...How is the theme of blame and motive established in Act One? In Arthur Miller’s ‘The Crucible’ the theme of blame and motive is apparent in Act One of the play. In this Act, we see the drama and hysteria of witchcraft begin to unfold, and during this blame is a dominant theme. In Act One we see Abigail Williams blame Tituba for the cause of Betty’s sudden illness. Abigail begins to accuse Tituba when she exclaims ‘I never called him! Tituba, Tituba’. Her claims are more believable due to her race, which puts Tituba at a disadvantage. ‘No, no, chicken blood. I give she chicken blood’ highlights the innocence of Tituba, however the blame is placed on Tituba with Hale’s response. ‘Are you silencing this child?’ establishes an accusatory tone and shows Hale’s alignment with Abigail in blaming Tituba. Parris's treatment of Tituba reveals his angry and selfish character. The incident also shows Tituba's powerlessness: she's entirely at her master's command. Tituba discovers that nobody wants to hear denials, just as Abigail earlier discovered. Because of this, Tituba knows she must provide a confession and so blames ‘Sarah Good’ and ‘Goody Osborn’. In response to this, Mrs. Putnam shouts out that she ‘knew it’, which shows a sense of satisfaction in getting someone to blame for the death of her children in infancy. During Act One the theme of motive is also a significant theme, in particular with the character’s Abigail Williams and Parris. Parris’s motive and main concern becomes...
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...entire village suspects witchcraft. Even though Betty’s cousin, Abigail Williams, recognizes that the illness is the result of fear and not black magic, she begins blaming innocent people of collaborating with the devil. This quote by Joseph Conrad expresses his thought that a supernatural source of evil is not necessary and that humankind is entirely capable of the depravity in...
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...Abigail Williams is responsible for the chaos and turmoil in "The Crucible" due to her actions and manipulations. She falsely accuses numerous citizens of witchcraft, causing fear and hysteria in the town. Despite Mary Warren's attempt to testify against Abigail, she faces opposition from the other girls who are under Abigail's influence. Abigail continuously tries to convince people that everyone else is a witch, using tactics such as pretending to see and hear spirits whenever a witness tries to testify against her. Abigail's past and present experiences contribute to her actions, but they do not excuse her behavior. She witnessed the death of her parents at a young age, had an affair with John Proctor, and threatened those who crossed her....
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...While there are many people to blame for the salem witch trials, Judge Danforth, Tituba, and Abigail Williams are the most guilty for causing the trials. Judge Danforth was one person to blame for what happened in Salem. He was the main judge for deciding if the people are guilty of witchery. Danforth had a huge influence on the townspeople he put them on trial and forced them to admit the worshipping of Satan when they were innocent. Danforth is guilty of believing complete lies, pressuring people into false confessions and ignoring Rev Hale. Had he only accounted for the lies and listened to other people then the innocent executions might have never happened. Tituba was another person to blame for what happened in Salem. She was the lead...
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...His life was not particularly as pure as the puritan society desired. The many mistakes he made leading up to his death were as a result of his own decisions, which is why it is argued that John Proctor did have a tragic flaw. One of John Proctor’s biggest sins was having an affair with Abigail Williams, which he eventually admitted to. This inevitably unraveled the whole story, and heavily weighed into the reason for his death. Had he not had a relationship with Abigail, Elizabeth Proctor would had never been accused of witchcraft. The act of adultery however, is not a tragic flaw. A flaw is a mere imperfection, not an act whose punishment was often death. When John Proctor cheated on his wife with Abigail Williams, it was not because of a flaw in his personality, rather a decision that he knowingly and voluntarily made. Knowingly causing pain and suffering to your wife by committing adultery is not a flaw, it’s a decision. The only reason that John Proctor ending up dying was because of his own decisions, not because a small flaw or imperfection in his...
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...am Christine Aquino, the character I have portrayed in my physical representation is Abigail Williams in the classic play ‘The Crucible’. Arthur Miller depicts Abigail Williams as a villain. Abigail is seventeen years old, the niece of Reverend Parris, she has been working as a household help for Elizabeth Proctor. Abigail was fired for having an affair with Elizabeth’s husband, John Proctor. Abigail’s was a manipulative young girl. I have represented Abigail as a spider, as she manipulates events like a spider manipulates and captures it victims through its web. On the first act, it can be seen that Abigail has a surprising power over the girls, she controlled the girls with her threating dialogue, “And you know...
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...reputation as well as a change in the way they act. Two characters who validate concern for their reputation are Abigail Williams and John Proctor. To begin, Abigail Williams continues to accuse people to save her own reputation. The woods marked the foundation of Abigail’s lies. When asked by Danforth about the activity in the woods, she tells him that dancing was the only commotion that occurred. Many people in the community believe the girls encountered witchcraft. Abigail gets the girls to remain quiet about the night in the woods by saying: “Now look you. All of you. We danced. And Tituba conjured Ruth Putnam’s...
