Who Is To Blame For The Events Of The Crucible

538 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Caracter of Abigail in the crucible

The events of The Crucible were caused by one person and one person only. They were a chain reaction to what Abigail first did all because she wanted one man to be with her. Abigail is the one to blame for the events in The Crucible because she loves Proctor, blames everyone else, and was caught with Tituba in the woods.

Abigail is in love with Proctor. They had an affair together. The events that happened in the story were based on what she did so she could be with Proctor. She did everything she could in her power to try and make Elizabeth disappear because she is Proctor’s wife. “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!” says Arthur Miller, author of The Crucible. Abigail tells Proctor that Elizabeth is spreading lies about her. She wants Elizabeth departed so she can be with Proctor. Abigail caused the events in this story because all she wants is Proctor to love her. …show more content…

She named random people so she would not get in trouble. By accusing people of being witches that were not really witches, they had to go on trial for being called a witch. “I saw Sarah Good with the Devil! I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil! I saw Bridget Bishop with the Devil”(Miller). Abigail accuses all these people of being seen with the Devil when they really did not associate with him. She does this because she doesn’t want to get into trouble so she starts to turn the attention onto other people. After she accuses all these people, the other girls start to chime in and tell them everyone who they “saw” with the Devil. The girls blame everyone else which leads to those people being accused having to go on

Show More
Related

  • Comparison Of Rebecca Nurse And Abigail Williams In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

    522 Words  | 2 Pages

    From the beginning, she established a licentious and conniving character by having intercourse with John Proctor, while she was out of wedlock, and while he was married to Elizabeth. While ranting, Abigail says, “ 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! Let her turn you like a -” (23-24). One of the only things Abigail ever cared about was her “name” within the village. Williams went to extreme lengths to protect her “name” and she was fine with destroying other people's’ lives, reputation, and dignity. Abigail also says, “You loved me, John Proctor, and whatever sin it is, you love me yet! John, pity me, pity me” (24)! By blinding herself with the false idea of someone loving her, Abigail she destroys her self value by asking for the pity of the man who fails to love her back. She would rather have her name pure than admit she danced in the woods, and receive a light whipping. Instead, she seeks revenge on a legitimate housewife, and takes the entire village with her to the

    Read More

  • Abigail Williams Influence In The Crucible

    725 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the Crucible there was three characters that stood out from all the other ones in this wicked story. Abigail Williams was a big influence in this story she would lie and lie to get out of things and she was also the leader of the girls in the woods. Furthermore she also had an affair with John Proctor which made John and Elizabeth relationship unstable. Also John Proctor runs into a situation at the end of the story where he is put in the position if he wants his pride of not signing that paper full of lies or die knowing he did the right thing of not lying. Additionally, Elizabeth Proctor has never lied ever until the day John was being prosecuted for his witchcraft and possibly adultery and Elizabeth lied so that his name wouldn't be ruined.

    Read More

  • Who Is Abigail Williams Angry In The Crucible

    580 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout the many acts of the play, we sense the anger rolling off Abigail’s words. “I never knew what pretense Salem was, I never knew the lying lessons I was taught by all these Christian women and their covenanted men! And now you bid me tear the light out of my eyes? I will not, I cannot! You loved me, John Proctor, and whatever sin it is, you love me yet!” By these words, we know that Abigail Williams is angry. She’s angry at John Proctor for trying to hide the crime he committed with her, and for the lack of closure she

    Read More

  • Free Essays on The Crucible by Arthur Miller

    600 Words  | 2 Pages

    In The Crucible, two characters that serve as a foil for each other are Elizabeth Proctor and Abigail. Elizabeth Proctor is known as an honest woman, while Abigail is consistently seen as a dishonest person whose lies result in the widespread paranoia of the Salem witch trials. For instance, after she dances in the forest with other girls, she forbids them from telling the townsfolk about it and accuses other people of witchcraft, which leads to their deaths. Another example is the fact that she had an affair with John Proctor, Elizabeth’s husband, and tries to conceal it because she does not want her reputation to get ruined. Her motive for accusing others of witchcraft is because she wants to get rid of Elizabeth so that she could be John’s “perfect wife,” and because she does not want to get in trouble. Abigail is the perfect foil for anyone who is even slightly honest.

    Read More

  • The Guilty Characters in Miller's The Crucible

    830 Words  | 2 Pages

    After all of the witch trials in 1692 concluded a total of 20 people were hanged all because of people craving attention and personal gain. There are three people depicted in Arthur Miller's The Crucible that are most responsible for this and they are, Abigail Williams, Judge Danforth, and Thomas Putnam. Abigail Williams is mostly responsible for the Salem witch trials because she was the first person to start accusing innocent people of witchcraft. Judge Danforth is responsible because he is not concerned about justice, all he cares about is being correct about the witch trials. Lastly Thomas Putnam is guilty of causing the witch trials because he was able to have people accuse other people so he could claim their land for himself. The witch trials were a senseless massacre and all because Abigail Williams, Judge Danforth, and Thomas Putnam were only concerned about them selves, not the innocent ones around them.

