Analyse the ways in which Miller presents the character of Abigail Williams? During this essay I will introduce the main points involved in answering the proposed question. I will explore the certain aspects of Abigail’s personality and how it is an important role in portraying her reasons for her actions. I will also analyse the ways in which Abigail’s personality changes through the progression of the play. I will sum up which points have a bigger effect on her intentions and motivations and the effect she has on the characters of the play. I will support my reasons with quotations to justify its relevance. Arthur Miller’s play named “The Crucible” is based originally upon the Salem witch trials that occurred in the late 1600’s …show more content…
Tituba was a women considered to be an outcasts of the village since she has very little dignity in being a slave. These false accusations lead Tituba to be condemned to death. This unjust act is only the beginning of a series of false allegations that take control of Salem, as well as the spreading of paranoia and hysteria through the village. This finally results in the deaths of the some of the main characters, such as Rebecca Nurse and John Proctor, for carrying out acts of witchcraft. The character of Abigail is the reason behind many of the influential and devastating events, which occur during the play of “The Crucible”. Abigail is a character that has a longing for power and is determined to acquire it. She also has a frightening self-belief that she can achieve any objective even if it involves carrying out morally corrupt and selfish plans. I also believe that Abigail has a longing to become recognised as an adult. During the first act, Abigail is depicted as a victim since she appears more naive and therefore vulnerable, one example of this is when she is seen in the company of John Proctor and although the audience still receives inklings to her darker personality she seems to be depicted as an inferior. When Abigail first enters the play, the audience feel sympathy towards her since she is an orphan. However, it is quickly made clear that she has the potential to cause confusion through her
Transition: Abigail is a character, who puts her reputation above the life of others throughout the book, and this is really significant, because her endeavors to protect that reputation are what shape most of the story. Her actions are the causes of John Proctor’s and Danforth’s endeavor.
Appealing to the reader’s ethos, Abigail’s actions in the play allow one to question their own ethics. To exemplify, “You did, you did! You drank a charm to kill John Proctor’s wife! You drank a charm
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.
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.
First of, in the play, Abigail Williams shows how her betraying others leads to her relationships with them turning to dust. She turned on her peers to get herself out of trouble, hurt them, for attention, and because of something she wanted. While she betrayed them she ruined her
People are very impressionable, especially children. Abigail used destructive power to cause chaos in Salem. In the Crucible she is viewed as strong-willed and independent. She manipulated and used people against each other as a stepping stone to hysteria.
The appalling occasions that unfurl in 'The Crucible' are to a degree caused by Abigail's sexual want anyway she isn't the just a single to fault. 'The Crucible' is about the Salem Witch Trials which occurred in seventeenth century Massachusetts where 19 guiltless individuals were censured. Considering the environment of the Puritan culture exhibited in the novel, a noteworthy occasion like this will undoubtedly happen at some point or another. Despite the fact that she is the trigger to the mass mania which happens in the novel, her wants are just mostly to be faulted. We see all through the play how Abigail controls the general population around her to get to this extreme want. In any case, we should likewise consider the part of John Proctor and a mix of different things in the novel which are additionally to blame. One could contend that Abigail was just the impetus and just accelerated the game-plan and chain of occasions.
The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, delineates many acts of self-indulgence and animosity. With clever accusations on one another for witchery, each character is able to derive the conflict away from themselves and appear innocent. A jealous and manipulative girl, Abigail Williams, falsely accuses Elizabeth Proctor for the sole purpose of seeking revenge, so she could have Elizabeth’s husband John Proctor. She is able to withhold her reputation by making herself appear as the victim in the court. Not only was Abigail a model of self cruelty, but Thomas Putnam is also a befitting example. Being a very acquisitive man, he accuses George Jacob for witchcraft to simply gain the land neighboring him. Both characters strive to achieve their goals, but they do it through many acts of greed. In society overall,
In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, Miller demonstrated that it was Abigail’s flaws- lust, jealousy, and mendacity- that led her to be responsible the most for the tragedy of the witch-hunt in Salem. The Crucible focuses of the finding of young girls and a slave messing around in the woods, trying to conjure spirits from the dead. Rather than admit to their actions and face the consequences, the girls accuse everyone else of the crimes they were guilty of. Abigail Williams is the person who caused much of the drama in this story. She bears much responsibility for everyone meeting with Tituba in the woods. Once Parris discovers this meeting, Abigail attempts to keep her actions a secret because it would possibly reveal her affair with Proctor. Abigail lies to cover up her affair with proctor, and to stop the charges of witchcraft in order to prevent the terrible punishments that go along with the accusations.
Abigail’s character in this removed scene can give the reader conflicting thoughts about who she really is and how she should be viewed throughout the rest of the play. In this scene Abigail seems like she does not know the difference between the reality and her fantasy. Abigail since the beginning of the play is viewed as a clever but dishonest character but in Act II, Scene ii she just seems like a little girl who is trapped in her own world and doesn’t know how to get what she wants without lying some more. Abigail starts to believe on her own lies about witchcraft, “Abigail: No, this is your wife pleading, your sniveling, envious wife! This is Rebecca’s voice, Martha Corey’s voice. You were no hypocrite!" (p.158). she was so sure that her lies where truth that she forgot the reality
Abigail William’s aggressive personality easily persuades the other girls to follow her footsteps, and back up anything and everything she says. This personality also frightens people in the courtroom to question her truthfulness, or her relation with John Proctor. Due to her forceful behavior, the girls support Abigail, and therefore become entangled in her web of lies, sins, and murders.
That was a quote from Mrs Putnam. I think the fact that she has lost 7 babies makes her think it is work of the devil trying to punish the “good”. Once everyone believed it was the work of the devil, they blamed Tituba who is only low class person in the household and her being a black slave makes it easy for everyone to blame her because as she doesn’t have any power or authority she won’t react and her coming from a completely different culture to than the people in Salem makes the believe that she is affected by the witch and devil.
"He was the kind of man - powerful of body, even - tempered, and not
pleasures of the body, during the play Abigail did not hold back her feelings and
From the beginning Abigail comes off as a jealous girl who will do what it takes to get what she wants but at the same time do what it takes to save herself even if it means accuse the innocent. It all started when Abigail tries to kill Goody Proctor so she can live and be loved by John Proctor. “You did! You did! You drank a charm to kill John Proctors wife! You drank a charm to kill Goody Proctor!(17)” Abigail starts all the rivalry, in hopes of getting rid of Proctor's wife. To save herself from being hanged she blames other people and makes herself look like an angel, so she won't be accused. Abigail it to blame for the start of the hangings. Everyone in the town thinks she is the perfect proper girl when she is really. To get her way she