Research Paper On Abigail Williams In The Crucible

Do you believe in witchcraft? In Salem, a petite town in Massachusetts, villagers were being accused of performing acts of witchcraft which carried a stiff penalty of death by hanging. Abigail Williams, to many, seemed to be an honest middle-aged teen, however underneath this façade, lay deception and lies. Many citizens of Salem were being charged with carrying out acts of witchcraft by Abigail and her entourage. How would you feel being falsely accused of witchcraft?

Abigail and her friends are in the woods with a slave named Tituba. They are dancing and one girl begins to take her clothes off. Abigail starts to drink blood and Reverend Parris sees all of this. He believes he is witnessing witchcraft. The girls realize that he sees them and they all run back to the village. Reverend Parris runs after them. Betty Parris, Reverend Parris’ daughter, and Ruth Putnam, both girls that were playing in the

woods, ended up getting sick and slipping into a comatose state. Reverend Parris recalls what he saw in the woods, which starts some of the villagers to believing this was a result of witchcraft. The girls are blamed for Betty’s illness, but the girls blame Abigail. Abigail in turn blames Tituba. Tituba is questioned and at first she denies performing witchcraft, then she gives in and says she did. The people of the church began quoting scriptures to “protect her from the devil”.
Abigail fell deeply for an older man named John Proctor.

However, he was married to Elizabeth. Despite the fact that he and Abigail had an affair previously when she worked for them, John tried to stay away from Abigail and remain faithful to his wife. Abigail continued to try and persuade him to be with her. Abigail said to Proctor, “I know how you clutched my back behind your house and sweated like a stallion whenever I come near you! Or did I dream that…” John continued to be faithful to Elizabeth. During court, Elizabeth’s name was mentioned. While sitting in court one night, Mary made a poppet of Abigail and gave it to Elizabeth which she put on a shelf. One day, Abigail was felt a needle-stab in her stomach while eating dinner. She then accuses Elizabeth of attempted murder. The court ended up searching the Proctor’s home and found the poppet of Abigail on the shelf with a pin stuck in the stomach. Although Mary confessed to making the poppet, Elizabeth is still taken away and put in jail for suspected

witchcraft.

After Elizabeth is accused, Proctor makes Mary confess to the lies that her and the girls have been telling about seeing the devil. When Proctor and Mary arrive at the courthouse, Mary confesses to him that she and the girls have been faking fainting. The judge asked her to demonstrate but she is not able to faint. Abigail is witnessing this and becomes upset and turns against her. Mary begins to get nervous and starts to change her story and claim she is seeing what her Abigail and the other girls are seeing. Mary said, “Abby, I’m here!” Mary was then released.

Later, in the process of Proctor trying to protect his wife from the courts, he is accused of knowing witchcraft. He tried to defend himself and his wife, but they kept pressing him to confess. Proctor finally confesses that he and Abigail had an affair and that that was the reason Abigail was accusing his wife of witchcraft. The villagers were well aware that Elizabeth was an

honest woman and never lied. Proctor says, “In her life, sir, she have never lied.” She was still in jail and not able to be hung because she was pregnant. Elizabeth ended up being summoned to the courts where she was questioned and advised that she must look straight at the judge and