Christopher Light Ms. Scannell Honors 10B English 7 June 2023 In Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible, The main character Abigail Williams deceived many characters for their safety. As time goes on Abigail is later perceived as the antagonist rather than the protagonist through the many casualties caused by her deceptions. She constantly lies and this repetition ends in overall destruction that tears the community apart. Abigail uses her ability to lie to others as leverage to keep herself safe from her wrongdoings. After being accused of witchcraft Abigail uses the fear of the unknown as her way to blame others for what she has done, in doing so Abagail fabricates her reality where she is in the right and those who have been blamed are in the wrong. Through her dramatic performances and “supernatural visions” she successfully convinces the judge and her entitled uncle that she is innocent. By blaming others she saw this as an advantage not only to …show more content…
As the lies escalate so do the punishments. If one declines that they were involved with the witchcraft that they were accused of, they were hung for all to see, this begins to cause paranoia among the citizens of Salem. Abigal’s deceptions only led to mass hysteria and the destruction of Salem as a whole. Abigal’s deception led to various outcomes that could not have been predicted. One main outcome was tearing apart the community in Salem by turning neighbor against neighbor driven by the Suspicion of witchcraft and one’s place with god. These factors and Abigal’s lies lead to the perfect storm of arrests and deaths. Abigail's lies were the tip of the iceberg to living in a society in constant fear, not only did they have to worry about where they stand with god but they also had to be careful who they talk to because maybe they would be the next John