The play The Crucible by Arthur Miller, is about the Salem witch trials in 1692. Several girls claim to be afflicted by witchcraft, then accuse people in the town of witchcraft who are usually people they dislike. Two of the main characters Miller focuses on are Abigail Williams and John Proctor. While Abigail Williams and John Proctor both start out with lying and selfishness, Abigail never gets better, she stays with her selfish ways while John works towards selflessness and becoming a better person; therefore, Miller displays the theme of selfishness vs. selflessness in relationships or choices. Abigail Williams is a young teenage girl who is unmarried and is an orphan child. Throughout the play Abigail finds ways to gain power and use …show more content…
He eventually does some risky things that could ruin his reputation but by the end admits to them and thinks more about doing what he thinks is right rather than worrying what others think of him. One way John Proctor reacted to the trials was when he decided to be selfless and admit to his mistakes as to when he admits to adultery. When John turns himself in he says, “She thinks to dance with me on my wife's grave! And well she might, for I thought of her softly. God help me, I lusted and there is a promise in such sweat. But it is a whores vengeance and you must see it; I set myself entirely in your hands. I know you must see it now” (1090) by this he is standing up for what is right and saving Elizabeth from getting consequences for lying for him. Proctor then is selfless when he decides to stand up for his thoughts and opinions and to help out the town by confronting Parris about the church. Proctor tells Parris, “I have troubled enough without I come five miles to hear him preach only hellfire and bloody damnation. Take it to heart Mr. Parris. There are many others who stay away from church these days because you hardly ever mention God anymore” (1040). This displays Proctors actions of speaking for the town and being selfless by telling Parris what is wrong with the church so he could potentially change his ways and have a better church for the town. Proctor is selfless rather than selfish because by telling
In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, Abigail Williams and John Proctor are known to have had an adulterous affair with one another. Even though both John Proctor and Abigail are worthy of blame for their actions, Abigail is the most culpable of the two. In The Crucible, Abigail is the most to blame because of her “tempting” Proctor to carrying out the act more. During Act 1, Abigail is shown to keep egging on Proctor although he does not want to have the affair with her anymore.
It is well known that John Proctor does not see Parris to be a godly man. He disagrees with his teachings and his candlesticks and is not shy in admitting that he possesses “no love for Mr. Parris”(90). Parris no doubt sees this and relishes in the idea that he can use witchcraft to discredit Proctor so that there will be no displeasure from anyone in the town toward him and his teachings. In the court, he does everything possible to discredit John Proctor’s argument by influencing Danforth’s view of him in a negative manner. The reverend argues that Proctor is “such a Christian that will not come to church but once in a month” (90).
In The Crucible, many of the characters were slightly altered from the original Salem Witch Trials to make the story more interesting. Abigail Williams was one of those characters. She has several changes, some major, some minor, but they affect the story in a big way. While there are many differences, there are also some historically accurate things about her thrown in as well.
A lesson that can never taught enough is to be careful of what you say about others. Miller demonstrates this with the characters of Elizabeth Proctor and Abigail Williams, they are foil characters, meaning they are polar opposites and bring out the worst in each other. Elizabeth is a strong Christian woman who doesn 't hardly hold a grudge against anyone, always tells the truth, and is selfless. Abigail however is full of hate and revenge, lies to get what she wants, and thinks she runs the town of Salem during the trials. The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a play set in the 1600’s in the puritan village of Salem, Massachusetts.
In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, Miller demonstrated that it was Abigail William’s flaws: lust, vengeance, and jealously that led her to be responsible the most for the tragedy of the witch hunts in Salem. Abigail Williams started the entire suspicion of there being active member of witchcraft throughout Salem, Massachusetts. She did this for her own benefits and used trickery to get what she wanted. Abigail was corrupt and only cared for her own desires. There are many reasons that these flaws are crucial to the outcome of the play.
Abigail Williams is to Blame In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, Abigail Williams, an unmarried orphan in the Massachusetts town of Salem, increasingly grows more jealousy of Elizabeth Proctor intensifies in attempt to realize her desire for Elizabeth's husband John Proctor. Her ambition for vengeance only grows stronger, and her selfishness escalates. She repeatedly lies to save herself by denying her involvement in witchcraft. In order to save herself she accuses the innocent, without any sense of ethical violation. Abigail proves to be a selfish antagonist in The Crucible that shows no sense of right and wrong.
Proctor talks good about the people who decided not to confess. He Doesn't want to say anything that will harm them. Proctor doesn't think he’s doing the right thing by confessing and wants to change his mind to do the right thing. John proctor is successful in helping his friends be
Abigail is willing to accuse any one in her path of witchcraft even if it means taking the lives of those close to her. Abigail Williams’ emotional desire guides her actions even if it conflicts with morality. Abigail williams is driven to do unthinkable things because of her love for John Proctor. Abigail works in the Proctor’s home and while doing so she finds herself attracted to John. Abigail’s obsession with Proctor leads them to have an affair, which they try to keep
In the beginning of the play he is shown to be an influential character and stands up against what he believes is incorrect. Proctor always had a dislike towards Parris due to his mercenary acts as a man of God, Parris: “Mr. Corey, you will look far for a man of my kind at sixty pound a year! I am not used to this poverty; I left a thrifty business in the Barbados to serve the Lord. I do not fathom it, why am I persecuted here? I cannot offer one proposition but there be a howling riot of argument.
In the play, act one describes the relationship between Abigail Williams and John Proctor creating the quality of arrogance. Before the play begins, Abigail and Proctor have an affair; however, feeling guilty, Proctor decides to end the affair in order to focus on his marriage with Elizabeth. Now in a room alone with Abigail, Proctor stands over Betty, Paris’ daughter who cannot wake from her sleep. Abigail walks over to Proctor and leans over him to admire his strength. As soon as she complements him, he gives a small grin.
The Crucible “The Crucible” is a play, by Arthur Miller, about the Salem Witch Trials. After reading “The Crucible”, you will be asking yourself, is it necessary for a person to suffer? The answer to the question is shown through the characters, Giles Corey, John and Elizabeth Proctor, and Abigail Williams. John Proctor is a respected puritan man in the community. John had made the mistake of sleeping with, a teenage girl, Abigail Williams.
In The Crucible, Miller described Abigail as a “beautiful girl, an orphan, with an endless capacity for dissembling” (Miller 142). In the story, Williams serves as the
She’s the woman who holds grudges, is selfish, and a great liar. Abigail seems to be especially gifted at spreading destruction and chaos wherever she goes. She is able to manipulate others, for example, all her friends and the whole town. In addition, she obtains control over all of them and sends nineteen uninvolved people to their deaths. All these things add up.
Abigail Williams is the catalyst to the witch hunt and is relentless in her plans to have Elizabeth Proctor killed, destroying the lives of many just because in her head that would mean John will want to be with her. She is obsessive and seems to lack
When people think of the play, “The Crucible”, they usually picture the witch trials and women being hanged, but Arthur Miller depicts the witch trials in a completely new light. He shows through a story that the witch trials were much more than just people calling others witches. There was deceit, pain, greed, and more. Through the play, we follow the character, Abigail, observe her actions and their consequences. We witness the lives of people she impacts, what happens to them, and how many times she lies to get her way.