Abigail Williams Character Analysis

In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, the audience introduced to a chaotic 1692 Salem, Massachusetts. Throughout the play we see a series of unreasonable events including the hanging of 19 people due to false accusations of witchcraft. These witch trials killed many people and jailed hundreds for no reason at all. There is many people to blame for the Salem Witch Trials but, Abigail Williams is most culpable.

Abigail is very self centered, she does not care who gets hurt by her actions, as long as she is in the clear from being known as the one who started this whole village to go down in the dumps. In the beginning of this story, Abigail seems to be a nice girl. Although, as the story develops, she turns out to be a manipulative girl who does anything she wishes to get what she yearns for. Abigail should have just told the truth in the first place, it is much better to confess instead of lie so that God will reconcile her and she can go along with her life. Many innocent lives were hurt and everyone turned on each other because Abigail did not confess. In the end, it is never right to hurt others for a personal

“The most memorable characters in fiction are not people most of us would choose as our friends” (Allen 1). Readers find it intriguing to learn about a character that lacks predictability: they could do no wrong in one scene, then turn around and become a backstabbing liar in the next. The same characteristics that would not make the best of friends. Irregularity makes a character and the story, for that matter, interesting. Abigail Williams from The Crucible develops into a character that readers love to hate. Her anger, her cunning, her passion, every twist and turn she brings throughout the play brings fascination with it. She would not be an especially remarkable candidate for a best friend, however, but it perusers find it extremely easy to remember her. Abigail exhibits memorability not because of the qualities that prove a good friend, but because of her intransigence, her passion, her accusatory behavior, and her manipulation.

There are many characters to blame in The Crucible for the umpteen deaths of the innocent people who were hanged because of an enormous rumor going around Salem. Characters like John Proctor, who had an affair with Abigail, can easily be targeted as the antagonist. If Proctor was faithful to his wife, Elizabeth, the drama would not arise. He, however, had an affair with Abigail, who instantaneously fell in love with him and was desperate for his attention, which resulted in her wanting to get rid of his wife so that she can have him to herself. Proctor committed adultery, therefore he is an evident suspect. Additionally, Danforth can easily be blamed for all the chaos, as well. Danforth was very gullible and naïve, he constantly believed the hysterical acts Abigail and her friends kept displaying. As biased as he tried not to be, Danforth was power hungry and would not listen to the words of others, such as those of Reverend Hale or John Proctor, about the girls suppressing the truth and accusing others of witchcraft. Abigail’s group of friends is another important factor which added to the numerous deaths of the faultless residents of Salem. Her friends constantly followed her around, mimicking her actions and obeying her orders. They listened to everything she said, therefore the truth of what truly went on in the woods never escaped. Despite the fact that all these people could have clearly been accused of witchcraft and hanged, Abigail bears the ultimate responsibility

creators of the Salem Witch Trials (L. Annika). The girls were believed to have been doing black

Imagine causing the deaths of sixteen innocent people for the love of a man. Arthur Miller describes Abigail Williams in, “The Crucible” as a very manipulative and vindictive woman. She tends to be decisive but makes the wrong decisions. She hurts others around her to get what she wants. Abigail thinks very highly of herself and that she can do no wrong. All of her actions are due to her affair with John Proctor. When the Salem trials broke ground Abigail was confident however as they began to demise she seemed like a coward.

According to Maya Angelou, “Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. But anger is like fire. It burns it all clean” which explains why the bitterness and anger in Abigail Williams over losing John proctor in The Crucible by Arthur Miller causes her to seek attention by accusing many of witchcraft. Guided by their strict puritan beliefs, many of the townspeople believe her, causing several to die and countless more to suffer. Set in 1692, the town of Salem is very religious, and their puritan beliefs guide their everyday life; however, by living in such a strict environment, small arguments affecting only a few people can turn into a tragedy for the whole time. The girl most responsible for the death in Salem is Abigail Williams. She

Emma Wisbeck Humanities II Mrs. Moreno February 13, 2017 Abigail Williams Abigail Williams is described as a manipulative and vindictive person. Abigail Williams, throughout Arthur Miller’s The Cruicible, contradicts the value of a communitarian. She tends to hurt others around her to get what she wants. She first commits adultery with John Proctor, Elizabeth’s husband.

Abigail Williams is the craziest, most interesting, and most dynamic character in The Crucible. Without her adding to the story, I don’t know if it would be as interesting. Arthur Miller created The Crucible to give an insight as to what life was like in Salem during the time of accused witchcraft. Using characters like John Proctor, Reverend Parris, Elizabeth Proctor, Hale, and Abigail, Arthur Miller was able to tell an interesting story and at the same time inform us with important history. Abigail Williams, however, is the most dynamic character because of who the reader thinks she is at the beginning and how different she is at the end.

“We are what we always were in Salem, but now the little crazy children are jangling the keys of the kingdom, and common vengeance writes the law!”(Miller,196).The Crucible,a play written by Arthur Miller, starts off in 1692, in the small Massachusetts village of Salem. In which a collection of girls fall ill causing them to undergo hallucinations and seizures. But really there is a true mastermind behind the downfall of Salem. Although others may not agree, in the novel The Crucible the one to blame for the outcome of the play is Abigail. Due to her desire to be with John Proctor thus leading her to threaten, frame, and attempt murder.

Salem, Massachusetts found itself in deep despair when many people were slaughtered for being guilty of witchcraft. The tale, The Crucible, depicts the intense nature of the Salem witch trials. Due to misjudgment and deranged accusations, people’s lives were constantly at risk. In the story, there were multiple people in the village responsible for the witch trials, but there is one who is accountable, Abigail Williams. She displays sinful actions throughout the play, making her an enemy in the town.

Abigail causes the whole witch trial in the first place. She has the girls come out to the woods with Tituba and do witchcraft. Also she is the one who wants the charm to kill John Procter’s wife. The children then fall ill which brings Hale to Salem, where he discovers witch craft. She then accuses Tituba which sets the Trials in motion. What is more despicable then being the cause of hundreds of innocent people dying? Even before she single handedly started the witch trails she was in the woods making a charm to kill someone. She has absolutely no distain for Human

Abigail Williams: Villain or Victim? In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, Abigail Williams is a defiant young woman who tends to boss around other people. Through her love for John Proctor she releases her inner demons on the other girls of Salem when they are accused of witchcraft. She actually becomes more villainous as the play progresses because the man she loves turns against her.

Abigail was younger than an adult so this gave her a not mature view from the town’s perspective. She was now in a group regarding her age. This is the society’s fault for putting individuals in these categories. It gave them no say, or impact in the Puritan society and in their lives also. Because Abigail was placed into these groups, she craved power. Being the ring leader of the girls that cried witch, gave her a position of authority that she had never experienced. Abigail liked this newly found authority, which made her cry witch even more. She now had influence over the people in the town, and the government, something she never knew she could have before.

Abigail. A sweet name with a sour soul. A manipulating, conniving, and deceiving young woman. Abigail Williams is an eighteen year old girl living Salem, Massachusetts who has no problem hurting or even killing anyone for what she wants. And what she wants is John Proctor. A thorough analysis on Abigail Williams reveals that the unknown painting by Avery Penn best represents her character because of the utilization of colors, the texture, and the paintings' imagery.