Humans learn to adapt to their environments, and strange and difficult circumstances often result in unexpected reactions; cornered prey will attack its predator with strength and willpower it previously lacked. As the poet Horace put it, “Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents which in prosperous circumstances would have lain dormant.” In two different pieces of literature, The Crucible by Arthur Miller and The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, two characters discover their talents through adversity but utilize them for very different means. In The Count of Monte Cristo, one can see the unjust subjugation and imprisonment of Edmond Dantes for a crime he did not commit. While imprisoned for just over a decade, he becomes skilled …show more content…
The Crucible focuses on the witch trials of Salem and the chaos it creates. The antagonist of the story, Abigail, spearheaded the trials and was the catalyst of the rampant accusations and executions. Having been pushed into a corner and unwilling to accept the punishment that would follow the reveal of her meddling in witchcraft, Abigail was able to turn the situation around giving her the power to turn the accusations of witchcraft against whoever she wished. She is able to rise in status from the most lowly of the townsfolk, being an unwed orphaned girl, to the most powerful person in court. She is extremely skilled in lying and manipulation and is even convincing enough in her performance to not only convince others she is being affected by the witchcraft of others but to convince other girls that they are under witchcraft as well. Abigail emerges as an undoubtedly skilled manipulator and liar with the ability to turn the circumstances in her favor. While she is incredibly talented, she lacks the maturity for the power she has claimed and very quickly uses it for extremely selfish means, such as planting false evidence to get John Proctor’s wife imprisoned so she can take her place. Because of these childish immaturities, Abigail acts less like a character with clearly defined goals and aspirations; instead she operates more like a force of nature, lashing out at anything that
Arthur miller’s The Crucible is about how a group of girls that start a witch hunt a salem and end up killing many of innocent people. The Crucible has a deeper meaning to it about how people react when fear hits them, and who would be pressured to do the things they do and who would fight for what they believe in. Abigail has the most power in the trials as she convinces the girls to join her to get revenge on people that look upon them. John is a well respected man that realizes that Abigail and the girls are lying about witchcraft and is having the whole town of salem going crazy. Rev.Danforth is a stubborn judge that tries to help keep salem calm and not to cause a overthrow in the court. Danforth is the last decision to decide who gets
The characters in Arthur millers The Crucible can teach a lot about people. People can be horrible and terribly deceptive. When placed under pressures and after experiencing trauma peoples real character can come out. In the case of The Crucible Abigail is shown for what she really is. She gets a kind of power and this corrupts her to use the situation to have Elizabeth Proctor sent to jail. Abigail is not the only one who takes advantage of the
It can occur in any form, slightly stressful or devastating painful. It can happen to anyone, rich, poor, big or small. Adversity is inevitable. Most people would consider it very negative with no benefits, but they are not aware of its hidden effect. Roman poet Horace suggests that adversity can cause a person to demonstrate certain talents, which would not have been present if not for their misfortune. People and characters in any literary work experience unfortunate events and put through difficult situations that they need to overcome. Adversity uncovers their concealed gifts that help them through their hardships. Under its effect, it also can alter the process in developing a character and transform them into someone completely different.
The Crucible takes place in Salem, Massachusetts during the year of 1692 and during this time, the Salem witch-hunts began. The Salem witch-hunt was one of the oddest and most fearsome epochs in human history. The numerous amounts of people that were prosecuted were all innocent and their lives were taken away due to the fallacious accusations of the Puritan’s belief in superstition and their paranoia that witches had walked among them. One accuser that is the reason this all started was Abigail Williams. Abigail Williams is to blame because she possesses the evil qualities of being remorselessness, jealous, and also having the quality of vengefulness. These qualities that Abigail have are direct contributions to the murder of many people who were unjustly hanged to death.
The Crucible is a play is referred to the Samel Witch trials that takes place in Massachusetts in 1962. Abigail Williams is the leader of a group of girls who are a part of the Samel witch trials. Abigail is Betty Parris cousin and the niece of Reverend Parris. She never went down without a fight. Abigail is selfish and only cares about her own goals. Throughout the whole pay she shows her greedy, dishonesty, manipulative character.
In The Crucible, Abigail Williams, John Proctor, and Elizabeth Proctor are arguably the most important characters. The affair between Abigail and John drives the plot of the play. Abigail begins accusing societal outcasts as witches and gradually works her way up the social ladder until she is able to accuse an upstanding citizen like Elizabeth Proctor of being a witch and having people believe the accusation. She accused Elizabeth of being a witch so that Elizabeth would be hanged. Then, Abigail would have John Proctor all to herself. Abigail, while certainly diabolical and ruthless, is rather misrepresented. Abigail has received nothing but tragedy in her life; short, though it is at this point. Her parents are killed in front of her at a very young age and while there is not anyway you can take that in a sympathetic aspect, seeing as she uses it to convince the girls to do her bidding, it is very clear that this image has stuck with her. The Crucible paints John in the position of a tragic hero and then ineluctably places Abigail in the light of an antagonist with no hope of retribution. Once you commend John for his actions, you must implicate Abigail for hers. Simply stated, Abigail should not just be incriminated based on what information we are provided. Abigail, while still very much faulty in her actions, deserves to be examined at a deeper level to provide you with the full understanding of just why this woman’s scorning was her breaking point.
