...In the story, The Crucible, Abigail Williams accused many of the people in the town of being witches. Abigail Williams is not a victim of her society. People of Salem in the 1600’s believed anything they heard about someone being possessed by the devil. If someone accused you of being a witch, you would most likely be taken to trial and questioned. How it usually worked is if you admitted to being involved with the devil and told on someone else, you would not be hanged but your reputation is no longer any good. Other than the part of the court believing anything someone said, this situation was bad due to people making stories up and blaming other people. It was an endless cycle. Abigail Williams is in the wrong doing because she falsely accused many people, lied about being possessed by witches, and got innocent people killed. Abigail Williams falsely accused many people of practicing witchcraft in the town The Crucible took place in. The most important in the story though was Elizabeth Proctor, John Proctors wife. John had an affair on Elizebeth with Abigail, which was the motive behind the whole ordeal. Elizabeth fired Abigail from being their servant after she had figured out about the affair. She then wanted to get rid of Elizabeth so she accused...
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...The play The Crucible written by American play-writer, Arthur Miller, is a play in the form of a tragedy written in 1953. It is a very dramatic scene of a small village Salem, Massachusetts and takestaking place in 1692. Written about the ever so fraudulent Salem witch trials, the characters are vibrant and very expressed in their own personalities. Probably one of the most important characters of the play, Abigail Williams displays numerous amounts of diverse personalities. She reveals herself as being truly evil, very manipulative, and overall a liar throughout the play. She values herself very highly being she made up thousands of lies to cover herself and her “white” name. And overall, this is all caused by the horrible affair between the strong John Proctor and Abigail. Meaning, she has very strong and overwhelming feeling of affection towards John. Abigail shows herself as being evil buy at the beginning of the play where Betty is “sick”. She tells the girls there “. . . 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. . .”. (I.463-468). This is perfect evidence for the assumption of her...
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...Abigail Williams V. Elizabeth Proctor Abigail Williams and Elizabeth Proctor from the 1953 play The Crucible could not be more different. Elizabeth is an honest, caring, religious woman, who cares deeply about her husband and sons. Abigail is a lying, mean, revenge-driven woman, who only has her own self interests at heart. Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible takes place in 1692, in the village of Salem. It is about a well-respected farmer, John Proctor, who had an affair with a seventeen-year girl, Abigail Williams. Abigail then goes on to accuse Elizabeth, John’s wife, of witchcraft, to have her imprisoned and hanged. From their personality, to their values, to their feelings, Abigail Williams and Elizabeth Proctor are polar opposites. In a village of sinners, Elizabeth Proctor is a true saint. According to her husband, she has never told a lie. “There are them that cannot sing, and them that cannot weep—my wife cannot lie.” (Miller 520). She is also so kind-hearted and caring, that she refuses to be angry at her husband, despite that fact that he had an affair with another woman. (Miller 489) “with a smile to keep her dignity”. Lastly, she only believes in doing what is right. She refuses to...
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...Research Analysis over Abigail Williams Arthur Miller said in an interview once, “ I took creative license with her character to make the connection between sexuality and politics more dramatic,” (Shmoop). This is one of the reasons Arthur Miller made Abigail Williams in The Crucible so different compared to the real Abigail. Abigail Williams was an 11-year -old girl who lived in Salem and worked for the Proctor family, John and Elizabeth, before the time of the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. Before the trails even started, Abigail and her cousin, Betty Parris, got into fortune telling their future like who they would marry and what their social status would be. After a while they got the other girls in town to start playing their fortune telling...
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...What are the characters like in The Crucible? There are two ways an author introduces a character: by using direct and or indirect characterization. When the author introduces characters directly, he or she is telling the audience. When the author introduces a character indirectly, he or she has the character tell the audience through their actions and dialogue. In the play ‘’ The Crucible’’ author Arthur Miller uses direct and indirect characterization to introduce Reverend Parris, Abigail Williams, Ann Putnam, and Mary Warren. Reverend Parris is the first character introduced in the play ‘’ The Crucible”. Directly, Arthur Miller tells us Reverend Parris is ‘’in his 40’s’’, he feels ‘’persecuted,’’ ‘’has no interest in children,’’ and was a merchant in Barbados. Reverend Parris dialogue includes ‘’I cannot blink what I saw… for my enemies will not blink it,’’ ‘’No No I, cannot have any. (enters Putnam) why, Goody Putnam come in,” ‘’Where is my wood… I am waiting since November…,’’ and ‘’ God help me”. These parts of Reverend Parris’s speech tells the audience he is more worried about himself. He’s influenced by money and power,...
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...7 11 December 2015 “The Crucible” Argument Essay Does accusing the people around you to be arrested and hanged to get whatever you want be considered as selfish and wicked? In “The Crucible” by Author Miller, Abigail Williams is a vicious and vindictive person who used the witchcraft hysteria around the town of Salem in 1692. Abigail Williams is a 17 year old orphan who is strikingly beautiful but she is a liar and a fake. She saw an opportunity to seek vengeance upon John’s wife for kicking her out of their house and wanting to take her place in John’s bed. Although some may say otherwise and beg to differ on that because she was young, taken advantage of, immature, and also confused. Although in “The Crucible”, Abigail’s words, actions, and decision making legitimately shows that she does not care about who she hurts in the process to get what she wants. According to Abigail she says”… I will come to you in the black of some terrible night and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you…” (1244). This quote here has explains that, if any of the girls betrays her on what she has said and reveals that they had been dancing in the woods and also she drank a charm to kill Goody Proctor, she would kill them like the Indians had killed both of her parents. Abigail is a manipulative person. She is a manipulative person she tried to frame Goody Proctor for sending her spirit and stabbing a needle in her stomach two inches deep. In The Crucible, Mary Warren was sewing a...
