The True Witch
Abigail in The Crucible is a selfish woman filled with jealousy, hate, and mischief. She is the antagonist of the story, starting all the witch trials for the purpose of getting revenge on Elizabeth. Although she is the antagonist, she is not the most rounded character. She falls a little flat, and doesn’t show many emotions besides the outrageous ones, but she is a good contrast to John Proctor. They are almost opposites in their feelings and expressions, but there are many parallels to be made, like the fact they both are selfish. She looks to appeal to John, while John looks to appeal his religion, and the people in it.
Because of her low status in the Puritan Culture, she chooses to attack the black slave Tituba first, bringing
Some people think that Abigail is not guilty of witchcraft but i do think she is guilty of witchcraft because she lies alot to a bunch of people. Usually some think that you are innocent until proven guilty but you can tell that she is but all the lies she tells. There is no doubt that Abigail is guilty because she lied about seeing the witches because she did not want to get in trouble by Mr. John Proctor. She danced with the witches in the woods and she was the lier of the whole entire town
The Crucible’s Sins Puritans were very religious during the year 1692. A small town in Massachusetts called Salem was popular for their witch trials. The only way to determine if a person was a witch is if they committed the some of the seven sins: pride, envy, gluttony, lust, anger, greed, and sloth. Envy, gluttony, and greed were desires for other people’s things. Thomas Putnam was a character that always wanted people’s land.
“A very manipulative and vindictive person.” That's how Arthur Miller describes Abigail Williams. She is always lying about something or trying to manipulate someone. Nobody will get in her way when her mind is set on something. Abigail has made many bad decisions which dramatically affected her throughout the whole play.
Parris does not actually accuse the girls of witchcraft, but he interrogates them with a strong suspicion that they might be involved in such behavior. He cares so much about finding out what they did in the woods because his reputation is on the line. If his daughter and niece were practicing witchcraft, he’ll lose his job as minister. When he questions Abigail, he demands the truth because “[his] ministry’s at stake” and she “compromises [his] very character”(11). As much as he doesn’t want the rumors to be true of his daughter, he withholds judgement and doesn’t actually accuse anyone.
William Shenstone, a wise English poet, once said “A liar begins with making falsehood appear like truth, and ends with making truth itself appear like falsehood.” As you read you see that Abigail is just telling lie after lie and the majority believe her. When someone goes against what Abigail is saying and says the actual truth, everyone, of course, thinks of it as a lie. Abigail successfully changes their ways of thinking and manipulates them into trusting her. If Abigail had been taken out of the picture this situation would have been avoided.
2) I think the other girls followed Abigail's lead because they feared her. At the beginning of the play, she threatens to stab the girls in the black of some terrible night if they speak up about what happened that night. 4) Abigail's motivation is her jealousy and desire for revenge against Elizabeth since Abigail thinks she is the only thing standing between her and John.
Abigail’s self centered mentality is the reason why she uses fallacies to assert her dominance over others. For example, Abigail uses the Argument ad Baculum fallacy to force Mercy and Mary into submission. Before the usage of the fallacy, Abigail was pestering the girls to have the same story of the night before so she would not get into trouble for doing witchcraft. Suddenly, Betty regains consciousness and shouts about how Abigail was practicing witchcraft. Instead of Abigail finding a way to distress the situation, she violently attacks Betty.
Abigail uses the fact that every person shes accused has been a witch to secure her position as a trust worth witness in court. As seen when the suspension is raised to her, Abigail says, “I have been hurt, Mr. Danforth; I see my blood running out! I have been near to murdered every day because I have done my duty pointing out the Devil’s people -- and this is my reward? To be mistrusted, denied, questioned like a --” (113). She uses the fact that there is a perceived danger in callout witches as one can try to kill her because they feel threated or that she 's been hurt by witchcraft when it was just self-inflicted wounds.
Abigail single-handedly destroyed the Proctor’s relationship as husband and wife and let innocent people hang from crimes they did not commit. The Salem witchcraft trials that took place around that time is why America’s judiciary system is like how it is today. One’s actions and words can ultimately change the way the government rules in the court forever. These policies that are now intact today are all because of Abigail Williams, the character in the play, The Crucible, which is based on a true
In The Crucible, Arthur Miller shows that truth does not concern the people of Salem; the townspeople are concerned with what they want the truth to be. The idea of witchcraft has plagued Salem, several girls including Tituba and Abigail have confessed to practicing witchcraft. Salem is relying on Abigail and her friends to tell the truth, they do not know that there is no thing as witchcraft. Proctor presents himself to the court to testify against Abigail, the court dose not listen because Danforth and the other court members are concerned with preserving the reputation of the court. While Abigail uses lies to protect her reputation, Proctor uses the truth.
“Inside each of us there is the seed of both good and evil. It’s a constant struggle as to which one will win. And on cannot exist without the other”. (Eric Burdon) In Miller’s play The Crucible Abigail and Elizabeth both had to choose between good and evil.
What does it mean to be a victim of society? A victim of society can more or less be defined as someone who is harmed by their surrounding environment. However, being a victim of society is not nearly as it seems as people may easily play the victim in order to manipulate others, and that scenario holds true in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. In this play, a crisis regarding the question of witchcraft is introduced in late eighteenth century Salem, a town ruled by a theocracy of predominantly Puritan beliefs. The dilemma first emerges when Betty, the daughter of Reverend Parris, the minister of Salem, is in almost a persistent vegetative state after having danced in the forest with Abigail Williams, Parris’s niece, and other girls within the
Society as a whole seeks to satisfy themselves. This may be at the expense of their peers or individuals they are associated with. Arthur Miller brilliantly displays this dark side of humanity’s side in his play The Crucible. This play is based on the Salem witch trials in the early 1690s. During the Salem witch trials over two hundred people were accused of witchcraft and twenty were executed.
Although Abigail Williams does not physically appear in Act 2, her presence is felt throughout The Crucible. She affects and hurts the lives of her family. She is the main source of trouble. If she wants something, she'll get it. At the beginning, there is a lot of closeness between her and the proctor family.
Society try’s to control every member. The problem with this is each individual is different. Which means Abigail and the other girls are victims during the Salem trials in their town. In the play, “The Crucible,” written by A. Miller, Abigail is a victim to her society due to the fact that she is controlled by social rules, she is a female, and she has limited to no power.