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The Crucible Act 2: CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT
Characters and characterisation in the crucible
Character development essay on the crucible
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Literary Analysis Essay Abigail Williams is a selfish, psychotic, and a pathological liar. A great deal can be said about Abigail. One thing is for certain throughout the course of the story, she took this a little too far. In the beginning, the woods. It was nothing more than a little ritual, she “cursed” Elizabeth Proctor so that she could have John to herself. This is where it all started. In order to protect herself, she came up with a convincing story and told the other girls not to rat her out, or each other. One thing lead to another and soon the circumstances had started to change she needed a better story and people were starting to get hurt. Even with all of these events taking place she still went to John. He pushed her away. Towards
the end of the story is when you learned who Abigal truly is. She has carried her lie on for so long it has become the truth. She screams in courtrooms when others are speaking. In order to protect herself, she has to blame someone for witchcraft. During the hangings you see Abigail in the audience. She is smiling, laughing, cheering. Happy that they’ve killed another townsfolk instead of accusing her. She begins to get impatient, when she goes to Reverend's house and says “in the night I saw a demon, Elizabeth Proctor” they turn her away. Slowly but surely Elizabeth is accused of lying. Abigail tries and tries. She desperately wants to see her rival in a noose. It never happens. Will John Proctor soon to die all her efforts have been wasted. As the coward she is, she leaves. Stealing money and visiting John Proctor one last time. John is killed. With the money she was able to catch a boat and leave Salem. Starting a new life. Abigail left behind dead bodies and innocent people that didn't deserve to die. In the end it was a all a waste. No witches were ever found, Abigail didn't receive John Proctor's love in the end, and 20 people died.
She became intimately involved with John Proctor in an illegal love affair while employed as a servant girl in the family home of John and his wife Elizabeth Proctor. Abigail was willing to go to great measures to carry on her very intense relationship with Mr. Proctor. Once John Proctor informs Abigail that he no longer wants to be in a relationship with her, she becomes desperate. Abigail insisted that John Proctor still loved her, and I quote “ You loved me John Proctor, and whatever sin it is, you love me yet.” As a means of self-preservation she was willing to sacrifice others, as well as falsely accusing many. Abigail was the leader of the girls who blamed witchcraft for their behavior.
Abigail was in love with John Proctor. She accused Elizabeth of being a witch. John loved Elizabeth very much, but kept his thoughts to himself. Abigail wanted John for herself. She made up the false story thinking Elizabeth would go out of the picture.
She does everything that is physically possible to get rid of her. She drinks a charm to kill Elizabeth, she stabs herself with a needle to accuse Elizabeth of a crime, Abigail also accuses Elizabeth of being a witch. The whole play, those were the only intentions that Abigail had, exterminate Elizabeth Proctor. Even though John decided to attempt to make the court look differently at Abigail and see what she has done to many people in the city of Salem. The misleading trait that Abigail has, helps her get out of a rocky situation without harm. The threatening of the girls, drinking a charm, stabbing herself with a needle, and accusing Elizabeth Proctor of witchcraft are all the reasons that Abigail is also an evil individual. Abigail was the most misleading and evil character in the play written by Arthur Miller.
First, In the book The Crucible Abigail Williams is the vengeful, manipulative, and a liar. She seems to be uniquely gifted at spreading death and destruction wherever she goes. She has a sense of how to manipulate others and gain control over them. All these things add up to make her one good antagonist with a dark side. In Act I, her skills at manipulation are on full display. When she's on the brink of getting busted for witchcraft, she skillfully manages to pin the whole thing on Tituba and several of Salems other second class citizens. Also since Abigail's affair with John Proctor, she's been out to get Elizabeth, his wife. She convinced Tituba to put a curse on Elizabeth, hoping to get rid of her and take
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.
