In writing short stories, novels, or plays, there are certain standards the writer comes to meet. He will choose a basic story element to go by; either man versus nature, man versus man, or man versus himself. Then, a setting that is appropriate to the writer is chosen, a place where the writer envisions the story happening. Inevitably the characters are introduced one by one, and the writer tries to convey their personality and instill a mental image for the reader. There have always been the heroes, the villains and the victims. Any story can revolve particularly around any of these, but often they all have roles that create equilibrium in the plot. However, in The Crucible, Arthur Miller did not need to create any such …show more content…
Abigail Williams accuses all of these people with only two things in mind. One of them is her desperate desire to be in the spotlight at all times. ealthy motives are the reasons for the murdering of innocent people.
Abigail Williams’ main cause for her wild accusations is a selfish one. It is to be with John Proctor, a married man with whom she has an affair. She is sent away but all she thinks of is being reunited with him. Abigail drinks blood, wishing to be with John Proctor, which could happen only if his wife Elizabeth died. She then, after committing adultery and contributing to the breaking of a marriage, is not through. Abigail pursues John and does not recognize that the affair is over. She conveys this in saying “I have something better than hope, I think!” (22). Abigail does not just miss her love, she becomes ruthless to get him back.
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.
There are not many people like Abigail Williams who could send people to their death and feel no remorse. With the exception of John
It’s important to note why and how Abigail inherited her selfish behavior in the first place, and what caused her to act a certain way. Abigail claims that she is in love with John Proctor, and the two characters were discovered to have an affair with each other. John Proctor’s wife, Elizabeth Proctor, finds out about the affair and
Abigail is a selfish and manipulative person which gives her the courage to do the things that she does. In act 3, Abigail says "Oh, Mary, this is a black art to change your shape. No, I cannot, I cannot stop my mouth; It's God's work I do" (III.115). Abigail claims that she is doing God’s work, but she is actually doing the devil's work because she is lying and forcing her friends to agree with her and go against Mary. She has the courage to go through with anything that comes to her mind, no matter what harm it could cause. “The girl, the Williams girl, Abigail Williams, sir. She sat to dinner in Reverend Parris's house tonight, and without word nor warning she falls to the floor. Like a struck beast, he says, and screamed a scream that a bull would weep to hear. And he goes to save her, and, stuck two inches in the flesh of her belly, he draw a needle out. And demanding of her how she come to be so stabbed, she --- testify it were your wife's familiar spirit pushed it in”(Act II.1282). This explains how Abigail is willing to go through with anything to be with John Proctor. She shows a monstrous amount of intrepidness just to do so. Abigail Williams has the courage to do anything when it comes to John Proctor. She stabs herself with a needle just to accuse Elizabeth of witchcraft.
Due to her fear of punishment, selfishness, and envy, hundreds of innocent villagers were accused, several were killed, and an entire society was left traumatized and afraid in the late Seventeenth Century New England. Her actions resulted in absolute tumult and chaos. You may be wondering, “Who?”, or, “How could one person possibly have such a huge affect on an entire community?” The infamous Abigail Williams, who lied and took advantage of the fearful, suspicious society in which she lived purely for her own benefit.
People are not always who they say they are, and this is true for Abigail Williams. Abigail pretends to be innocent in front of more than one person, including Reverend Hale, Betty Parris, and John Proctor. Abigail portrays herself as pure in front of Hale
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.
