Causes Of Abigail Williams In The Crucible

The song “Rollercoaster” by the Bleachers is a good song that can be easily relatable with the character Abigail Williams from The Crucible. Abigail and the song share many characteristics that help them relate. Abigail gets a lot of people killed, she is exciting, and she is like a teenager who ran away.

After all of the witch trials in 1692 concluded a total of 20 people were hanged all because of people craving attention and personal gain. There are three people depicted in Arthur Miller's The Crucible that are most responsible for this and they are, Abigail Williams, Judge Danforth, and Thomas Putnam. Abigail Williams is mostly responsible for the Salem witch trials because she was the first person to start accusing innocent people of witchcraft. Judge Danforth is responsible because he is not concerned about justice, all he cares about is being correct about the witch trials. Lastly Thomas Putnam is guilty of causing the witch trials because he was able to have people accuse other people

A wave of intense puritanism was ruling upon Salem by the time of our story,1692, and alongside them came various witch-hunt attempts. Backed up by religion, These witch-hunts intended to eliminate any possible threat to puritans and their beliefs. In the quest to “sabotage the devil” many innocent lives were lost. People capable of saving those in trouble, albeit innocent themselves, mostly hid their heads behind their walls, kept their mouths shut and left their ink to dry, leaving their fellow citizens to die. Reverend Hale, a witch-hunter himself, had an embodiment of the hunts and their purposes and consequences figured out; Therefore, he tried to make victims confess to things they did not commit, including witchcraft, to save their lives.

One of many reasons the witch trials were able to continue was because of Judge Danforth’s ignorance towards what was actually going on in Salem. When Francis Nurse and John Proctor try to explain to him the girls are deceiving him, he over rules their ideas by challenging “And do you know that near to four hundred are in the jails from Marblehead to Lynn, and upon my signature?”(Miller 179). Danforth is proud to say that he has put people in jail, put people to death for witchcraft because his ignorance blocks him from seeing the evidence he is presented with is false. As well as being exposed to false evidence, Judge Danforth also makes the claim that witchcraft cannot be disproved; therefore the court has to rely solely on the girl’s accusations. Danforth declares, “But witchcraft is ipso facto, on its face and by its nature, an invisible crime, is it not?

Towards the beginning of the book Reverend is focused on figuring out who is a witch and convict them of witchery, which is shown through logos. He says that powers of the dark “are gathered in monstrous attack upon this village. There is too much evidence to deny it.” (64). Miller uses this quote to show how Hale is willing to convict any person that appears to be apart of the devil, which adds details about Hale’s character. Hale is enthusiastic and determined as well as exceptionally respected in the town of Salem. As the book progresses, Reverend Hale’s viewpoints shift towards wanting and needing more time to convict witchcraft. Hale believes “you must hear the girl, sir,” (88). Hale manipulates pathos to convince Danforth to give Mary Warren a chance to explain her experience with spirits. In addition, Hale explains he must have more time to convict hangings (129). This is quite a big shift from the beginning of the book, but Miller employs pathos to explain the passion and desire Hale has to figure out who should be convicted of

When he first appeared in the first act of the play, when Parris called him to Salem after Betty had been acting strange and witchcraft was first thought of, his motivation with justice was to the Church. He wanted the devil or any other evil spirits out of the human world. “Aye. But the Devil is a wily one, you cannot deny it. However, she is far from accused, and I know she will not be. (pause) I thought, sir, to put some questions as to the Christian character of this house, if you'll permit me.” The quote previous to this sentence was said by Hale in act two when he was at the Proctor's house in search of signs of witchcraft. In act four Hale had realized by then how the people who were accused of witchcraft and being dealt with the devil had been innocent and the girls accusing everyone had been lying and trying to get the attention and blame off of themselves. People were scared for their lives if one person shall speak lowly of them in Salem. “Excellency, there are orphans wandering from house to house; abandoned cattle bellow on the highroads, the stick of rotting crops hangs everywhere, and no man knows when the harlots' cry will end his life-and you wonder yet if rebellion's spoke? Better you should marvel how they do not burn your province!” People had been dying that had no reason to die. He was feeling regretful and wanted to right his wrong

In the book, The Crucible, Abigail Williams is an orphan and under the care of her uncle, Reverend Parris. Abigail is portrayed as a liar when she accuses her friends of witchcraft and blames them for crimes they have not committed. One example of Abigail’s foolish actions is when she and John Proctor have an affair behind Elizabeth’s back, John’s wife. Elizabeth finds out and does not want John seeing Abigail. Abigail takes matters into her own hands when she tells the court judge that Elizabeth Proctor is a witch. Abigail does this so Elizabeth will be arrested and eventually killed and Abigail can have John all to herself. Abigail’s actions affect people around her when she accuses them of witchcraft. Abigail is motivated by lust, and she

