The Crucible is a book about the salem witch trials on the surface, but in reality it is so much more than that. In this book Arthur Miller makes historical references like the Red Scare and the hysteria of communism, as well as in the book the hysteria is about witches. He also makes some biblical comparisons in the book. The characters are very complex just like the book, knowing this, let's dive in. In The Crucible there is an ongoing hysteria of witches in Salem. This is all because one girl named Abigail Williams decides to make accusations when she lusts for a man named John Proctor and in an effort to get closer to him she tries to get rid of his wife. In the book the reason for everything that she's doing is her lust for John. In …show more content…
For example she tells John, “John - I am waitin’ for you every night” and she also says “Oh I marvel how such a strong man may let a sickly wife be -” (she was cut off). These statements and the evidence clearly connect because Abigail wants Elizabeth gone, because to Abigail it seems that the only reason her and John aren’t together is because of Elizabeth. All in all this is what has to be said to prove that Abigail Williams is the starting cause of the witch trials. Abigail Williams is a teenage girl in the play and she does all of this terrible stuff thinking it will get her closer to John Proctor. Abigail's motivation is simply pure jealousy of Elizabeth Proctor. She is a simple but very complex character because it is not just because of John Proctor she is also just a teenager longing for attention whether it good or bad. This is why Abigail is doing this, the proof is when Abigail accused Elizabeth. Even Elizabeth said “She wants me dead, John, you know it”. Abigail had wished for Elizabeth to die, that's how bad she wanted John. Its proven when Betty says to Abigail “... You drank a charm to kill John Proctors wife”. This completely proves Abigail's intentions and what she wanted. So when Betty told the truth Abigail had to lie so that she did not get accused of witchcraft. Some people may argue that Abigail can be viewed as a victim but that is not the case at all. She is willing to see others condemned to death, to
In the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller, Abigail Williams and Mrs. Putnam are are the sources of the witchcraft mysteries because they are able to use their manipulating witchcraft skills to throw the blame onto their enemies. Abigail Williams hates Elizabeth Proctor, for she had an affair with her husband,John, and still has lustful feelings towards him. Abigail used to work for the Proctor family, but was immediately thrown out because of her relationship with John, of which Elizabeth has no idea existed. Abigail believes Elizabeth hates her and calls her a “bitter woman, a lying, cold, sniveling woman” (12). This of course shows tensions between Elizabeth and Abigail. Abigail even admits she would do ANYTHING to get of Elizabeth, perhaps
Abigail Williams lies and manipulates others to save her own reputation. After being questioned by her uncle, Abigail lies about whether or not she performed witchcraft. She deceives Parris when she says, “Not I, but Ruth and Tituba,” which makes him believe her lies (Miller I. 317-318). The way Abigail lies about the women doing witchcraft shows how far she will go to save her own skin. Abigail tells lies to weasel her way out of getting in trouble. She lies to Proctor about what happened in the woods with the other girls: “There is nothing more, I swear…” (Miller I. 155-156). Abigail tells Proctor that she is telling the truth; even though, Betty later calls her out on lying. After Abby reveals to Proctor what allegedly happened in the woods, she goes and tells Betty about this to cover up what actually happened, but then Betty calls her out on her lies by saying, “You drank blood, Abby…” (Miller.I.444). This shows that Abby lies to Proctor to make
Sara Shepard wrote in her book Flawless “The sweetest smiles hold the darkest secrets…” This quote relates to the main character Abigail in a play called The Crucible. This play was written about the Salem Witch Trials and inspired by the McCarthy Hearings in which Arthur Miller—the author—was living through. In The Crucible, Miller portrays Abigail Williams as a troubled orphan who is manipulative, cunning, and has a propensity to victimize herself in every situation that does not fall her way.
Adultery. Abigail Williams is the young niece of Salem's Minister, Reverend Parris, she also was once John Proctor's housemaid until his wife, Elizabeth, put her out because of the affair. Abigial was just a young girl, she felt as if her feelings for John Proctor were ‘true love’, this drove her to do some of the most unspeakable things. She was seeking vengeance on Elizabeth since she put her out on the street, “blackened her name throughout the town” and she had the man she loved. Abigail's best way of getting things done was through manipulation, which she was best at. She voluntarily used witchcraft to ‘curse’ Elizabeth and yet turned witchcraft accusations against everyone of Salem. “I will come to you in the black of the night and will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you”(19), is one threat Abigail used to keep the girls mouth shut. She was a power hungry girl who did anything to keep the power for her own selfish gains. When she realized she was losing her power she claims “I have been near to murdered every day because I done my duty pointing out the Devil’s people- and this is my reward? To be mistrusted, denied, question like a -”(100) this was her way out of the truth. This shows Abigail's true
Abigail Williams is a 17 year old girl whose parents were murdered, so Parris has taken care of her since they’ve been murdered. She had worked for the Proctor’s as their servant, but she was fired by Elizabeth Proctor. John Proctor was having an affair with Abigail until Elizabeth had discovered what they’ve been doing so she fired Abigail. John knew he was sinning and this sin would ruin him. He realized that he loves his wife Elizabeth, so he stop seeing Abigail for love. Abigail was upset that he didn’t love her, so the only way for her to have him was to get rid of Elizabeth from his life. Abigail tried to get rid of Mrs. Proctor by dancing in the woods and talking to the Devil. In act one Betty screams out the truth about the night and what Abigail’s plan was. She said “You drank a charm to kill John Proctor’s wife! You drank a charm to kill Goody Proctor.” (pg
To begin, Abigail williams is to be blamed for the injustice in Salem because she is dishonest. Abigail is dishonest because she lied that Tituba is responsible for the witchcraft in
