Abigail Williams Motives In The Crucible

Within today’s society, an individual’s morals determines how one is scrutinized, judged, and reprimanded. In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, Abigail Williams is a character with compelling moral principles. Abigail’s disoriented moral constitution allows the theme, the detrimental effects of mass hysteria, to be constantly reassured throughout the play. Through the egotistical, manipulative, and deceitful rhetoric of Abigail Williams, Arthur Miller is successful in conveying how the spread of misinformation can tear apart a small town.

The main accuser, Abigail Williams, had an ulterior motive to destroy Elizabeth Proctor. Beforehand, Abigail had an affair with Elizabeth's husband, John Proctor, and Abigail believed if she removed Elizabeth, she would have John to herself. Most of Abigail's allegations were based on false claims, believing the relationship between her and John Proctor to be true love.

Being related to a priest doesn't mean you are a good person. Abigail Williams was the niece of Reverend Parris, but she was no Puritan. Arthur Miller understood and used this truth while writing his play, The Crucible. Abigail did some things that were not only unspeakable by Puritan standards, but also illegal at the time. She had Tituba use voodoo magic in an attempt to kill John Proctors wife, and had an affair with him while she was living there as a servant. To top it all off, she threatened the other girls who saw and knew what actually happened in the forest. These are all very strong reasons for why Abigail is not a true Puritan.

In “The Crucible” the story has taught us about how great and powerful fear can easily take over one another and show how people turn against one another just to protect themselves. One of the characters in the story has shown a great example of this and you can see the great evil that is inside of this person who just lets good innocent people die to protect themselves. Cruel and selfish is what you think or maybe it is the other way around for you. Maybe you think you got to do whatever you got to do to keep going in this puzzle of life. Yes that is true but in this story a girl named Abigail Williams deserves to take all the blame that needs to be taken for all of what has been done in the little town of Salem.

Williams if she is truly a devout Christian and if she is loyal to God. Abigail replied nervously and less authoritatively than before saying, "Of course... God lives in my heart. He has cleaned me and I am pure. I am living so that I may rid devilish people like Elizabeth Proctor of this Earth. People like her are not healthy for our spiritual state." I also asked her what her relationship with Goody Proctor has been like before and throughout this whole ordeal. Abigail stated, "Elizabeth Proctor has kept pushing me away from talking to her and even her husband, John. She believes I have a crazy plan to come after her. Goody Proctor has been interacting with the Devil more and more. She is becoming a complete monster, liar, and seeks harsh vengeance because I accused

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.

In the beginning of the story Abigail Williams is motivated to kill Elizabeth Proctor to take her place as John Proctor’s wife. In the book Betty says,”you did,you did! You drank the charm to kill John Proctor’s wife! You drank a charm to kill Goody Proctor”(miller 13)! This quote gives evidence that proves Abigail Williams is trying to kill Elizabeth Proctor. Abigail Williams takes on witchcraft which is illegal, just to try and get rid of Elizabeth Proctor. Abigail says,” she is blackening my name in the village! She is telling everyone lies about me! She is a cold shriveling woman, and you bend to her”(williams 15). This confirms that Abigail Williams has a reason to hate Elizabeth. It also gives her a motive to kill her. Abigail tells this

Some of the kindest hearts can live the worse lifestyles, and one of those beings is Elizabeth Proctor. Mrs. Proctor was a sweet soul who did not want to cause harm to any human or creature, but in the eyes of Abigail Williams she is “condemned of Witchcraft.”The conviction from Abigail to Elizabeth was strictly out of jealousy. Abigail was betrayed when John no longer lusted after Abigail that she decided to take

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

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.

Williams is opportunistic, very opportunistic, which plays out very well for her in a few cases. She seeks to seize the moment to divert any blame from herself and Betty, by accusing Tituba of making them dance in the woods by uttering nonsense and forcing them to drink blood. Once Abigail has gained the power as a “afflicted child”, she then seizes another opportunity to accuse Elizabeth Proctor of Witchcraft in order to get her out of the picture. Furthermore, when Elizabeth falters under Danforth’s questions and doesn’t admit to Abigail being dismissed because she has slept with John Proctor, her own husband, Abigail herself swoops in and seizes that chance as well, which ultimately strengthens her position by screaming and throwing a fit before Hale can explain even further about what he meant by, “This girl has always struck me as false!” (Act 3, pg. 106).

Abigail gained power and a voice within the town of Salem. The community listens to everything that she says and takes her word as credible. She and the other girls confess to practicing witchcraft so people, such as the court, believe that she and the other are telling the truth. The town is scared of witchcraft and unnatural things, so they will listen to even young unreliable girls over well-respected citizens. When some unknown evil comes into a town everyone is scared and will listen to anyone who speaks out and seems as though they are telling the truth. While in the courtroom, the girls follow in Abigail’s footsteps as she pretends to see the devil and spirits lurking in the courtroom, throughout the town, and at night. While Elizabeth was talking to John Proctor, her husband, she describes how the girls follow Abigail and how much power she has in the courts decisions: “Abigail brings the other girls into the courtroom, and where she walks the crowd spits like the sea for Israel And folks are brought before

At the beginning of the play, he is, at least in public, an honorable and honest man. When Abigail Williams's jealousy of Proctor's wife Elizabeth sparks witch-hunting hysteria in Salem, Proctor is faced with a difficult decision of whether to admit to his affair with Williams and ruin his name or to remain silent and lose his own integrity. Ultimately he chooses to admit his affair and is condemned as a

His unwavering perseverance leads him to do anything to save his wife which results in him being tried and hanged. Proctor speaks his mind in opposition of the trials and against the girls which leads them to turn against him and accuse him of working with the devil. The most significant flaw of Proctor is his lust which guides him to infidelity and results in him having an affair with Abigail Williams. The affair leads Abigail Williams to turn upon Elizabeth Proctor out of jealousy after being fired from working at their house. This jealousy leads Abigail into accusing Elizabeth of witchcraft to have her be hanged which causes John Proctor to attempt at saving Elizabeth, leading to his own

Abigail Williams, the niece of Reverend Parris, used the trials to attempt to complete her own dreams. Some time before the events of the story, Abigail had slept with John Proctor, and believing she loved him, charged John Proctor’s Wife, Elizabeth with witchcraft, accusing Elizabeth of stabbing her with a needle, saying, “it were [Elizabeth]’s familiar spirit that pushed [the needle] in” (74). By accusing Elizabeth, Abigail hoped to free John Proctor to love herself, and not his husband. Abigail attempted to use the trials to act upon her grudge of Elizabeth Proctor receiving her John Proctor’s love and not