who always wants her way, no matter who she hurts. Through out the play her accusations and lies cause many people pain and suffering, but she seemed to never care for any of them except John Proctor, whom she had an affair with seven months prior to the beginning of the play. John Proctor and his wife Elizabeth used to employ Abigail, until Elizabeth found out the affair and threw Abigail out. Although John told Abigail that the affair was over and he would never touch her again, she tried desperately to rekindle their romance. "Abby, I may think of you softly from time to time. But I will cut off my hand before I'll ever reach for you again." (Page 23) She claimed that she loved John and that he loved her. Before the play began, Abigail tried to kill Elizabeth with a curse. She thought that if Elizabeth were dead John would marry her. Further into the play, Abigail accused Elizabeth of witchcraft. She saw Marry Warren, the Proctor's servant, making a poppet. Mary put a needle into the doll, and Abigail used that for her accusation. She stabbed herself with a needle and claimed that Elizabeth's soul had done it. Although Abigail claimed she loved John, she may have just loved the care and attention he gave her. John cared for her like no one else had. In a way he could be described as somewhat of a father figure to her. When Abigail was just a child, she witnessed her parents' brutal murders. "I saw Indians smash my dear parent's heads on the pillow next to mine..." (page 20) After her traumatic experience, she was raised by her uncle, Reverend Parris, who is somewhat of a villain. In the play it was written, "He (Parris) was a widower with no interest in children, or talent with them." (Page 3) Parris regarded children as young adults who should be "thankful for being permitted to walk straight, eyes slightly lowered, arms at the sides, and mouths shut until bidden to speak." (Page 4) Therefore, it is obvious to see that Abigail grew up without any love or nurturing.
The statement,“The Crucible is essentially about courage, weakness, and truth,” is proven true numerous times, throughout the play. The Crucible was written by Arthur Miller, about the true events that happened in Salem, Massachusetts, between the years 1692 and 1693. The Salem witch trials consisted of many hangings, lies, and complete mass hysteria. The citizens of Salem followed the religion of Puritanism, and the ideas of predestination. The root of the mass hysteria comes from their belief in the sense that in something happens then it must have been planned by God. In Miller’s portrayal of the story, Abigail Williams was the ringleader of the witch trials, and she used the idea of predestination to cover up her own sins. Abigail was a very manipulative girl and ruined many lives. John Proctor, Mary Warren, and Elizabeth Proctor were just a few of the victims in Abby’s game. John, Mary, and Elizabeth exhibit the traits courage, weakness, and truth, whether it was in a positive or negative way.
Her selfishness is evident when Abigail and her friends accuse the innocent people of Salem of witchcraft. She puts the blame on others, so she does not get punished for dancing in the woods. Abigail shows her anger towards John Proctor when she tries to accuse his wife and ultimately gets John killed. Her anger leads her to make the poor decisions of getting John killed, even though he did nothing wrong. She is a coward when she puts the blame on innocent people and runs away before John gets hung. Her craven attitude is the last flaw that ultimately leads her to run away from Salem. Abigail’s flaws eventually bring her to her downfall by the end of the
Because of Abigail Williams’s unequivocal craving to have the eyes of the town turned towards her, as well as her irrational feelings towards the inaccessible John Proctor, she chooses a course of action with serious implications not just for herself, but for the whole town of Salem. These choices lead her to become a changed character by the end of the play, and are the reason she abandoned her heartache and pain and escapes the place where her difficulties had begun. Breaking sacred religious laws in Salem had had consequences Abigail Williams could never imagine. Perhaps this is why Puritans considered lying a deadly sin – it truly could be deadly, and not just for the liar.
Firstly, Abigail is one figure that blatantly abuses her newfound power in the play. " 'You are charging Abigail Williams with a marvelous cool plot to murder,
I believe that Abigail Williams is to blame for turning the town of Salem against many people, and I think it is her fault that several people were killed. Abigail Williams sends the town into a state of hysteria by accusing men and women of practicing the satanic art of witchcraft. Abigail’s flaws - her lustful desire for John Proctor, her deceptive habit of lying in order to retain her good name in the town, and her selfishness and obsessive aspiration for power – led her to be ultimately responsible for the catastrophe of the witch hunt in Salem.