From the start of the play, Abigail already has a bad reputation for committing adultery. Elizabeth Proctor had kicked her out of their home because Elizabeth knew of the affair that was going on between Abigail and John. This tarnished her reputation and for that, Abigail wanted to get revenge on Elizabeth Proctor. “She is blackening my name in the village! She is telling lies about me! She is a cold, sniveling woman, and you bend to her!” This is the remark Abigail makes to John Proctor about Elizabeth and what she is doing to her reputation. The main reason behind Abigail accusing so many people is so that eventually the blame is put on Elizabeth. Abigail’s hopes are to have Elizabeth killed so her and John can go on living their lives together. Not only does she want to live her life with John Proctor, but Abigail is also angered at Elizabeth because of the reputation she has given her throughout the village. Her actions go to show how willing she is to ruin numerous lives in order to get revenge on Elizabeth and also get rid of Elizabeth to carry on her dreams of marrying John Proctor. Obviously, Abigail Williams was very serious about getting vengeance on Elizabeth for destroying her reputation in the village of Salem,
When we are first introduced to John Proctor, we learn of his affair with Abigail Williams, Abigail's involvement in the accusations of witchcraft, and of John's desire to do what is honorable. Because of John's desire to do what is honorable, he ends the affair with Abigail and begins to attempt to repair his broken marriage. Abigail's jealously of Elizabeth and desire to be John's wife leads to Elizabeth's name being mentioned in court. Abigail's mention of Elizabeth's name in court reveals her attempt to get rid of Elizabeth for she knows Elizabeth will claim innocence and be hung if she does. When word reaches the Proctors, about Abigail's mentioning of Elizabeth's name in court, John concludes that Abigail's motive is to kill Elizabeth. Knowing this information, John is faced with his first difficult decision, save his reputation, keep his affair a secret, and let the accusations continue, or ruin his reputation, tell of his affair, and end the girls' accusations. Not wanting to ruin his good name, John decides to hold his tongue and because of this the trials continue and more accusations are made, some of which lead to his wife's and his friends arrest for witchcraft and bewitchment.
During the play, Abigail begins on stage two, when she first comes into Act I asking for Tituba to do what she did in the forest. In this time, she is only thinking of herself and what she wants, which is for Goody Proctor to be out of the picture so she can be with John Proctor, as Betty said, “You did, you did! You drank a charm to kill John Proctor’s wife! You drank a charm to kill Goody Proctor!” Later in Act I, Abigail jumps back to stage two, and starts blaming others she claims were involved with witchcraft, as she says, “I saw Sarah Good with the Devil! I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil! I saw Bridget Bishop with the Devil!” Abigail stays in stage two throughout the play. Abigail’s motives were clearly seen for the audience and readers. Abigail started her decisions on jealousy and continued to ride through the drama on top, leading the girls and court, and causing unsettlement in the town. Abigail believes John Proctor loves her after their affair, and that getting rid of Elizabeth will give her the opportunity to become Proctor’s wife. Abigail clearly likes to be in control, which is why she takes over the girls and even gains control over their behavior throughout the play. Throughout the entire play, just about everything Abigail said has been logical fallacies. In Act I, she blames Tituba for the
Abigail’s character is one of extreme manipulation; however it does not start out like this. In the beginning Abagail is an unwedded “orphan” (1.8) who lives with her uncle. This means she is only a little higher than being deemed a slave. This low social status is what drives her lust for John Proctor. Abigail’s main goal is to marry John Proctor and doing so displace his current wife Elizabeth. Abagail and John become seduced by each other and have an affair. “I look for John Proctor that took me from my sleep and put knowledge into my heart.” John however has tried to move on from his mistake with Abagail “And now you bid tear me the light out of my heart” (1.24) and redeem his marriage. This hurts Abagail, but then the witch trials begin. Abigail like other towns folk uses these trials to their advantage. Motivated by her lust for John she begins manipulating others around her and eventually schemes a plot to get Elizabeth hanged for witchery. “Abagail Williams, sir. She sat to dinner in Rev. Parris house tonight and without a word she fall to the floor, stuck two inches in the flesh of her belly he draw a needle out. She testify it were your wife’s familiar spirit pushed it in.”(2.74) this shows Abigail’s manipulation of deceiving the people around her and planting false evidence to get Elizabeth accused of witchcraft, so that she may be with John.