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...believe or think that we are one or the other- vice or virtue. But why is that? Do you come to think to question yourself that you’re either a good or bad person for possibly the littlest thing? Think about it. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, Abigail Williams is the most despicable character because she obtains a power by starting to accuse innocent people of witchcraft, was involved in lechery with John Proctor, and ran away with her uncle’s money that she stole from a safe. To begin with, Abigail Williams may just be a young woman, but she is capable of many things. For instance, her and Mercy Lewis ran away with Reverend Parris’s money. They ran away, because they wanted to avoid getting accused for any sort of witchcraft, especially after what happened in the forest. In act four, Parris states to Danforth,”...my strongbox is broken into” (4.207*208), the only person who knew where his strongbox was Abigail, since she lived with him. This shows one of the many things that Abigail is capable of. In addition, Parris knew what Abigail was capable of and what she had on the...
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...Being the main source of drama, Abigail Williams was altered The Crucible, a historic play, by Arthur Miller to provoke the witch trials, to develop the protagonist, John Proctor, and to draw parallelism McCarthyism. Abigail, at the age of 17, who is 5 years older than the historical Abigail, was the main accuser in the witch trials. According to the Shmoop Editorial Team, “Abigail is vengeful, selfish, manipulative, and a magnificent liar...She has an eerie sense of how to manipulate others and gain control over them”(n.p). In regards to their remark towards Abigail, we can infer that her personality caused the entire witch trials in the play. Arthur Miller also had to alter Abigail’s real age in order to match her nasty personality and to make her...
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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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...Tragedy and The Human Conditions Essay: Abusive Power “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power. ” In a statement by Abraham Lincoln it is identified that the greatness of man is tested by how he utilizes his power. As demonstrated in William Shakespeare's Macbeth, Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, and The Time Magazine article Adolf Hitler, one can see how the abuse of power creates chaos in society. By analyzing the actions of the characters Macbeth, Abigail Williams, and the character Adolf Hitler, it is evident how the misuse of power will lead to the loss of structure in society. “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” A statement by Lord Acton which illustrates that those who gain power ultimately become corrupted by it - thus leading one to abuse their power. This statement is well demonstrated in the actions of the character Macbeth, from William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, in his rise to power from Thane of Glamis to the King of Scotland. Within the first scene of the play, Macbeth is given the gift of knowledge of the future, by the three witches, which he ultimately uses to gain more power. “All hail, Macbeth! hail to thee, Thane of Glamis ... All hail, Macbeth, thou shalt be king hereafter!” (I.iii. 48-50). When given this prophecy from the three witches, Macbeth utilizes this information, once he becomes Thane of Cawdor, to plan the death of King Duncan. The power of knowledge is...
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...The Crucible In the tragedy play The Crucible written by Arthur Miller there were a lot of characters involved with the Salem witch trials, but there were only three characters who were responsible for it. The Crucible is about the Salem witch trials who several young girls were supposedly afflicted by witchcraft. And so the girls accused innocent people in their town for witchcraft also mostly accusing people who they or their families dislike so they would be hanged. In total 20 people were killed due to the witch trials. The three characters who were responsible for the Salem witch trials are Abigail Williams, Reverend Parris, and Betty Parris. Abigail Williams has most part why the witch trials started because she knew this was all a...
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...morality as a whole, resulting in significant repercussions. William Shakespeare and Arthur Miller show evidence of this in The Merchant of Venice and The Crucible, when their characters step away from their morals and carry out wrongful actions. Although the underlying reason for the characters’ social demises is similar, the motives for their actions are specific and personal. By carrying out actions fueled by revenge, both Abigail...
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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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...Miller's The Crucible, Self-Preservation is very common in the town of Salem. Self-Preservation is when a person protects themselves or someone else, whether it be by telling the truth or a lie. In the town of Salem many people use Self-Preservation to protect themselves from the consequences of performing witchcraft. However, others may use Self-Preservation to protect their reputation or image in society, such as Reverend Parris. He himself started, what is called a chain of self-preservation when he reported Abigail Williams and the girls performing witchcraft. This led to Abigail having to use self-preservation to protect herself from the consequences of witchcraft which later on led Elizabeth Proctor to protect herself and her...
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...The Scarlet Letter and The Crucible are two literary classics that portray excellence in expounding the importance of life. Both written works encompass striking similarities in aspects such as the setting, plot, and major conflicts. However, The Scarlet Letter and The Crucible bare conspicuous differences such as in The Scarlet Letter solid evidence for the crime of adultery is distinctly manifested while in The Crucible the court possesses no tangible evidence for the crime of witchcraft. In addition, The Scarlet Letter is a novel while The Crucible is a play. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne and The Crucible by Arthur Miller have pronounced similitude, such as the common conflicts, and the setting, and also bare an impactful distinction between the resolutions of the two written works and the characters. The major conflict in...
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