One of the main characters who is also a prevalent villain in The Crucible is that of Abigail Williams. Abigail Williams is the obvious villain in the play mainly due to the fact that she sends nineteen people to their death with no incentive to but rather that of self-pleasure. In Act I this manipulation is the most prevalent while Abigail is getting hit hard by assumptions of witchcraft by mainly Reverend Parris due to Betty’s comatose state. When, to slip out of the spotlight, says (Abigail 481) “I never called him! Tituba, Tituba …” This is that of diversion from Abigail’s devil worshiping accusations. This acusation of Tituba being the main reatson for Betty’s comatose is (Abigail 483) “I hear her singing of Barbados songs” making
Was Abigail Williams a liar or a victim of puritan society? The crucible was a book written by Arthur Miller That tells the story of puritan society. The puritans were a religious group that followed very strict religious practices and were very serious about witchery and hanged anyone who seemed to be with the devil. The crucible is about a young girl named abigail williams who caused the deaths of many puritans by lying and accusing many different people of witchcraft Abigail Williams is a victim of Puritan society, a victim of John Proctor, but was also a liar who manipulated others for her own benefit. On page ten here when reverend parris says”and what shall i say that to them?
The way someone appears, or acts, is not necessarily always correct or truthful. In the book The Crucible, the Forest Girls, Abigail, Susana, Mary and the others, effectively deceive the townsfolk into believing that witchcraft is practiced in Salem. Abigail Williams is not as innocent as she portrays herself. She misrepresents herself as a virtuous young girl who was unjustly affected by witchcraft. During an escapade in Act III, the girls become disillusioned by Mary Warren who attempts to expose the charges of witchcraft as mere acts of vengeance.
The play The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller uses an excessive amount of stage directions to establish the character of Abigail Williams. At the beginning of Act 1 when Abigail first enters, Abigail is described as a “strikingly beautiful girl with an endless capacity for dissembling.” Miller immediately established Abigail as a dishonest person because she is willing to lie to save her name in Salem. Another example, of Miller’s use of stage direction is when Parris and Abigail are arguing about her being discharged from Goody Proctor's service, Abigail spoke to Parris “with ill-concealed resentment.” The way Abigail spoke Parris shows that Abigail is short tempered and has a bitter personality.
In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible (1952), there are many examples of aspects of the Salem witch trials repeating themselves today. One example in specific was the similarity between President Trump banning seven countries, mainly Muslims countries, and Abigail Williams accusing people she does not like of being witches, they both abuse the power they are given and when doing so it negatively affects others. Trump judges people based on their religion and the color of their skin by the banning seven countries from entering the U.S. because he thought they are terrorists. He abuses his power, by unfairly judging people and trying to keep them out of the country. Likewise, Abigail misuses her power when she accuses innocent people of being
In the play, The Crucible, a story told where the reader learns about lies, deceit, and hypocrisy. The play highlights how the puritans viewed witch trials in 1692. The character that was the most to blame for the Salem Witch trials and dreadful hangings, is Abigail Williams. There are two reasons Abigail Williams became the cause of all the Witch trials and hangings, the first being that she refused to admit to what she was doing in the forest with the other girls, the second was that she was resentful of the Proctor family.
The Crucible reminds us that the abuse of trust and good standing to trick people into false beliefs, often leads to tragedy. Abigail Williams is the best example of this. Miss Williams wasn’t the most respected girl, but she was a young woman, and therefore held to a high standard. When Abigail was caught doing “witchcraft” in the woods, she used that standard to lie,and blame other girls for consorting with the devil and tricking her. Such as in Act 1 when she shouts at Tituba "She made me do it!
There are many examples of indirect characterization of Abigail Williams in The Crucible. the beginning of The Crucible by Arthur Miller, Abigail Williams is a liar and refuses to tell the truth; towards the end of The Crucible we find she is self-centered. First, John Proctor states the way he feels about Abigail Williams in a very rude way; “PROCTOR, breathless and in agony; it [Abigail] is a whore!” When John Proctor confessed to adultery, Abigail was questioned if all of what Mary Warren was true. She lied to keep her good name as the misleading person she is.
Metamorphosis In prominent works of literature, there is always one character or a handful that cling to minds of readers. This could be due to the characters’ heroic deeds that are deeply admirable. On the other extreme, characters can encapsulate all we despise, making it a challenge to not link the story as a whole to the actions of one character in our minds. One such example of this extreme is Abigail Williams, easily the most despicable and vile character of The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller.
We often hear that betrayal can lead to deadly effects, with this in mind, in the story The Cruicible, betrayal is the wall from truth. The play took place in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. During this time strange acts were appearing all around Salem. As a result of these acts people blamed each other to exclude themselves from death, knowing that such acts were considered witchcraft. Abigail Williams is one of those people.
Sin is something all humans do, some may feel guilt about it, and others may embrace. Abigail Williams, in The Crucible, shows that the nature of man is to sin and be aware of it. Miller exposes Abigail Williams’s human nature, “She wants me dead. I knew all week it would come to this.” Abigail Williams knows that she is sinning when she tries against Elizabeth in order to get rid of her.
Arthur Miller’s The Crucible depicts the test to which the Puritan town of Salem is put through. The Puritans believed themselves a righteous colony of Saints, and that they “must be as a City upon a Hill.” However, Puritans feared that their “city upon a hill” was vulnerable to infection by the devil. Therefore, the witch-hunt was manifested in order to suppress the devil’s influence. But in doing so, ambitious Salemites exploited their fellow brothers and ultimately besmirched the moral laws of God_ the ideal theocratic justice.
The Crucible Miller illustrated a significant story about the Puritans in Salem Massachusetts in 1692. One of the worst events that happened in Salem Massachusetts were the Salem Witch Trials. The Salem Witch Trials took place when people were being convicted as being a witch or other hands being the devil. The people that were prosecuted were the poor, the aids, and the old people of the little town of Salem. As Miller interpreted the moral behind the historical event, he made a similar connection with the play.
Whether a citizen wills to gain power or keep their power, accusing citizens of witch craft seemed to be the way to achieve power. Ultimate power and the ability to send anyone to their death becomes the same thing in Salem. Constantly the people in Salem struggle for power. Mr. Danforth, the judge in Salem has the characteristic of being power hungry, He maintains his power by sending people to death row. The Salem Witch trials are the response to power hungry individuals.
Abigail Williams is to blame for the witch trials as a result of accusing others. Abigail constantly lies throughout The Crucible to make sure she does not get caught. When one of the girls, Mary Warren, testifies against the others, they turn on her. The girls act as if Mary has sent an evil spirit onto them and Abigail exclaims, “But God made my face; you cannot want to tear my face. Envy is a deadly sin, Mary”.
Abigail Williams’ Influence Is it okay for a person to lie and hurt other people just to keep him or herself safe? In Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible, Abigail Williams lies, a lot, to keep herself safe. Throughout the story, many people are accused of witchcraft. When a person is accused of witchcraft, it is very easy for them to get out of the accusation if they lie. The lies that are told shifts the belief of who knows witchcraft, and Abigail Williams uses those lies to gain influence over other people.