Character Analysis: The Salem Witchcraft Trials

No, I cannot, I cannot stop my mouth; It’s God’s work I do” (875). That is until Mary caves under the pressure and accuses John Proctor of being the Devil 's man, so nothing bad occurs due to Abigail. In addition, Abigail tells lies, manipulates her friends and the entire town, and eventually sends nineteen innocent people to their deaths. Throughout all of the hysteria, Abigail’s motivations are based off of a simple jealousy and a desire to have revenge on Elizabeth Proctor. There are a few background

Abigail believed that Proctor actually loved her and she waited every night for him. She was brainwashed to think he would leave his wife for her. The witchcraft accusation came from the beginning of the story when Abigail and the girls were dancing naked in the woods and chanting. She made false accusations that people in the village were worshipping the devil to cover what she had done. Many lives were taken but Abigail had no empathy for anyone who was hanged.

When placed in the hot seat after being discovered dancing in the woods, Abigail throws the weakest person she can find under the bus: Tituba. Tituba is an African-American house slave to Reverend Parris, so naturally, she’s an easy target to accuse. Not only is Tituba a different race, she is also a woman in a society where women aren’t respected and speaks another language. These three factors make her an easy target. Instead of claiming responsibility for her own actions, Abigail

Abigail and her group of friends around found in the forest doing witchcraft to get their love interest to fall for the however they are caught by her uncle Parris and instead of confessing and telling the truth she lies to her uncle Parris by claiming she was just dancing. Due to her act Abigail’s sister Betty is unconscious and the whole town is convinced it’s witchcraft, causing mayhem throughout the community also known as mass hysteria. In the book The Tipping point it states “... convinced that he is being contaminated by some unseen evil- in the past it was demons and spirits; nowadays it tends to be toxings and gases.” This is how mass hysteria is starts, a collective illusion which if clearly shown in the play. In the play Abigail proclaims, “She lies! She sends her spirit into me, and makes me laugh at prayer!

A large factor that significantly affects the plot of the play is the scene of the girls dancing in the woods. What happened is no where near what the rumors and lies that were being spread explained. The truth was that the girls, Betty, Abigail, Mercy, Susanna, Ruth, and Mary were dancing in the woods with Tituba, who was conjuring spirits, when Reverend Parris walked up and found them Betty became frightened and fell ill. The first lie that was started was by Reverend Parris. He lied stating that Tituba was conjuring spirts in the woods over the fire while the girls were running around naked.

Many if not most people are confused and are desperate for an answer. As a town full of godly people who fear the wrath of Satan. people are quick to make assumptions. This story falls in the hands of a teenage girl named abigail where the village rides on her beliefs and will arrest whoever is guilty of witchcraft. There is a lot not to like of abigail who was seen in the forest “dancing with the devil” with other girls and the servant of the parris family Tituba who apparently forced abigal to perform the black magic with her.

Parris has sent for Reverend John Hale of Beverly, an expert on witchcraft, to determine whether Betty is indeed bewitched. Parris berates his niece, Abigail Williams, because he discovered her, Betty, and several other girls dancing in the forest in the middle of the night with his slave, Tituba. Tituba was intoning unintelligible words and waving her arms over a fire, and Parris thought he spotted someone running naked through the

It is being rumored that Betty flew over over the barn. Later, Betty starts screaming when they start singing a psalm downstairs. This is because she cannot bear to hear the lord’s name and this proves that Betty is a witch. Mrs. Putnam says she contacted Tituba to find out who is killing her babies and to communicate to her 7 lost/dead children. Thomas Putnam is bitter because he feels like he isn’t getting the respect he deserves.

In Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible, Mary Warren, Abigail Williams, and Tituba are instrumental in spreading the hysteria that resulted in the Salem Witch Trials. The word “Salem," is in close relation to “witchcraft," "hanging" and “hysteria" when mentioned. Many are shocked and appalled by the seeming complete lack of justice and sanity that occurred during the Salem Witch Trials of 1692, when nineteen individuals were put to their death for crimes they did not commit. Witchcraft was introduced when a group of girls were caught dancing in the woods by Betty’s father, Revered Parris. When caught, Betty pretended to faint in the woods and remained in a coma like state for a couple days because she was scared.

Arthur Miller’s The Crucible is a play that takes place in the Puritan town of Salem, Massachusetts in the year 1692. The play begins with young girls performing a ritual in the woods to get the guys they like to fall in love with them. After they are caught, the situation spirals out of control as the presiding church officials begin trials to hang the alleged witches that plague Salem. Abigail Williams, one of the girls, accuses Elizabeth Proctor of being a witch in order to have her killed because she feels envy towards what Elizabeth has with her husband John Proctor, a farmer. Abigail uses the situation to her advantage to rid herself of Elizabeth so that she can finally be with John, despite the him telling Abigail that they will no longer have anything together.

The witch trials in Salem occurred because of Abigail and it is her fault. She started something she could not finish and by starting it killed many innocent people and ruined many reputations. Abigail is at blame because she was the one who is basically the "psycho girlfriend" who is obsessed with her ex. But because she is desperately in love with John Proctor, she is willing to do anything to have him all to herself. Just like how she drank a chicken blood charm to kill Elizabeth, which is against her religion.

Abigail forces the girls of Salem to dance in the woods with her to help conjure spirits and make the charm to kill Goody Proctor. Abigail threatens the girls right after Betty took fright by saying, “let either of you breathe a word or the edge of a word about the other things and I will come to you in the black of some terrible night and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you.” (Miller, 144). Later on as the trials prolong Mary Warren turns on Abby and is telling the court that she lied. When Abigail then accuses Mary of witchcraft she turns back to Abby and obeys her once again. The fact that Abigail has this much power, not just in the court, but over other people as well helps her to essentially control the whole

Oh! What stupidity, Governor. Now that the Witch trials have begun, they need to come to a stop. I have lost enough already and that’s enough. This January, a group of young ladies went into the woods and danced and chanted loudly in the night with their miraculous voices.

In 1692, the hysteria of what is now known as the Salem witch trials begun. It all started within the minister’s household when his daughter and niece started to act outlandishly. Witchcraft was blamed for their behavior and actions, which resulted in the madness of accusing almost every woman in the village of Salem. About 20 were eventually executed (Blumberg 1). This delirium ended when minister Cotton Mather and his son pleaded to cease the use of spectral evidence, the “testimony about dreams and visions” (Blumberg 2).