Abigail was being accused repeatedly of lying and making up all of the accusations which were of false nature. The many people who were hung because of her testimony was what would now hang over her head. When she was brought before Mary Warren her false tears and outcries of pain were all an act, but in her mind she was the only one who was correct in her dealings. Abigail was for unfathomable reasons a port of knowledge through which the judges and lawyers convicted and sent to death those who were accused. The awful girl was but of one mind. She wanted revenge and to be back to her “love”, John Proctor. Abigail tried and tried repeatedly to get her hands on John, she tried to get his wife hanged, and when she couldn’t have him she decided that no one else could. Abigail soon began to accuse John Proctor of the precise thing she was known for, witchcraft. Abigail had been in the woods when the young Mary Warren went mute from the shock of seeing Abigail drink chickens blood and curse Goody Proctor, all of these happenings had to do with Abigail Williams, and now she would have to suffer through her own crucible, to figure out how she was going to get out. And though Abigail did narrowly escape the major shackles of her crimes, the guilt and foreboding of being a treacherous liar found her rumored to be a young prostitute in Boston. Forever to be alone and used. That was Abigail’s crucible and punishment for all the problems and
Not only is Abby an improper girl, she dirties her name even more by making threats and lowering herself to violence to conceal her wrongdoing. For instance, Abigail shakes Betty, and smashes her across the face. Her anger is clear and may justify her actions somewhat, but what she says afterwards goes too far. Speaking to Betty and Mary Warren, she says “...Let either of you breathe a word...and I will come to you in the black of some terrible night and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you. And you know I can do it…”. She afterwards tells Mary to shut up (Act I,18,19) These terrible threats, along with Abigail’s violent nature to cover her sins, condemn her to a life of treachery which she does not turn from. Mary Warren adds further proof to Abigail’s guilt when she is asked by Proctor to testify in court as to the nature of the poppet she had made. Mary speaks in fear of Abigail and what she might do to both herself and Proctor (Act II,
To begin, Abigail’s background story must be explained for anybody to truly understand her character. Abigail is an orphan who witnessed her parents’ brutal murder as a young child and was taken in by her uncle Reverend Parris (148). Abigail has grown up without a proper mother and father figure to guide her through the trials of life. When Abigail is first introduced into the scene, the narrator uses an intriguing choice of words to describe her. Some literary analysts may argue that Abigail’s childhood living situation is the reason that she behaves the way she does; however this is not the case. Abigail has a tendency to victimize herself to gain and receive attention whenever she pleases. Throughout acts I and II, Abigail has made herself the victim in a multitude of different ways. For example, Reverend Parris accuses Abigail of having a blemished reputation around the town of Salem. She denies this statement; however, when Parris calls her bluff, she blames the
Abigail Williams is a manipulative character that broke apart the town through lies, accusations, and trying to get what she wanted. Abigail, the niece of a reverend, should be a good girl but instead is considered a whore and a liar. She is motivated by wanting to marry John Proctor, be a mom, and be considered a “saint”. By wanting these things she goes out of her way to get a potion created to kill John’s wife, and get others to agree with her. By doing these things it creates death and terror throughout the town and causes manys to be hanged and killed brutally. Abigail goes to court and accuses many people of witchcraft and sending her soul on
The first dominant trait would be that Abigail was in love with john proctor and when Abigail was the proctor's servant John and Abigail had an affair together.Abigail's character is independent and manipulative, and with a lack of conscience to keep herself in check.She sees no folly in her affair with Proctor. This mindset leads her to believe that Elizabeth Proctor is preventing her from being with Proctor. Her obsession with lust makes her oversee that Proctor himself has ‘pulled the plug’ on their relationship.
After having an affair with John Proctor, she couldn’t accept not being without him. Abigail also admires “how such a strong man may let such a sickly wife” like Elizabeth be unaware of the affair she had with John Proctor(act1pg#). As a result to the affair, Proctor is trying to rebuild his marriage with his wife. Abigail continues to intervene in John Proctors marriage and attempts to manipulate Proctor so he would confess his love for her. Proctor admits his love for her, but does not continue his affection because Abigail seeps of vengeance for other individuals. He portrays her “as a lump of vanity” who thinks to dance on his “wife’s grave!”(act 3). For her own selfish desires, Abigail accuses Elizabeth of witchcraft and tries to intentionally sabotage her. She does this for the purpose of her own selfish and fictitious relationship that she has with Proctor. Abigail believes she has the capability to influence Proctor, but her egoistic actions to win his undefining love makes her appear as the criminal in the
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.
Abigail had many flaws throughout the story. One of her flaws includes lust. Abigail was involved in a secret affair with John Proctor, who happened to be married to Elizabeth Proctor. Abigail illustrated lust by telling John, “John- I am waitin’ for you every night.” This suggests that Abigail does have something secret going on with John. Abigail also says, “I know how you clutched my back behind your house and sweated like a stallion whenever I come near!” This justifies that they have a relationship because she told John that he
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
Abigail Williams is a great example of how vengefulness undermines the court’s authority. Abigail Williams, a girl who has an “endless capacity for dissembling” (Act I), seeks revenge not only through the court system, but through Tituba, her slave, and the girls she manipulates. Jealous of Elizabeth Proctor, who she thought was a “cold, sniveling woman” (Act I), for firing her after learning of her affair with her husband John Proctor, Abigail sees no other method to regain her “lover” other than killing his wife. After Abigail comes to this conclusion