In the beginning of the story Abigail Williams is motivated to kill Elizabeth Proctor to take her place as John Proctor’s wife. In the book Betty says,”you did,you did! You drank the charm to kill John Proctor’s wife! You drank a charm to kill Goody Proctor”(miller 13)! This quote gives evidence that proves Abigail Williams is trying to kill Elizabeth Proctor. Abigail Williams takes on witchcraft which is illegal, just to try and get rid of Elizabeth Proctor. Abigail says,” she is blackening my name in the village! She is telling everyone lies about me! She is a cold shriveling woman, and you bend to her”(williams 15). This confirms that Abigail Williams has a reason to hate Elizabeth. It also gives her a motive to kill her. Abigail tells this
Abigail looks out for herself first and always tries to get what she wants. She is even willing to threaten to kill someone to get her to do what she wants. “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 shudder you” (Miller 1244). Abigail tries to make Betty keep lying by threatening to kill her because she knows that if Betty confesses anything she will get in trouble. Not only is she selfish enough to threaten to kill someone, she is even selfish enough to try methods
In The Crucible some of the people in the town of Salem committed a sin by lying about their actions to avoid getting into trouble. Abigail Williams in one of those people who committed that sin. She lied that Tituba had forced her to drink chickens blood and to conjure spirits. In reality Tituba actually didn’t force her to drink the blood and conjure spirits it was all on her own free will. Abigail did this so she would not get whipped or even worse, hanged for being a participant in witchcraft. Also, is she was discovered doing witchcraft than the truth will be revealed about her relationship with John Proctor. Overall, Abigail Williams lied about her activities of witchcraft just like some of the people did in the town of Salem.
Abigail caused the destruction and civilian unrest in the Salem village by testifying and confessing to witchcraft, along with accusing others of witchcraft. Nevertheless Abigail didn’t originally plan this whole ending disposition of things, it just developed as time went on and soon she started to see the possibilities and benefits of continuing the madness. As stated on page 19, "You did, you did! You drank a charm to kill John Proctor’s wife! You drank a charm to kill Goody Proctor!" (Miller, 19), this shows what Abigail did. It shows how far she was willing to go to get what she wants, but it doesn’t tell us completely why she continued to accuse, lie and
Abigail lied to everyone, claiming guiltless people were hurting her with power they did not have. Because she accused so many people of witchcraft, Abigail was put on a pedestal. Elizabeth described this, saying, “She think of Abigail, and I thought she were a saint, to hear her. Abigail brings the other girls into the court, and where she walks the crowd will part like the sea for Israel” (Miller 52). The power that Abigail gained from her role in the trials instantly went to her head, fueling delusions of love that never could be. After her affair with John Proctor, Abigail was unable to put him out of her mind, convinced they should be together. This lead to more deception and false accusations, especially that of Elizabeth Proctor. Abigail explained her dreams for the future, saying, “Oh, John, I will make you such a wife when the world is white again! You will be amazed to see me everyday, a light of heaven in your house--” (Miller 150). Power and love are powerful motivators, the effects of which Abigail certainly felt. She was admired, which pushed her to continue her deception, continually accusing the innocent, even going as far as to try to eliminate her competition for John Proctor. Abigail Williams lied to others throughout this play with one of the main reasons being a goal of power and love. The witch trials of Salem ended up as a
Every character in The Crucible by Arthur Miller has a decieving side to them. Everyone in the small town of Salem from Abigail Williams to Elizabeth Proctor seems to have a lying edge to them, and the proof is in the dialogue. Abigail Williams is the head liar in the town of Salem, her description even states that shes a liar. “- a strikingly beautiful girl, an orphan, with an endless capacity for dissembling.” This proves that Abigail can lie herself out of trouble, but that involves more lying, and throwing someone else under the bus. She and the other girls that were caught out in the woods lied about the activities that went on, and said that the only thing that happened was dancing. While Abigail is under fire for blasphemy, she
The Tragic Hero of The Crucible In The Crucible, there are many characters to choose as a tragic hero. John Proctor fits the very description of a tragic hero. He goes from a well-respected man who owns a farm to a man who is convicted of witchcraft and sin. He has a chance to redeem himself, but he must confess his secrets and release himself from what he hates the most: hypocrites. As all tragic heros are born, John Proctor come with an undeniable tragic flaw; his physical attraction to Abigail Williams.
In the play, The Crucible, Abigail Williams is a very interesting character. Abigail’s main motivation throughout the play was enviness and revenge. At the beginning of the play it was well known that Abigail had an affair with John Proctor and was dismissed from her job because his wife had found out about them. Abigail was very angry at John’s wife Elizabeth because she was “blackening” her name in the village and “telling lies” about her. Abigail was very envious of Elizabeth, because she was in love John, and believed Elizabeth was the only thing coming between their “relationship”. The night Abigail and the girls were dancing in the woods, she went as far as drinking a “blood charm” in hope of it killing Elizabeth.
In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, the Salem witch trials were a time where a wave of hysteria broke loose. During this time “….Christians, and those of other religions, had a strong belief that the Devil could give certain people known as witches the power to harm others in return for their loyalty”(Blumberg). Being involved in any witchcraft was a huge sin, and people began to take advantage of others. Numerous innocent people became accused of being witches or were involved with witchcraft due to rumors that children spread around the village. With the girls' statements, many had to admit to the false accusations. The ones who stayed silent and didn't lie are sentenced to hang. From these allegations, it ended nineteen lives. While several characters are to blame, the most responsible for this chaos is Abigail Williams.