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?
Abigail is a manipulative liar. Famous author Arthur Miller points out in The Crucible that hysteria broke out over the perceived threat of witchcraft, which served as an analogy for the communists during the Red Scare. During the Cold War between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, many Americans believed a war would break out and thus caused hysteria among society. Miller writes a play about a couple who has an affair in a religious small town. Abigail, the cleaning lady for the Proctor family, commits adultery with Mr. John Proctor is soon caught by Mrs. Elizabeth Proctor.
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.
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.
Abigail Williams' remorseless behavior cruelly ended the lives of 19 in Salem. An example of this is when the girls are discovered in the woods,” Parris caught them dancing, with Tituba singing and one of the girls being naked ”(Miller,10-11). Once Abigail was caught, she desperately tried to conceal her actions of that night because Her option to kill his wife would reveal her affair with John Proctor and Have her accused of witchcraft. To deflect the blame from herself she accuses many of witchcraft. Abigail’s remorseless behavior caused deaths because the accused were arrested and many were hanged or died in the jail.
In The Crucible, Abigail accuses more than half the town of witchcraft to cover up her affair with a married man, John Proctor. She lies and accuses people to prevent being charged with attempted murder against Elizabeth Proctor, John Proctor’s wife, because of jealousy. Abigail who is very similar to Joseph McCarthy, she starts to accuse people who share a glance towards her direction or even people that she dislikes or offended her in some way. The people of the town grow intimidated or fearful of her because she throws false accusations and evidence towards anyone who may have upset her. In the playwright, The Crucible, it is shown that there are accusations thrown at people, but has no supported evidence for why some people of the town
Human beings all have selfish tendencies, we tend to care for ourselves more than we care for others but how far would you go to get what you want?Would you kill? Would you steal? What would you do ? I Arthur Miller's the Crucible Abigail Williams is one of the most important characters but she chooses to be very selfish and chooses to put her own needs first which caused several people to lose their lives.
There are three types of people in this world, those who fake it to make it, those who want it and go get it, and those who manipulate others to achieve it. Arthur Miller's classic, The Crucible, presents Abigail Williams as a despicable character in the play through her manipulative, dishonest, and self-centered behavior. Throughout the play she used manipulation to bring confusion and pain to the people in Salem. Manipulation was her biggest quality. Abigail uses manipulation as a weapon to obtain the love and affection of John Proctor.
“Vengeance is walking Salem.” (John Proctor, Pg. 77) John Proctor was correct when he said that. The people of Salem abused the law forbidding the practice of witch craft. For example, Abigail Williams made an allegation against John Proctor’s wife, Elizabeth because she fired her as their servant and John ended their affair.
Through harsh rejection and preposterous delusions, Abigail Williams abused her good name and became the fault for the bitter ends of many for something they were not guilty of. I have reread significant sections of The Crucible several times and have read and analyzed it to the best of my ability on multiple occasions. Once reading this book in my Honors English Course at the number one high school in the state of California, we carefully analyzed the characters, going as far as even making character charts, to understand them and their intentions much better. Abigail WIlliams, who is at fault for the Salem Witch Trials, held verbal power and influence over the girls which led to the sentenced hanging of many, and acted unwisely on the galling
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’ 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.
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.
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.
