In life, people are often put in a certain situation where their character will be tested. They are presented with a task that may force them to go against their morals and what they believe to be right and decide if they have the strength to follow their convictions or cave to the pressure of outside influences. Elizabeth Proctor is one of these characters whose strong will guided her throughout the Crucible. On the other end of the spectrum are those whose use their strong will to manipulate others. They have a choice to help and use their power of influence for good, but instead use it to cause fear and spread panic. Prime example of this kind of character would be Abigail Williams whose lies divided a community. The differences between Abigail and Elizabeth are readily apparent but for a time they seem to share similar characteristic of love for John Proctor. In this play, Miller uses these …show more content…
When she and her friends were caught practicing witchcraft in the woods, she covered it up with a lie that had far reaching ramifications. This was all designed to protect herself from prosecution with no thought to the effect her lies would have on others. It can be said that part of her reasoning in lying was that she was trying to maintain her relationship with John Proctor.
Elizabeth Proctor can be described as the complete opposite of Abigail. She was a kind, honest, and faithful person who tied to see the best in people and have faith that they could be redeemed. Her faith in John is shown in the statement “You'll tear it free- when you come to know that I will be your only wife, or no wife at all. She has an arrow in you yet, John Proctor, and you know it well!" (Miller, Act 2.62)”. In that statement Elizabeth is stating that although John was unfaithful to her, she will stand by him because of her love for him and her belief that he can be
Miller displays this message through the relationship of John Proctor and his servant Abigail Williams. Abigail grew to love John, and she believed he loved her in return. When John's wife Elizabeth found out the actions he had been sneakily participating in their affair went completely downhill. Abigail felt as if Elizabeth was the only one standing in the way of the two of them living together happily. John had no other choice but to stop seeing her because if he didnt, he risked losing both his wife and his children. Abigale began to knowice changes in the way John was acting
People’s true character is revealed through their actions. Their morals and ethics can be told from how they choose to act in a situation. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible; the character of John Proctor is an honorable man despite having committed wrongful acts. He was able to redeem himself through acts that is considered courageous, such as when he refuses to contribute to the lie of witchcraft in Salem, when he fights for the people who were convicted of witchcraft and when he regrets being a dishonest man.
In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, various characters, whether it is from physical trials or unseen personal struggles, experience some kind of major conflict. There are those who spend every day in fear, wondering whether or not they will be falsely accused of witchcraft. There are others who struggle with more internal trials, such as forgiving those who have hurt them. The protagonist, John Proctor, was a man of strong moral constitution, and held himself to a high standard for the sake of his good name and family. As a result of this, he struggled with a major internal conflict throughout the play.
Their differences would also become evident when Abigail William goes on her path of vengeance. This trait becomes evident as Abigail Williams does whatever it takes to get her name cleared, including lie or commit murder. She then accuses Elizabeth of being a witch in an attempt to take her bed from her. Elizabeth, however, becomes the light of reason and sanity as she refuses to judge her husband, even to save his life. She knows that her husband is a good person and refuses to take that away from him. This was a very different view as compared to Abigail. Abigail held on to the notion that John Proctor would choose to run away and be with her instead. Wherein Abigail Williams had a somewhat weak background and character, which fed off of the fears of others, Elizabeth Proctor has a relatively strong character. Elizabeth refused to surrender her beliefs in the face of hardships, whereas Abigail would abandon her beliefs in order to save herself. Although Elizabeth spoke on the side of truth, Abigail would be the one that is believed because of her ability to change her belief to feed off of the fears of the community, a very powerful tool in puritan Salem.
Abigail is a highly jealous character, concentrating her jealousy on Elizabeth Proctor. This jealousy is driven by lust and her desire for John Proctor. Abigail served as a servant in the Proctor household and after an affair with her husband John, Elizabeth fired her. She still resents Elizabeth for this as she is still in love with John. She clearly says to John, "You loved me, John Proctor, and whatever sin it is, you love me yet!" Abigail is still in love with John and she assumes the converse. Her love for John only causes her resentment for Elizabeth to strengthen. She hates John Proctor's wife and in her conniving ways she attempts to inspire the same views of Elizabeth in John's mind. Saying things to him such as, "She is blackening my name in the village! She is telling lies about me, She is a cold, sniveling woman." Abigail fabricates stories in attempt to steel John from Elizabeth. She is a manipulative liar that does and says as she pleases in order to get what she wants.
