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Examples Of Abigail Williams In The Crucible

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Abigail Williams is the cause to all of the hysteria in Arthur Miller’s book The Crucible. In The Crucible Abigail’s parents are killed by Native Indian’s which leaves her character as a deceitful, untrustworthy, selfish, delusional, and excessively manipulative woman. Due to these character traits Abigail William’s is given cause as to why she was the reason for Salem being left in a state of hysteria. Abigail manipulated her salve Tituba, and a cluster of girls to practice witchcraft in the forest in an attempt to kill her lover’s wife, Elizabeth. When she is gets caught both her slave, Tituba, and Abigail falsely list names of women who committed witchcraft. Another incident was during Marry Warren’s testimony and Abigail, to relieve the …show more content…

The next day Reverend Parris is worried about his daughter, Betty, who is behaving strangely and he then questions Abigail where she was last night. Abigail says she and the girls were at the forest dancing. When Parris takes a step out of the room Abigail threatens Betty and a few of the other girls like Mercy Lewis, and Mary Warren to not tell anyone what they did in the woods. Abigail’s threatened “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 I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you” (Miller 132) and then she utters “you know I can do it; I saw Indians smash my dear parents’ heads on the pillow next to mine, and I have seen some reddish work done at night” (Miller 132). This shows how Abigail’s anger affects her way of thinking. Once Putnam’s enter the picture they accuse Betty of flying over the barn. This starts the witchcraft accusations that will lead to a lot of deaths later. With this new information Parris calls Reverend Hale who is supposedly an expert in the supernatural. For a while John, Abigail, and Betty are alone in the room. Abigail complements John, but John rejects her. Abigail starts to insult Elizabeth claiming that she is blackening her name. Abigail acts as though she is angry but in reality she is envious that Elizabeth …show more content…

Out of desperation to save his wife John confess “excellency, forgive me. She thinks to dance with me on my wife’s grave! And well she might! - for I thought of her softly. God help me I have lusted, and there is a promise in such sweat! (Miller ). Even though Danforth dismisses John’s confession as false Abigail finally realizes that John does not love her for he was willing to ruin his reputation to save her. The immense point that is shown to Abigail is that John chose Elizabeth over her. It is repeatedly shown that Abigail does not bode to well with rejection and that she does not handle her emotions very well either. A few months later and Parris enters the jail to tell Danforth that Abigail has gone missing. When he had awoken this morning he opened his door and a knife almost slays him, then he goes into his safe to find that all his money is gone, lastly he realizes that he heard Mercy Lewis and Abigail talk about the time the ship leaves a week earlier. This is the proof for Danforth that the bewitches were false claims made mostly by Abigail. Abigail knew it was only a matter of time before they would accuse her and to save herself she commits the most selfish act and fled the scene. Abigail never gets to be put to justice and escapes her future punishment she is never seen or heard of

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