“ You drank blood, Abby! You didn’t tell him that.”(Miller, pg 1097) “ The Crucible”, a play about the Salem Witch Hunts, was written during the Red Scare. The author, Arthur Miller, thought that the two events had much in common. There are only a few people in the play who is to blame for the hanging of innocent people, but no one seems to really agree on who is the most guilty. Abigail Williams has the most to blame for the death of 20 innocent people. This is because she was the first of the “afflicted” girls to accuse people, she uses her new power to stay out of trouble, and she wants Goody Proctor dead. The first example that Abigail is responsible is the great lengths to which she will go to kill Elizabeth Proctor. The play starts
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?
In the Crucible there are many heinous characters, but for me the most despicable is Abigail. The two reasons that I find her to be the most despicable is because she somehow got all her friends to perform satanic rituals with her in the forest, and also the fact that she and her friends all lied about it, which put many innocent people in jeopardy. In the beginning of the book, Parris sees a large group of girls dancing in the forest naked. As he was approaching the girls to see what was going on, all the girls ran away screaming, leaving behind a pot with a ladel and a frog in it.
In the story “The Crucible” Abigail and her friends disobeyed her uncle and eventually led to a lie to the whole town. Abigail accused many people of witchery in hope to accuse and kill Elizebeth, the wife of John Proctor, to gain the love of procter. She would draw attention to herself by pretending people were possessing her. Many people died because of Abigail’s selfless lies. Abigail was the cause of the hysteria in Salem because she lied to the whole town and for gaining the sympathy and trust of many people through acting and show.
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.
During reign of Joseph Stalin, many citizens were cruelly executed without proof of their crimes. These cruel acts showed the negative probity of the Soviet Union. Similarly, act of cruelty throughout twentieth century American literature also illustrate acts of cruelty and how they render a character’s morals. Throughout American literature, characters have made cruel decisions that reflect upon their personality and rectitude.
The Crucible is a play that takes place in a town called Salem in the late 1600’s during the Salem Witch Trials. The Salem Witch Trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of the people that were accused of witchcraft in Salem because of a group of girls that were dishonest about doing something they weren’t supposed to. Among this group of girls was Abigail Williams who manipulated the other girls into going along with the lie which shows how manipulative, dishonest and selfish she is. Abigail can be described as manipulative because of the many things she does to get her way.
I wouldn’t say any of this would be the Proctor’s fault either. Although they were most likely Abigail’s motive, it was all her. They didn’t tell her to do it, she just does it being the chaotic teen she is. “A wild thing may say wild things.” She knew that in the end, she would be viewed as no good, but she did it anyway.
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!
Abigail is a selfish snake! Abigail is portrayed as a cunning and untrustworthy character in Arthur Miller's play. The Crucible, a play written by Arthur Miller in 1953, explores the infamous story of the Salem witch trials. The Crucible was reflected by the “Red Scare” which took place after WW1, because of the American labor movement. The story follows a group of girls, led by Abigail Williams, who falsely accuse others in their community of witchcraft.
The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a play based on a true story of the Salem Witch Trials in 1692. In the Crucible, Abigail Williams, age seventeen, drives the Puritan town of Salem into insanity. She, along with a few other town girls, were caught dancing naked in the woods. To cover up their actions, the girls accuse innocent people of witchcraft and of carrying out the Devil’s work. Reverend Hale is summoned to find and destroy Salem Witches.
Everybody makes mistakes in their lives, but how they react to them exposes who they really are. In the play "The Crucible" by Arthur Miller, the Puritan citizens of Salem are caught in a perilous storm of terror and accusations of witchcraft. The sins and choices of other characters in the play fuel the fire of injustice and cost the lives of many. There are two tested characters who played large roles in the outbreak of witchcraft accusations; they either passed or failed this test. John Proctor passed the trial of his sins, and Abigail Williams failed her test.
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.
In the play, The Crucible by Arthur Miller, Abigail and her friends participate in activities that, in their society, are associated with devil worship and aren’t looked upon favorably, such as singing, dancing and being naked. In an attempt to avoid punishment, the girls cruelly tell the townspeople that other residents of the town, people that the girls didn’t particularly like, were possessed and forced the girls to dance for the devil. After his wife is accused, John Proctor is faced with the decision to tell the truth in order to free his wife from persecution or keep quiet for Abigail who he had an affair with. The author of this play, Arthur Miller, displays cruelty through Abigail’s accusations of innocent people During the Salem Witch
One of the most powerful human emotions is desire. Everyone is constantly trying to fulfill their own desires. A desire or passion may be so strong it can conflict with morality. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, Abigail Williams, is driven to go against her moral duty and pursue John Proctor. She will stop at nothing to see her plan through.
Nicole Schaefer Mr. Becker American Literature October 29, 2014 Two Women for Two Different Worlds In the novel the crucible, Elizabeth, wife of John Proctor, and Abigail Williams, mistress of John Proctor are two main roles. Elizabeth, a woman who is loyal and true, or manipulative and ruthless liar, Abigail. She pretends to see spirits and commands the other girls to pretend as well.