Essay about Finding the Characters in The Crucible Sympathetic

Abigail Williams, a seventeen year old girl is the antagonist of this play because she tells lies and wrongfully accuses innocent people to hide her affair and to ultimately get John Proctor back. The Crucible by Arthur Miller, is a play about the Salem Witch Trials based off of the historic event in 1692, where many people fall victim to Abigail’s accusations. Her motivation to accuse is driven by her feelings for John Proctor and her determination to go to great lengths to steal Elizabeth's place as his wife. However, her plan to have John Proctor fails because of her careless actions. Abigail is considered as the evil villain of this play, because of her deceiving lies, her selfishness and her manipulativeness to satisfy her desires.

Hysteria is the vital aspect in the act “The Crucible” about witchcraft which spreads throughout the small town called Salem and involved having tragic events without any facts. Abigail Williams is a major character in the play “The Crucible” Arthur Miller, but she is portrayed as an great antagonist who drives the wheel in the play. She has an unnatural power to manipulate others and gain control over them. Abigail states "I want to open myself! . . . I want the light of God, I want the sweet love of Jesus! I danced for the Devil; I saw him, I wrote in his book; I go back to Jesus; I kiss His hand. I saw Sarah Good with the Devil! I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil! I saw Bridget Bishop with the Devil! (Miller 48). While confessing to witchcraft gets Tituba positive attention, and makes her a believable to accuse others, along with Betty she uses same technique to develop trust toward others. A major theme of the play is blame, revenge, and mistaken innocence. Abigail shifts the focus away from herself by accusing others of witchcraft. This furious act of selfishness soon becomes Abigail drive of power.

Abigail is the character that no ones wants to be in a story. She is most of the responsibility for the girls going with Tituba to the woods. Then after Paris finds them, she tries to fake her behavior because if she doesn’t it will show her affair with Proctor if she confesses to casting a spell on Elizabeth Proctor. Betty calls Abigail out by saying “you did it, you did! You drank a charm to kill John Procter’s wife! You drank a charm to kill Goody Proctor! (Miller, 19). Abigail lies first to hide her affair but then she starts lying to prevent being accused of witchcraft. To keep all the attention off of herself she starts accusing other people of witchcraft. Abigail is heartless because she thinks nothing of just accusing people of witchcraft which will send them to their death. Abigail was a very deceiving when she spoke to anyone about anything throughout the story. Abigail was lying at the court case they had durning the Salem Witch trials, she was trying to get everyone to believe that Mary’s Warren was a bird coming to get her, she says, “But God made my face; you cannot want to tear my face. Envy is a deadly sin, Mary” (Miller 106). Abigail was lying that who court case so she didn’t get in trouble, she wanted to save herself even if it meant that others were going to die.

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.

The year is 1692, and in Salem Village, Massachusetts hysteria is prevailing over the plausibility of real witches roaming the town. The historical event of the Salem Witch Trials--when many accused of witchcraft were executed--was the direct result of the townspeople's fear and delirium. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, characters, both fictitious and literal people that were part of the historical event, experience change and development within their personalities as well as the types of actions they are willing to take. Throughout the whole text, the author shows and infers to readers how the Salem Witch Trials changed the lives of those involved. Miller uses Biblical allusion and metaphor in his development of the characters Abigail Williams,

“The Crucible” written by Arthur Miller takes place in a town called Salem this town has been struck with fear because the citizens believe that witchcraft has infiltrated their town. Some characters in the novel use this state of fear to pursue their motives by accusing others of witchcraft and spreading false accusations. The character Abigail in the novel has been a heart of accusation of witchcraft and frankly is the one responsible for starting this aimless witch hunt. Abigail is only fueled by her motives which are to try and gain the favor of John Proctor as well and to be given admiration for her efforts by her peers. Throughout the play “The Crucible” Abigail fuels the witchcraft rumors by manipulating

