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Abigail Williams In The Crucible

Decent Essays

The main character in the play Abigail Williams is to blame for the 1692 witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts. She was seen as a hero and a saint instead of a mean and cruel person who always wants things to go her way, no matter who she hurts in the process. Through out the play her lies cause many people suffering and death, but she never cared what happened to any of them except John Proctor. He had an affair with Abigail a few months from the beginning of the play. John Proctor and his wife Elizabeth used to hire Abigail, until Elizabeth found out about the affair and fired Abigail. Although John told Abigail that he was done with the affair and he would never go back to her again, she tried very hard to get back his love. "Abby, I may …show more content…

After she and the other girls were discovered in the forest dancing, she knew that they would be whipped and possibly hung. The forest is considered the Devil’s house. Abigail claimed that they were bewitched, and began to name names of those who were 'with the devil'. Nothing would stop her from protecting her life from her own lie. “… I danced for the Devil; I saw him; I wrote in his book… I saw Sarah Good with the Devil! I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil! I saw Bridget Bishop with the Devil!” (Page 45) When John forced Mary Warren to tell the truth about the lies that she, Abigail, and the rest of the girls were telling lies about witchcraft, Abigail proclaimed her innocence and then began to accuse Mary of being a witch. Once John forced Mary Warren to tell the truth it was to late. Abigail claimed she saw Mary's spirit in the form of a bird. "But God made my face; you cannot want to tear my face. Envy is a deadly sin, Mary." (Page 115) Abigail feared for her life so much that she protected it even when John was accused of witchcraft and was sentenced to be hung. “You will give your honest confession in my hand, or I cannot keep you from the rope.” (Page 133) Even though she loved him, she would never sacrifice her life for

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