Abigail is an abrupt controlling liar who is seeking revenge on many people in Salem, she doesn’t strain if she hurts anyone in her path to succeed. Abigail was seventeen years old when the Salem witch trials began. “Abigail Williams seventeen, enters...” (169). When she was a young girl her parents passed away, she was an orphan. Her uncle, Reverend Parris, took her in. He expected her to get a job and work because not everything was going to get handed to her. She had to work for what she wanted. Abigail worked for the Proctor’s farm. While she was there she helped Elizabeth cook and clean the house, but Elizabeth thought that Abigail was doing something with her husband when she was not around, so she didn’t allow Abigail back into
Abigail Williams is most responsible for the Salem witch trials. Abigail started all the lies by saying “Now look you. We danced. And Tituba conjured ruth putnam's dead sister. And that is all” (I.363-366). Abigail is telling all the girls the story that they have to follow. She is basically threatening them so they won't tell the truth about what really happened. She is convincing the other girls to lie. This is when Abigail became the ringleader of the lies. This brings her powers, which she starts to use for revenge. Continuing on, Abigail won't let go of her feelings for John and resents Elizabeth. She is still convinced John loves her when she says “it's she put me out, you cannot pretend it were you. I saw your face when she put me out, and you loved me then and you love me now” (I.425-429). Abigail is convinced that John still loves her and Elizabeth is coming between them. This makes her grow more angry with Elizabeth and more desperate for John. She uses this growing power and hate for revenge. Abigail accuses Elizabeth of witchcraft shortly after this encounter. To add on, Abigail leads all the
Since then, she has become a troubled child. Her illegal love affair with John Proctor began while she was working as a servant for John Proctor and his wife, Elizabeth Proctor. Abigail fell deeply in love with John Proctor and was willing to go to great lengths to further their love affair. Therefore, when Abigail
In The Crucible, I assume that the character Abigail is a static character. Abigail is considered a static character for the reason that no matter what her feelings never change. She does whatever she is yearning to be happy with herself. It makes no difference if she is hurting other people as long she is joyous. An example is how she accuses Elizabeth Proctor of being a witch even though it's not true. She only did it for the reason that she thought she would be able to be with John Proctor. The character John Proctor is a dynamic character. John is considered a dynamic character because he changes his feelings in the entire play. In the beginning he was a quiet farmer and now he is a brave man with a great deal of courage. In the beginning
Abigail also has the ability to set fear in the hearts of anyone in the town that has wronged her in some way. In the eyes of Abigail, Elizabeth Proctor has wronged her in many ways, and Elizabeth knows that Abigail feels this way and that she will come after her eventually: “She wants me dead. . . She will cry me out until they take me!” (Miller 1274). Abigail has the power to ruin peoples lives if they do something that she doesn’t like, and the entire town knows it too.
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 proves herself time and time again that she was a greedy person. Abigail was John and Elizabeth Proctor’s housemaid. Abigail decides that she wants John to herself. Elizabeth tells John that Abigail wants to take her place. Abigail would do anything for his love. Abby flirts with John. Abigail tries and gets him to admit that he still wants to be with her. Abigail wants something bad to happen to Elizabeth, so she can have John to herself. “She thinks to take my place John; she
Starting out, Abigail Williams was a 17 year old teenager who lived with her uncle Rev. Parris. She was an orphan and had no power, no money, nothing of her own. This gave her all the more reason to try to gain power over people. Abigail was clearly the leader of the girls of Salem. Having been in high school, one would know this gives her a great feeling of power. It all starts to spill out when Abigail’s cousin falls sick and Parris is trying to find the cause. Witchcraft
She is a cold, sniveling woman, and you bend to her! Let her turn you like a-.” (Miller 471). This is also important because Abigail is probably the worst person in the village and she acts like she is perfect. She lies to everyone and basically blackmails people.
All people commissioned to hang in Salem were innocent… how did they end up there? Through the lies and accusations of Abigail, a teenager whose head was filled with power, revenge, and her reputation. In Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible he clearly shows that Abigail is guilty in more ways than one. She is guilty of lies…accusation… and even murder.
One reason why Abigail is responsible for the death of innocent Salemites is because she makes up lies and stories about the people involved in the witchcraft. “Sometimes I wake and find myself standing in the open doorway and not a stich on my body. I always hear her laughing in my sleep. I hear her singing her Barbados songs and tempting me with-” (Miller, 156). In this quote Abigail is talking about Tituba, the slave of Mr. and Mrs. Proctor, to Mr. Danforth. She made up a story about Tituba putting her under a spell and doing things to her at night. Abigail is also the first person to accuse someone of
The central character for The Crucible could be Abigail. Abigail is characterized as being a fabricator with destructive tendencies. Though she refuses to admit her name has been tainted in the town, Abigail knows of her carnage in the village has ruined it for good. Abigail is accused of witchcraft in the beginning of the act and therefore attempting to lie her way through it, she ends up admitting it. But alternately of taking the punishment, she blames someone else for pressuring her into it. The quote “Don’t lie! She comes to me while I sleep; she’s always making me dream corruptions!” (Miller 14) shows that Abby had admitted dreaming and doing corrupt things, but puts the blame on others. At the end of the act, the blame switches from
In Abigail’s pocket lie seven things: a tube of lipstick, crossed fingers, a phone, a packet of pins, a picture of a couple with the woman scribbled out, a black book, and a business card with “Revenge Specialist” written across the top. The lipstick signifies Abigail’s affair with John Proctor, as well as her beauty, which she uses to her advantage. Her physical appearance makes it easy for her to appear innocent, as most associate beauty with innocence, and also ties in with Miller’s ending where she become a prostitute, using her looks to survive. The crossed fingers indicate her ability to lie quickly and easily. Abigail lies constantly throughout the play, showing no remorse or guilt about what she says. She also possesses the ability
Abigail becomes so focused on crushing on John Proctor it kills him and nineteen others. This occurs because of her ignorance to be mature and accept reality. Abigail loves John Proctor and she will do anything in her power to acquire him. John Proctor cheats on his wife with Abigail, consequently giving Abigail a foothold on him. She takes advantage of that, and goes mad attempting to receive his attention. “She is blackening my name in the village! She is telling lies about me! She is a cold, sniveling woman, and you bend to her! Let her turn you like a-”(Miller 23-24). In attempt to win back John Proctor, she makes lies up about Elizabeth, Proctor’s wife. Abigail lets her anger out on the girls, supposedly her friends, in Salem. She is controlling the girls because they fear her. Abigail takes this
think and do. As an audience, at this stage we have a mixed opinion of
Abigail is not only a liar she is selfish. She tells lies that hurt others in order to help herself and she is devious. In the court room she announces, "I want to open myself! . . . I want the light of God, I want the sweet love of Jesus! I danced for the Devil, I saw him, I wrote in his book, I go back to Jesus, I kiss His hand. I saw Sarah