This intolerance is first revealed when Giles shows the court he has evidence that some witchcraft accusations are false. Danforth, fearing his reputation will be tarnished, dismisses the value of this proof. This choice allows still more people to be executed and for hysteria to thrive. Danforth also displays his intolerance through his extensive questioning of Mary Warren. Despite that Mary is clearly telling the truth, he treats her as a criminal. This causes Mary to lie once again and accuse Proctor of bewitching her. While with more tolerance of Mary’s proposition the trials could have ended, Danforth allows the hysteria to continue breeding. The final instance in which Danforth’s intolerance is represented occurs when he refuses to let Proctor confess without signing a paper, stating “ ‘you will give me your honest confession in my hand, or I cannot keep you from the rope’ ” (Miller 4.144). This confession would save John’s life, but Danforth’s intolerance forced the people of Salem to witness a well esteemed man be killed, increasing the hysteria. Danforth’s intolerance of those who defy the court only increases the hysteria in

Abigail Williams is the most responsible for both causing and prolonging the witch trials. First,

“If you know that’s a sin then why won’t you stop doing it?” In the play The Crucible a group of girls were caught dancing in the forest by the minister Reverend Parris who’s daughter Betty and his niece Abigail Williams were involved. The girls knew that they have sinned so they claim that they were bewitched by members in Salem. They claim the members sent spirits out for them, they did this to save themselves from being hung. A court had to be set up to determine if the accused are guilty or innocent. Because of Abigail’s actions in the play she should be the one who is blamed for the outcome of the play.

“No effect occurs without cause, and no cause occurs without effect. No unjust action goes without penalty, and no action or thought goes unnoticed throughout the universe.” These words by Suzy Kassem represent the fact that nothing in this world goes without cause and effects. The Witchcraft Trials that happened during The Crucible by Arthur Miller, also followed these same principles. There were people that were the cause of the trials, and ones that felt the effects of the trials.

Abigail Williams wanted what was best for her. She did not care of others. Due to Abigail’s actions a whole conflict outbursts in Salem, Massachusetts. The girls have been caught in the woods dancing and even naked. They have been caught and accused of doing witchcraft. Betty is then “very ill” and they believe she is going to die. Betty awakes. Abigail threatens the girls to stay quiet. “You did. You did! You drank a charm to kill John Proctor’s wife! You drank a charm to kill Goody Proctor!” (Miller 18). This shows that Abigail Williams was a villain because she was hoping for the death of a person in order to get what she desired. Abigail and the girls were caught doing witchcraft. Abigail comes up with a different story to tell. “Now look you. We danced. And Tituba conjured Ruth Putnam’s dead sisters. And that is all. And mark this. 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 back of shudder

Arthur Miller states "Maybe all one can do is hope to end up with the right regrets." The quote of this meaning is that people are falsely accused, but they may be innocent. The Crucible by Arthur Miller, is a play based upon events that occurred in Salem circa 1690s. Through Abigail Williams, Miller was trying to state the injustice in Salem because she targeted the innocent people, leading to their death. Many of the conflicts that occurred in the play were caused by Abigail Williams. Abigail's jealousy of Elizabeth Proctor was triggered by Elizabeth's husband John Proctor. Abigail was a hypocrite because she used the name of the Lord for her own interests. She lied in order to save herself by denying her involvement in witchcraft. The character selected is Abigail Williams because of her three main character flaws which are jealousy, hypocrisy, and mendacity.

The devastating Salem witch trials occurred between February 1692 and May 1693. By the end of the trials many people were accused, nineteen were executed and several more died in prison. The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, captures the hysteria that developed during the Salem witch trials. Crucible character, Abigail Williams, represents the repressed desires that many of the Puritans possess. Abigail’s readiness to abandon Puritan social restrictions sets her apart from the other characters, and eventually leads to her downfall. Abigail Williams uses manipulation and cruelty to create an atmosphere of terror and intimidation in her town. In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, Abigail Williams leads the hysteria in Salem by taking extreme measures to succeed in attaining John Proctor's love.

Abigail Williams was a manipulative, vindictive, and somewhat crazy young girl. She lost her parents when she was a child and then lived with her uncle Reverend Parris and his family. At one point, she worked for John and Elizabeth Proctor but was later thrown out for having an affair with John. John was the only person that Abigail had real feelings for. She truly loved her and believed he loved her too even after he said he would never touch her again. Her deep love for John is what started the whole thing. She was in the woods trying to do a spell to kill his wife!