    Read More

  • Innocent Murderer: Abigail as a Victim in The Crucible

    694 Words  | 2 Pages

    The true antagonist of the play is the town of Salem itself, because of the judgemental and self concerned peoples, and its oppressive views. Abigail;s outrageous actions are due to her desensitized views on death and actions otherwise viewed as unethical. From her youth ABigail recalls: “ I saw indians smash my dear parents’ head on the pillow next to mine and i have seen some reddish work at night” (Miller 20), because of this Abigail is numb to death and suffering and is in fact quite morbid. There is no problem in condemning other to death in Abigail’s eyes because she doesn’t see the issue with it. Abigail does not seem to comprehend that it is unethical to let people be hanged and stoned to death and has no issue telling others that she “ can make you wish you had never seen the sun go down” (Miller 20). Not only is Abigail desensitized to murder and death, she is also numb to other unethical dilemmas. Abigail is desensitized to corrupting the Proctor’s marriage because of her childish lust and obsession for John Proctor. Such desires can be seen through her encounters with Proctor. In regards to their so called “relationship” she says: “it’s she put me out, you cannot pretend it were you. I saw your face when she put me out, and you loved me then and you love me now!” (Miller 22). Abigail does not view her behavior t...

    Read More

  • The Crucible: Abigail Williams is to Blame

    647 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Affects A Bad Reputation In Arthur Miller's The Crucible

    1395 Words  | 3 Pages

    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,

    Read More

  • The Crucible- Who Is to Blame?

    585 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Arthur Miller’s play, “The Crucible”, a dramatic story unfolds about hatred and deception among the townspeople of Salem, Massachusetts in the year 1692. During this time, people were being accused of practicing witchcraft and conjuring with the devil. Once accused, all one could do was deny the practice and hang for it or confess and be condemned to prison. Many took advantage of this, including a young girl by the name Abigail Williams who is the main character in the play. Who is to be blamed for the death of the innocently accused? Many can argue and say that other characters in the story share blame in the Salem Witch Trials. Though, the ultimate responsibility belongs to Abigail for the deaths of many innocent people during this time.

    Read More

  • Who Is Abigail Williams Innocent In The Crucible

    998 Words  | 2 Pages

    Abigail Williams is manipulative and wants everything to go her way. She is the main character and causes trouble everywhere she goes. The Salem Witch Trials is about hearings and prosecutions of people who were accused of witchcraft. In The Crucible Abigail is a no good villain. Abigail first commits adultery with Elizabeth’s husband. Later on Abigail begins to accuse innocent people of doing witchcraft which causes them to die. Abigail Williams uses the Salem Witch Trials to put out all the resentment she has toward everyone.

    Read More

  • Conflicts in "The Crucible"

    528 Words  | 2 Pages

    One night the girls were caught dancing in the woods naked by Reverend Parris. Abigail threatened the other girls she would kill them if they ever said what they were actually doing, which was conjuring spirits. Abigail was the one who had done most of the wrong dong including drinking blood. Because of this event the start of the whole witch hunt and hysteria can be accredited to Abigail. Whenever she would be accused she would make up a lie, and threaten the other girls to say it was the truth.

    Read More

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

    656 Words  | 2 Pages

    In every conflict there always seems to be at least one person to blame. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, many problems arise that deal with live and death. Many innocent people in this play were hanged during the Salem Witch Trials. Of course, there are many people that may be blamed. In The Crucible, one may find Abigail Williams, The Putnams, and Mary Warren to blame. Abigail was manipulative, The Putnams were very jealous, and Mary Warren was weak-willed.

    Read More

  • The Tension Between Abigail And Elizabeth Proctor In The Crucible

    510 Words  | 2 Pages

    One of the main predicaments of the story is the tension between Abigail and John and Elizabeth Proctor. Abigail displays at least three of the evils of man; wrath, envy, lust. Abigail and John had a brief relationship that ended when the book started. Her lust for John led to wrath displayed by Abigail accusing Elizabeth of witchcraft. That kind of claim will kill Elizabeth, widow John, and Abigail would be waiting for Proctor with open arms. Abigail envies that John decided to stay and take care of Elizabeth. Envy took over Abigail’s life. It absorbed through her skin and ran through her blood until she boiled with jealousy. She took a lie too far causing her own neighbors to die from the words she spoke.

    Read More

  • The Crucible: Who is to Blame?

    642 Words  | 2 Pages

    Because of Abigail’s deleterious behavior, many innocent victims were brutally murdered. All of her actions were selfish and pretentious. Abigail may not have intended to cause the witch trials, but she certainly did nothing to end them once they began. Abigail’s lustful behavior, her unhealthy habit of lying, and her obsessive desire for power makes her responsible for the Salem witch trials.

    Read More

  • Who Is To Blame For The Crucible

    565 Words  | 2 Pages

    We often test the limits and try to see how far we can go. As you grow with age you realize how much your limits have been tested, but at least for me I haven’t been tested to the extreme of the death of you or others. The Crucible by Arthur Miller shows how far the falsely accused people of the Salem Witch Trials would go to prove their innocence; in some instances it required lying and damning themselves, similar to the situation created in Milgram's Experiment. The root of this conflict is in the pressure coming from the people whether to sacrifice themselves or others which can all be avoided if all sides were treated fairly and weren’t pushed to see how far they would go.

    Read More

More about Who Is To Blame For The Events Of The Crucible

Open Document