Abigail Williams is not your typical teenage girl. She is a girl that will drink blood to kill someone, accuse people of witchcraft, and have a affair. By looking at The Crucible, one can see that Abigail Williams develops the theme of reputation, which is important because people who fear losing their reputation spread hysteria. Protecting her reputation motivates Abigail Williams to accuse others of being a witch.
In 1692 there was something called witchcraft. Witchcraft start when this young girls claimed to be possessed by the devil and accused several local women of witchcraft. There was a book called “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller. In The Crucible, Abigail Williams is a static character who is a big part of the chaos. She is the main accuser throughout the Salem witch trials that caused many innocent people to die.
In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, the setting is Salem, Massachusetts during the late 1600s where the town’s pious Puritan beliefs directly influence their government. A 17-year-old girl named Abigail Williams had an affair with John Proctor, a wealthy, married man. Abigail is told by John to move on but instead, Abigail starts accusing the townspeople of witchcraft, including John Proctor’s wife Elizabeth. As this hysteria begins to rise, other people such as Thomas Putnam, a rich landowner, start to also allege Salem villagers. In this play, the author illustrates the central idea that people should not allow jealousy to control their actions.
Throughout history, authors have had a tendency to write characters that can follow general roles, called archetypes. Examples of archetypes are the hero, the trickster, the temptress, the villain, the innocent and the faithful companion. In Arthur Miller's classic play, The Crucible, the character Abigail Williams fills the role of the villain. One example of Abigail's villainy is the scene where her cousin, Betty Parris yells about Abigail having drank blood in the forest. When Abby tries to tell her to never say that, Betty replies by saying, "You did, you did!
Abigail Williams will lie about anything to cover up her affair with John Proctor whom she tells, “I know how you clutched by back behind your house and sweated like a stallion whenever I came near” (1.1.548-550). By looking at The Crucible, one can see that Abigail Williams develops the theme of reputation, which is important because people who fear losing their reputation spread hysteria. Reputation motivates Abigail Williams to accuse others of being a witch. Abigail lied to betty and said that she “told [Parris] everything (1.1.442-443); however, she didn’t tell him how she drunk blood to kill Elizabeth. She doesn’t want the other girls to say anything about what happened in the woods.
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.
The movie version of The Crucible brings to light new information that demystifies a formerly vague storyline, and is more effective in getting across its meaning than the book. The scene in which Abigail visits Proctor in prison adds context to the plot that one cannot gather directly from the book, explains the motivation behind Abigail's actions in the play, and is very well acted. It also provides a clearer depiction of Proctor’s loyalty and devotion to his wife, Elizabeth. The character development that takes place in this scene gives the viewer a more in-depth understanding of Abigail’s manipulative tendencies and of John Proctor’s sense of obligation towards his wife than is derived from the book. First and foremost, the text of
During the late 17th century a total of 200 people were accused of participating in witchcraft, while 19 people lost their lives to the mass hysteria. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, a group of girls start a huge uproar in Salem, Massachusetts when they start screeching about Salemites being associated with the Devil. Throughout the play write, it shows the consequences of mass hysteria and how it puts people's lives in danger. Abigail Williams causes a wave of mass hysteria and because of her trickery, innocent people have died by her and the other girl’s actions, for this Abigail is the most unforgivable character in The Crucible.
Reputation is what one is perceived as or what they are associated with. Reputation is everything in a small town. In Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible, this is especially true in the meager town of Salem where social standing is tied to one’s ability to follow religious rules. Having a good name is how you do business with others or get a fair hearing. Miller addresses the theme of reputation in The Crucible through Parris, Proctor and Abigail’s actions showing how far one will go to keep their reputation untarnished.
The Crucible is a book written by Author Miller to illustrate all the lies and deceit that took place during the Salem Witch Trials of 1692-1693. There are so many different forms of lies and deceit present with in this book. But to me the three biggest are when Mary Warren and the girls, Putnam’s versusthe rest of the town and John Proctor vs Abigail. But the lies and deceit derail all of these.