How Is Abigail Presented In The Crucible

865 Words2 Pages

Abigail Williams Character Analysis
"Truly evil people don't just hurt others, they take pride in the pain they cause and then try to blame their victims." For hundreds of years, evil people blamed their victims and accused them for things that they never did. In the play “The Crucible”, by Arthur Miller, innocent people in Salem were accused of being witches. Not only were they accused, but burned at the stake, or stoned, in order to appease their accusers. The morale of the story is that people fear what they do not understand. In this case, witchcraft created fear within the people which in turn bred animosity. This lead to innocent people being killed by stoning, burned alive at the stake, and hanged. One of the main characters, Abigail …show more content…

Her accusations lead to 19 innocent people losing their lives by her manipulation and lies.
This play took place in a small town in Salem, Massachusetts. In the beginning of the play, Abigail, Tituba, and all of the other girls sneak out at night and go into the woods. Each individual had items to make a “spell.” While they were performing witchcraft and dancing around naked in the woods, Reverend Parris, the minister of Salem’s church, witnessed this event. When the girls saw that he was watching, they all ran away and pretended that the devil was corrupting …show more content…

Abigail knew she was lying in order to save herself from the whole problem, so she shook her to “wake her up,” and when she did, she started to scream, “Mommy!” Parris heard her screaming and ran into the house where Abigail and the girls stood. Abigail got furious with Betty and the girls and proceeded to threaten them by saying, “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! And you know I can do it. I saw Indians smash my dear parents' heads on the pillow next to mine. And I have seen some reddish work done at night. And I can make you wish you had never seen the sun go down!” Abigail’s words prove that she is not only evil, but a manipulator because of her threatening all of the girls that were with her on that day in the woods; that if they dared speak to anyone about what really happened, she herself would kill them. The girls were so frightened by her threats, that they remained quiet, and listened to Abigail in order to

Show More
Related

  • What Is Abigail's Immaturity In The Crucible

    604 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • How Does Abigail Lie In The Crucible

    927 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Abigail Williams Influence In The Crucible

    725 Words  | 2 Pages

    Abigail's necessity for revenge makes her threaten the young ladies into following her idea of deception. “Let either of you breathe a word,” Abigail threatens, “or the edge of a word about the other things, and I will come to you in the black of some terrible night and bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you”(835). Abigail knows that all the girls in the woods fear her to death. Which made the witch trials easier for her to get by. Another thing is that Abigail ends her affair with John Proctor to try to get revenge on him. “A man may think God

    Read More

  • Perspectives on Fear: The Crucible and the McCarthy Era

    916 Words  | 2 Pages

    The people in Salem were ruled by the fear being killed. All the lying that occurred in Salem began the build of fear. Abigail is the main character that caused the lying. Her first lie starts in the beginning of the book after being caught dancing with other girls in the woods. Abigail herself feared the consequences she would face if the town found out about what happened in the forest. She made sure to threaten all the girls by saying “...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…” (Miller 20). Her threat established a fear into the girls’ heads that would prevent them from their normal action of telling the truth. Following this event Abigail must save her reputation, In order to do this she lies to Reverend Hale saying “She made me do it! She made Betty do it!”(Miller 43). Abigail's accusation toward Tituba also leads to the accusation of Sarah Good and Goody Osburn. The way Abigail acted was a result of fear, if she feared nothing bad would come from telling the truth then she wouldn't have lied. The girls may have set the wi...

    Read More

  • Examples Of Abigail Injustice In The Crucible

    879 Words  | 2 Pages

    She didn’t care about those lives that vanished because of her nor did she care about lying and turning against her own friend, Mary. One of the reasons why Mary was scared to tell the truth to the court was because of Abigail, She frightened her, and the other girls with threats. Mary knew that if she spoke Abigail would turn against her use everything in her hands to rid her and make sure she never spoke the truth again like Mary says on page 80, when proctor and the others were trying to convince Mary to tell the truth. “She’ll kill me for sayin that” Were the words that came out Mary’s mouth.Those words are the ones that prove that Abigail Williams is not innocent but if not guilty.Once Mary spoke the truth, Abigail turned against her just like mary knew it would happen, She began saying things that were not true once again. She began to pretend as if Mary’s spirit had left her body and were hauting her, She said things such as “Mary please don’t hurt me” making it seem as if Mary was hurting her.This made the other girls also begin to pretend and repeat everything Mary was saying making seem as if they were bewitched by her. This is another thing that shows how she manipulates

    Read More

  • The Role Of Authority In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

    696 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Superstition In The Crucible Essay