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...Condemned Do you know the story of the crucible, if so do remember abigail williams. I just wanted to tell you do you think that abigail is guilty for the lies she made. She has committed in the town of salem. Is Abigail to blame for everything is she responsible? Abigail in the crucible is a very chaotic girl. She is a girl that hates everyone she wants everyone to do what she wants to do. She is a girl who will do something bad and she will get in trouble and she won’t get in trouble. Abigail is a horrible girl she made up a lie to get out of trouble and it cause many of innocent people to die for it. How much is Abigail to blame for the events that took place? She is all to blame for all of the horrifying events that happened in the town of Salem. She did...
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...someone, to transform someone’s life into reality? The influence and power of the mind can ultimately, exceed all human limitations. In Salem, Massachusetts around 1692, the suspicion of witchcraft arises throughout the town, creating problems and chaos. In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, the effect of hysteria led to disorder and complete mayhem in Salem from the sudden spread of witchcraft, exemplified by Abigail Williams, Tituba and Danforth. Once the accusations and stories arose in the plot, it was almost impossible to restore order and peace in Salem. The beginning of the hysteria influence in Salem began with Abigail Williams and her attempt of witchcraft. Abigail worked as...
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...John Proctor, one of the main characters in The Crucible, has a crucible moment after having an affair with Abigail. Although John and Elizabeth are married, he cheats on her with Abigail. Proctor’s crucible moment within the play happens when he has to make a decision to either tell his wife about the affair, or keep it a secret, and feel guilty for the rest of his life. Because John can not forgive himself after the affair, he decides to tell Elizabeth about what happened. John Proctor passes the crucible test because he did the right thing even though his relationship with his wife will never be the same. Now that Elizabeth knows the truth, John now feels guilty about what he has done because his wife is upset with him. The wrong thing John...
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...of determination and fearlessness. When their power is threatened, it enables them to do anything and everything to maintain it. The Crucible by Arthur Miller describes the Salem witch trials. The play begins with Abigail Williams and her friends dancing in the woods. In an attempt to get John Proctor, after he ended their affair, Abigail curses his wife Elizabeth. The rumor of witchcraft is triggered when Abigail’s friends, Betty Parris and Ruth Putnam are both unable to move or talk when they became frightened when Reverend Parris found the group in the woods. Reverend Hale, a believed expert in witchcraft...
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...During the late 1600s, Abigail Williams caused irreparable harm and chaos in Salem, Massachusetts. Abigail is a malicious individual, doing whatever she can to get the things she wants. Abigail takes whatever action is needed to protect herself, even if it harms others. In Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible, Abigail Williams was the true cause of the Salem Witch Trials because she falsely accused other women of being witches, had an affair with John Proctor, and forced others to do what she wanted them to. Abigail Williams ignites turmoil in Salem when she begins to accuse innocent women in Salem of witchcraft. Abigail’s main reason for doing so is to deflect the blame off of herself so that her name is not tarnished; and she does not get in any trouble. Abigail shows her true colors in the climax of Act 1 when Abigail and the girls begin to yell out the names of the women in the town, claiming they are witches. For example, when Abigail yells out to the town, “I saw Sarah Good with the devil, I saw Goody Osburn with the devil” (Miller 1.45). It is understood that Abigail did...
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...can better understand human nature from Studying The Crucible. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller there is a group of girls and one of them in Abigail who is the main antagonist in the story. The group of girls was seen in the woods doing “witchcraft”. Abigail and the girls are accused of witchcraft. The group of girls start to name other women in the town like John Proctor's wife. Abigail picks her mainly because she wants John Proctor for herself since John and Abigail had an affair previously. Now the girls accuse other people in the town to draw less attention to them and try to keep their names good. By studying The Crucible and other resources people can better understand that people are greedy and are quick to blame. In “The...
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...Abigail Williams appears to be a young lady, prim and proper in the community of Salem. When you take a look closer you can see she is really the deceiving spawn of satan himself. ‘The Crucible by Arthur Miller’ is full of conflict. Many of the people who live in Salem are responsible for the conflict being started from time to time. However, everywhere you look at this particular time in Salem Abigail Williams is the beginning source of the conflict. Abigail Williams spreads false truths that result in deaths of many innocent townspeople, including the love of her life John Proctor. Towards the beginning of the story, Abigail chooses to lie about the dancing in the woods and falsely accuse many innocent people of witchcraft. Abigail threatens Betty with “Now look you. All of you. We danced. And Tituba conjured Ruth Putnam's dead sisters. And that is all. And mark this. 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;...
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...Who was Really Responsible? “Don’t touch me-- don’t touch me!... You’re the Devil’s man!” (Miller 110). These words come from Mary Warren, a simple, yet nice, caring assistant for the Proctor family whose feelings were changed about his master within a minute by a Devilish girl who’s name is Abigail Williams. Abigail was the Proctor family’s assistant while Elizabeth was sick throughout seven months of her life. During this time, John Proctor, and Abigail had an unexpected affair behind Elizabeth's back, which eventually led to Abigail being fired. During this time, Abigail’s cousin, Betty, became very ill and would not wake up, which began to get people wondering what exactly happened go her. Betty’s dad, Reverend Parris was worried sick about...
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