Recently, my client Tituba has been accused of performing the demonic act of witchcraft, more specifically- singing and dancing in her traditional Barbados ways. The accuser? Why, none other than Abigail Williams herself.
Now I know what you are thinking: ‘Abigail Williams should be hanged for her crimes and for the false accusations of women in Salem.’
First of all, Abigail Williams is one of the main characters in the play who knowingly perpetrate heinous actions. The first abhorrent action that Abigail commits is when she has an affair with John Proctor. Her love and desire for John motivates her to carry out the affair, in spite of the fact that she knows that her decision is false and misguided. Abigail and John's affair, causes Elizabeth Proctor (John's wife), to loose her trust and faith in him. John shows the unsuitability and distrust in their marriage when he argues, “you will not judge me more, Elizabeth. I have good reason to think before I charge fraud on Abigail, and I will think on it. Let you look to your own improvement before you go to judge your husband any more. I have forgot Abigail, and-” (54). John is very distressed by the fact that Elizabeth does not have any trust in him, and he starts to regret his affair with Abigail more and more each day. Furthermore, this shows that Abigail's motive to separate John from his wife is significantly prospering. Moreover, Abigail Williams also deliberately perpetrates evil, when she takes the girl to the forest to dance, and to create a charm to kill Goody Proctor. When Betty Parris wakes, she reminds Abigail of her true intentions for taking the girls to the forest to dance. This alarms
The first reason Abigail is to blame for the deaths of the innocent Puritans is her lustful personal ambition to be John Proctor’s wife. John and Abigail previously had an affair, which basically began the hysteria. An exasperated John attempted to tell Abigail the affair is a thing of the past, by saying, “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.” Abigail, however, relentlessly strives to keep their “romance” alive. Because of this intense jealousy of John’s wife, there is an enormous amount of tension between Abigail Williams and Elizabeth Proctor. Abigail even goes as far as to consume a potion with the intent to murder Elizabeth, which Betty confronts her about by saying, “You drank a charm to kill John Proctor’s wife! You drank a charm to kill Goody Proctor!” Abigail is so envious of Elizabeth, she does the unthinkable by accusing her of witchcraft. She claims that Goody Proctor’s spirit came to her and stabbed her with a needle. She felt that if she could dispose of Elizabeth Proctor, she could take her rightful position as John’s wife.
Abigail is also motivated by a desire of revenge throughout. She is seen as vindictive and doesn’t want to be hung because of these trials. Abigail was a housemaid for John Proctor at one point until John Proctor’s wife fired her. John lusted upon Abby and committed adultery with her because of this she was kicked her out of the house. So she stops at almost nothing to convince the court that Goody Proctor is a witch so she can have John Proctor all to herself. She is very manipulative as she accuses Tituba of witchcraft. This is also the first time that we see the ridiculous injustice and lies this city is built on. “I don’t conflict with no devil” (44). Abigail lies to save herself by giving the names of others to be killed. “You drank a charm to kill Goody Proctor!” (88). Abigail also uses threats of violence and the thought of her actually knowing some real witchcraft to scare them into not speaking up about what was really going on with her. She is very evil, and throughout the novel driven t...
While Abigail Williams responds to the crisis of the witch trials in a very malicious behaviour by charges witch craft against those who oppose her, Aphra Bont similarly responds by blaming others after her final child dies from the crisis. When Abigail is accused of witchcraft she quickly recognises that ‘conferring’ and redirecting the accusation gain her power she had previously been denied. She begins this by accusing the house slave Tituba of making her “laugh at prayer,” and “go drink blood.” Whilst the book goes on we are told that Aphra Bont is a respectable women, but like many the loss of her children sends her into madness. Performing a ritual and hanging up the body of her dead daughter, she then goes so far as to kill Elinor.