Examples Of Abigail Williams In The Crucible

During the late 1600’s, 19 people were hung and and hundreds more arrested and jailed on the account of conjuring with the devil and divulging into witchcraft. In 1692, a hysteria broke out in Salem, Massachusetts. Witchcraft was being uttered in every inch of the small Puritan town, spiraling Salem down a dark path from which they would have no chance of returning. Names of accused were flying around faster than the winds rolling in from the ocean. Mass panic drove people to find any way to survive the Salem Witch Trials, as we now know them. These actions are what playwright Arthur Miller covers in his play The Crucible; clearly, the literary character Abigail Williams emerges to manipulate the Puritanical society of Salem using their superstition

“Smart, strong, caring, reliable, resilient, selfless, charismatic, and inspiring.” Those traits are the 8 traits of a hero. These traits are all found in amazing people now just think of someone with the opposite traits. Which character from the crucible has the opposite of these eight traits? Abigail is someone who does have some of these traits. Abigail Williams is a villain in The Crucible.

Abigail Williams, a character from The Crucible, is a misfit archetype. A misfit archetype describes a character who doesn’t fit in with their community and surroundings. These types of characters can often display an attitude of freedom. I chose the misfit archetype for Abigail Williams because she fits into it very well. To begin with, Abigail was found conjugating with Tituba and other girls in the woods. She is also a misfit because she starts accusing fellow citizens of being witches. Arthur Miller wrote a novel called The Crucible, with a character named Abigail Williams, who fits the misfit archetype that can be connected to the 21st century, the time period that The Crucible takes place, and characters,

Abigail Williams from The Crucible is more despicable than Mayella Ewell from To Kill a Mockingbird because of her malicious intent, proper upbringing, and the severity of the consequences of her actions.

The Salem witch trials took place between February 1692 and May of 1693. It happened because people thought the devil was lose in Salem so they accused many people of witchery. Every person that confessed or accused was hung because the judges thought that they had access to the devil and could put a curse on anyone they wanted to. In The Crucible, Abigail Williams and her friends are accusing people around the town of witchery and having contact with the devil. A total of 14 people was hung, and many more are still to be hung. There are three ways that Abigail Williams could have changed in the Crucible by Arthur Miller.

“The Crucible” by Arthur Miller is a tragic play in which the hangings of many innocent people happen. It was written after The Salem Witch Trials which took place in 1692 was a metaphor for The McCarthy Hearings which happened in 1954. In this play the top two main characters are Abigail Williams and John Proctor. Lying, manipulative, and deceitful are all words that describe Abigail Williams. All these traits are what caused the deaths of many people. She wouldn't stop until she had her way and didn't care about who she would hurt which shows that all her lies, manipulations, and deceitful actions led to all of the deaths and she should face the consequences because the blood is on her hands.

Some people have thought that there were various people involved with the witchcraft hysteria. Most of these people have had very believable examples to back up their answer as well. In “The Crucible,” there were many of the villagers that were involved in the whole witchcraft hysteria. Majority of them involved were actually innocent the whole time the case was going on. I believe that Abigail is the most responsible for the happening of the witchcraft hysteria because she is a manipulative person

Patty Jenkins, an American film director and screenwriter wrote,“Every villain has their belief system that makes perfect sense to them.” This quote is reminiscent of Abigail Williams, a character in The Crucible, a play by Arthur Miller. In Salem, Massachusetts in 1692, four girls were caught doing witchcraft. The girls accused other innocents of witchcraft, so they would not be framed for it. Due to the girl's actions, many of them, accused were hanged to death. Abigail Williams was a villain in The Crucible.

At the end of act 1, Abigail is to blame for starting the hysteria because of her actions, and by blaming other people. When Reverend Parris says to Abigail, “Then you were conjuring spirits last night.” and she responds by saying “Not I, sir- Tituba and Ruth.” (17) because even though she was apart of conjuring spirits she began to blame others so that she doesn't have a bad name, and so that everybody doesn't suspect Abigail. During act 1, when the story starts to unroll Abigail gets more and more worried. Parris was questioning Abigail and she responded, “(in terror) No one was naked! You mistake yourself uncle.” (11) When people started to get onto Abigail she was very nervous because she knew that she did wrong but she didn't want to get

The 1957 Salem Massachusetts, many innocent, good-standing citizens were being accused of witchcraft. In the play, The Crucible, the witch trials result in many people accused, imprisoned, and hanged. Many of these people are not witches, but are found guilty without any actual proof. If they admit to guilt they will be jailed, but if they don’t they will be hanged. Throughout the play, Abigail Williams accuses many of these innocent people of witchcraft.

A lie can travel all around town before the truth gets out of bed. Such as Abigail, the worst character in the play, for the reason that she is so irritating and lies. For example, when Mary was talking about seeing spirits and the fainting was all false but Abigail was still pretending as if it was all real. Mary was told to tell the truth about the spirits and fainting, but later Abigail would pretend to see Mary’s spirit.

Abigail Williams casks a menacing shadow over act 2 without ever appearing. Her shadow is powerful creating distrust between individuals. She makes people suspicious of each other causing people that would normally trust each other to fight: “Elizabeth: [Elizabeth talking to John] “You were alone with her[Abigail]?... Elizabeth: Why, then, it is not as you told me.”(Miller 1270). Abigail’s accusations make people afraid to speak up on any topic because if she does not agree she might accuse them of witchcraft. This creates an extremely stressful environment making people turn against one another to save themselves without her needing to do anything. Abigail’s shadow also makes a rift between parents and children. This

The Crucible by Arthur Miller was the fictional version of what happened in 1692 after 18 year old Abigail Williams decided she needed a 34 year old man. She was determined to do anything to get this man because she was in “love” with him. This man, John Proctor, had an affair with Abigail while he was married to Goody Proctor. Abigail wanted Goody dead so she could have John all to herself. That is how the whole Salem Witch Trials came about. Eighteen year old Abigail Williams is to blame for all the events of the Salem Witch Trials.

I was told to assume that you’re an adolescent or an adult who has read The Crucible. Knowing this allows me to also assume that you think Abigail Williams is as evil as Adolf Hitler. Well I’m here to tell you that you couldn’t be more incorrect. While her lies led to several hangings, it would be unfair to say it was all just because she was “evil”. She is a product of how she the environment she was raised in, a victim of a tragedy, and influenced by outside forces.

In the book ,The Crucible, Abigail Williams is known as a despicable character because of all the evil things she has done to others around her and to the village of Salem. Abby is a harlot, liar, and she likes to manipulate others. Abby brings chaos to people who get in her way.