    1231 Words  | 3 Pages

    However, she was not able to do this on her own; the community helped to hang nineteen innocent people. Her place in society, having an uncle for a reverend, placed her in good light. She would be able to escape most suspicion because of her position in the society. Furthermore, the Puritan people were easy to scare, and Abigail was well aware of the matter. If she could scare a few people into believing in witches, when rumors were already flowing, she would be able to divert attention from herself, while seeking revenge for Elizabeth as well. After the incident with Reverend Parris, she needed to find people to blame. Although, some people may say she should be pardoned for her past; she was an orphan from the beginning so she did not know better. “ABIGAIL: I saw Indians smash my dear parents’ heads on the pillow next to mine, and I have seen some reddish work done at night (Miller 19, act 1).” Her claimed true motives were because of her terrible start to life. Although she had an uncle, who was a villain himself, she was without parents and a true guide for the important lessons of proper humanities. She was also raised without love or nurturing, leading to the reason why she had an affair with an older man. Abigail was neither a victim nor did she act entirely on her own. Abigail found herself backed into a corner, use the societal Puritan

    Read More

  • Innocent Murderer: Abigail as a Victim in The Crucible

    694 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Courage In The Crucible by Arthur Miller

    814 Words  | 2 Pages

    Abigail and the girls feign that Mary Warren sends out her spirit reinforcing the notion

    Read More

  • Justice and Injustice in The Crucible by Arthur Miller

    924 Words  | 2 Pages

    After Abigail Williams and the girls are discovered dancing in the forest by Reverend Parris, there are rumours of witchcraft among them, when Betty Parris and Ruth Putnam are found "witched". Once the girls discover this, they become more and more frightened of being accused of witchcraft. Abigail is the first to "admit" to seeing the devil, and all the other girls join in, so the blame will not be placed on them. "I saw Sarah Good with the Devil. I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil. I saw Bridget Bishop with the Devil."

    Read More

  • The Crucible: Hysteria And Injustice

    1618 Words  | 4 Pages

    The play is based on the real life witch hunts that occurred in the late

    Read More

  • Abigail Williams in The Crucible by Arthur Miller

    3729 Words  | 8 Pages

    And she revelled in it, before it became too dangerous. She, unblinkingly, sent countless people to their deaths; she effortlessly imposed dreadful fear upon the young girls in the village, to the extent that one was reduced to insanity. She thought not once to stop, the euphoric indulgence was too great for her, because she could, she did. Ironically throughout her diabolical reign the one redeeming feature she possessed enforced her actions and accusations most powerfully, her illusive childlike innocence.

    Read More

  • Abigail Williams: Abnormal Adolescent Behavior

    972 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...igail was accused of lying, Abigail claimed she had seen Mary as a yellow bird spreading her wings descending upon her trying to take her soul away from her. Abigail’s actions throughout the story lead us to believe that after a while of pretending to see things, she becomes schizophrenic. In the beginning, the people never really understood what she meant when she had said she saw things. After Abigail had accused people and the accused where being hung, Abigail continued to accuse innocent people. These people were immediately imprisoned. Abigail and the girls would have to come to their trials to prove that these people where witches and other “evil” beings. Abigail put on an act every time and countless innocent people where hung. She had no emotion and no remorse for what she had done or what she was doing. This tells us that Abigail has become schizophrenic.

    Read More

  • How Does The Crucible Show The Nature Of Power And Authority

    2327 Words  | 5 Pages

    ...ithout concrete evidence. Also, Abigail allows innocent people to be alleged and sometimes even hanged without a chance to defend themselves. Her main reason was to prove the hypocrisy within the town. “Let you beware, Mr. Danforth. Think you to be so mighty that the power of Hell may not turn your wits? Beware of it!” Abigail is hinting that no one especially Danforth, who is loaded with power and authority is able to escape the devil. She sees the trials as a game. Abigail wishes to punish Salem for its hypocritical values by falsely accusing women and men for their wrong doing. Danforth, with the abuse of his authority in a way represents the “Un- American activist committee,” by questioning as many “Communists” as they could. Abigail’s abuse of power represents how blame was thrown onto innocent people, for their lives to be taken if they didn’t “name names.”

    Read More

  • Weakness, Jealousy, and Manipulation in The Crucible by Arthur Miller

    656 Words  | 2 Pages

    Although she was a smart girl, Abigail was only out for herself and her own reputation. Abigail Williams didn't only lie about witchcraft, but she forced others to join in. She was Reverend Parris's niece and believed she could get away with whatever she wanted. Abigail did not want to have to damage her reputation by having a different testimony as all the other girls, so she forced them to lie as well. While alone with the girls she said, "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. And you know I can do it..." (Miller 1044). Abigail also stuck a needle in herself because she knew Goody Proctor had a poppet at her home with a needle in it. While talking to John Proctor about Abigail, Cheever remarked, "...and, stuck two inches in the flesh of her belly, she draw a needle out. And demandin' of her how she come to be so stabbed, she testify it were your wife's familiar spirit pushed it in," (Miller 1077). Abigail may have been the most prominent person to lay the blame on, but other people were guilty as well.

    Read More

More about How Is Abigail Presented In The Crucible

Open Document