The main character I chose to analyze is Abigail Williams. Abigail is a very intelligent, manipulative, and cunning character in The Crucible. Some would call her the puppet master of the play, as she almost seems to have all of the other characters on a string, controlling their destiny with her sly and devious ways. A main example of this in the play, was her use of Mary Warrens poppet to manipulate and control Elizabeth Proctors fate. A poppet is somewhat of a voodoo doll, which Mary Warren had innocently created, and left in the Proctor household. Abigail saw this as opportunity to finally destroy Elizabeth once and for all, after having an affair with her husband John, and still wanting to get him back. The only way to do this, was to kill Elizabeth. Abigail stabbed herself in the abdomen with a large needle, and cried witchcraft at Elizabeth, insinuating that Elizabeth had been the one to stab her through witchcraft. The courts fell for her ingenious plan, and Elizabeth was innocently sent off to jail. This is only one example of the scheming ways of Abigail, shown throughout the play. Her main motivating factor has a theme of jealousy and revenge on Elizabeth. She is clearly the “villain” of the play with her deceitful ways, and never shows any remorse for her actions. She is also a large example of irony in the play, as she is the one that was first accused of witchcraft, but ends up successfully blaming everybody else.
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.
The main theme that is presented within The Count of Monte Cristo is that revenge and manipulation is easily able to hurt someone, but also benefit another. In this case, Edmond Dantès takes the side of benefit and those brought underneath his vengeance had been ruined. After a plan carefully schemed by three of his false friends, Dantes was thrown into prison and placed under a situation of betrayal and resentment. This long wait in the chateau d’If had put a need for revenge into Dantès head which had transformed him into the Count of Monte Cristo. Although the Count was considered bitter and cold, his seek for revenge had only benefitted him into a more creatively malicious character. Furthermore, this manipulation that Dantès had been put
Abigail lying is the perfect way to show she is a crucible because in the play she tries to melt away her problems by lying which relates to a crucible which is a melting pot. In her affair with John Proctor she is a great example of a hard test or trial because John cannot figure out this test which is Abigail and it impacted how he moved on because he always had the thought of his lechery in the back of his mind. Finally the trials with Elizabeth showed how Abigail is a high grade steel because she took a needle to her belly in order for her to get rid of Elizabeth and have John Proctor all to herself. Everything didn’t work out in the end for Abigail Williams as she left the town and her family behind because she knew she would be caught for lying in court but she was a perfect example of the word crucible in the play “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller.
The Crucible is about the Salem Witch Trials in Massachusetts. A group of girls are caught practicing witchcraft and to avoid getting in trouble the girl start blaming innocent people. The leader of the group of girls is Abigail Williams. Abigail is the main antagonist in The Crucible. She is also deceitful, devious, and untrustworthy.
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.
The Crucible is a play written by Arthur Miller largely based on the events that took place during the Salem Witch trials of the late 1600s. Abigail Williams is one the major characters in the play. At first glance, she is a beautiful girl with a heartbreaking backstory but underneath that sweet facade, lies a girl capable of destruction beyond that of any other character. Abigail is manipulative and vindictive, with an obsession with John Proctor, leading her to cause mass hysteria that affects the whole town. Her cunning personality and absolute disregard for anyone but herself sets the events of the play into motion, making her pivotal to the plot.
Edmond Dantes was a 19 year old man who became captain of a ship name the Pharaon. He was much loved by everyone. He is pretty gullible and becomes vengeful when the one guy he considered his friend betrayed him the other two who he was not to fond of ruined his life. He was a respectable young man who showed that numerous times like when he had to leave Morrel while he was talking to him; he said “I beg you excuse me, Monsieur Morrel (Dumas 5). He was to be betrothed to a girl named Mercedes who he’d loved very much but he loved his father most of all. He felt bad when he found out his father was broke from paying his debt causing him to fall to his knees and said “may God forgive me” (Dumas 9). Dantès is a pretty unique character who
Chapters five and six are where Dantés’ fate is decided. He is captured on suspicion of being a Bonapartist, however, upon examination, the officer Villefort decides that Dantés is innocent and is prepared to grant him his freedom and release him from all charges until Dantés let slip the name of whom he was unintentionally meant to deliver a Bonapartist letter to. Villefort recognizes the name and address to be that of his own father. In protecting his reputation, Villefort burns the letter and has Dantés imprisoned in the Château D’If.