Comparison of Elizabeth Proctor with Abigail Williams in Arthur Miller's The Crucible Abigail Williams and Elizabeth Proctor, the leading female characters in 'The Crucible'. Both show determination in order to get what they want. Abigail, a cunning girl that is out for revenge, feels she has superiority over many of the other characters even though she is only a young girl. Elizabeth's character portrays a wife in distress after she finds out about her husband's affair, yet she still has courage throughout the play. She shows determination when she is in need of strength to keep her going, after Abigail accused her of witchcraft.
From 1692 to 1693 a series of terrible trials occurred, These trials consisted of accusations of witchcraft. Today, these trials are known as the Salem Witch Trials. As a result of these trials, 19 citizens, 14 women, 5 men, and even one dog were put to death. The play, The Crucible, was written by Arthur Miller in 1952. In this play the characters have so many different characteristics from each other. Abigail is seen as a bad person while John Proctor is seen as the good and honest character; even though he made some bad decisions.Throughout the play the two characters Abigail and John Proctor show many differences in the characteristics of: lying/truthfulness, self-sacrifice/selfishness, and fear/courage.
Arthur Miller’s The Crucible presents Elizabeth Proctor and Abigail Williams who serve important roles through their unique characteristics and thinking. John Proctor’s wife, Elizabeth, has two defining characteristics that show throughout this play: she not only lives to please everyone around her and behaves passively, but she lacks the assertiveness to confront what lies directly under her nose. However, Abigail, the girl John Proctor commits the crime of adultery with, manipulates those around her. She is keen to act upon an opportunity when one arises and feels a determination to get her way. While Elizabeth and Abigail are similar in their love for John Proctor, Elizabeth differs from Abigail through her tendency to try to please everyone and keep her own emotions bottled up, while Abigail believes the world revolves around her and works to make things go her own way.
This relates to The Crucible. Because at the end of the act two Mary Warren blamed Abigail for getting Elizabeth charged with witchcraft. Because of the doll that was planted by Abigail, Elizabeth was unfairly judged. Everyone has listened to “innocent” Abigail claims, while judging the rest of the people unfairly.
In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, Miller demonstrated that it was Abigail Williams’s flaws – stubbornness, jealousy, and lust – that led her to be responsible the most for the tragedy of the witch - hunt in Salem. One character flaw that Abigail possessed was stubbornness. We all know that John Proctor and Abigail Williams had a dirty affair that haunts John at night and leaves Abigail wanting more. Proctor abuses Abigail by pushing and grabbing her, although she still loves him and wants to be with him.
In Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible,a good reputation is something one strives and wants to have. If one was being accused of witchcraft would he/she lie or tell the truth? Abigail and Elizabeth were brought up in court many times. Abigail would blame others to get out of everything, while Elizabeth would try to tell the truth, so that she wouldn’t be hanged or put in jail.
Her motive to lie to her uncle was so she was not accused of witchcraft, and her motive to try to kill Goody Proctor was because Abigail was in love with Mr. Proctor.
One of the first instances of her being advantageous is that while Elizabeth Proctor is ill, she uses that opportunity to seduce John Proctor. After, when she gains power from accusing others, she uses this newly-obtained position to accuse Elizabeth of witchcraft, with hopes that once Elizabeth is gone, she will be able to have John to
since she was a small child. In the Story The Crucible Abigail Williams and Elizabeth
The word crucible means a severe test, or a hard trial. In this play there was a hard trial that occured in this play. There were several characters who were involved in this trial. These characters did all that they could do in order to keep their reputation. One of the most dynamic characters who fought to keep their reputation alive was John Proctor.