In The Crucible a historical fiction play by Arthur Miller, Miller describes what life was like in the town of Salem, Massachusetts in the year of 1692. In Salem there were multiple accusations of witchcraft. These accusations were made by a small group of girls who were only seeking attention. Though it may seem harsh coming from a group of puritans, from these accusations came imprisonment, and death. Throughout the play Miller portrays each of the characters as either static, or dynamic. Elizabeth Proctor, who is John Proctor’s wife is accused of taking part in witchcraft. Her accuser being Abigail Williams. Abigail Williams, as in the woman John Proctor has had an affair with. Throughout the play Elizabeth is revealed to be a dynamic

In Arthur Miller's play The Crucible, Abigail can be considered evil and her failed attempt to be good and pure was evident. Arthur Miller has portrayed Abigail to be unclean and the chaos of Salem, this is clearly shown from the very beginning of the play when Betty reveals to the audience, abigails truly malicious character saying, “you drank a charm to kill John Proctor's wife.” this quote outlines the truth of abigail's evil intentions and despite her obvious knowledge about what is right to do, she tries to guilt John Proctor into continuing their affair “You loved me, John Proctor, and whatever sin it is, you love me yet! John, pity me, pity me!” In this quote, Abigail tried to flatter john while also disrespecting Elizabeth Proctor.

Abigail Williams, the niece of Reverend Parris, is one of the girls who led the accusations in the trials. The Crucible shows her selfish desires when she speaks to John Proctor, “And now you bid me to tear the light out of my eyes? I will not! I cannot!” (Miller, 1110). This example shows a desperate want Abigail has towards John Proctor. She is denying living in a world where she cannot be his love and one where she cannot love him. Here is her main motivation that the reader can see throughout the entire play. When showing Abigail's desperate motivations, Miller gives causes for her future actions. One action that was a response to this motivation can be seen from Elizabeth, John Proctor’s wife, when she learns of Abigail’s action against her, “She wants me dead. I knew all week it would come to this” (Miller, 1127). Here we see Abigail’s motivation to be with John Proctor into action. Her selfish want leads he to purposely accuse Elizabeth of witchcraft. One can see the Abigail wishes to get rid of anything that stands between her and John Proctor. She hopes that Elizabeth can be executed so she may join with John without any consequences. She does not care about how John feels, which ties into her selfish

What begins as a slight concealment of the truth can often run rampant, quickly becoming a situation that none could ever anticipate or control. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, Abigail Williams is a manipulative and deceitful young woman who generates a panic in the Salem community with accusations of witchcraft. Abigail plays a key role in the story as an adulterer and an influence over the younger girls in the trials. As the story progresses, she employs devious methods to create drama and further heighten the tension and unease in the town.

Abigail Williams is a major character in the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller. It is gradually revealed that she has been dancing in the woods with the girls of Salem and performing voodoo rituals with her uncle's slave, Tituba. When rumors begin that there is witchcraft in the town, Abigail and Betty Parris start to name people as witches in order to take the suspicion away from them. Additionally, in The Crucible, Abigail has previously worked as a maid at the Proctor household and had an affair with John Proctor. Hoping to marry John, Abigail accuses Elizabeth Proctor, John's wife, of witchcraft in the hopes that Elizabeth will be executed.

Arthur Miller author of “The Crucible” is based on the Puritan society in Salem Massachusetts 1692 and more specifically on the witch hunts and witch trials that happened in Salem during that time. Many main characters in “The Crucible” affect the story’s outcome and also affect other characters within the book as well. Abigail Williams is one of the main characters in “The Crucible” who caused many conflicts and ultimately led to the outcome of many characters deaths. Abigail is 17 years and an orphan who is being taken care of by her uncle Reverend Parris. She does cause a lot of mayhem with all the lying she does but she always lies to protect herself no matter who gets hurt or gets killed. She also lies to get revenge on people who she believes have wronged her for example Elizabeth for firing her and because she want to be with her husband John Proctor. John Proctor also neglects Abigail and will no leave her wife Elizabeth

In the play The Crucible, playwright Arthur Miller tells a narrative about the Salem witch trials through the lives of several central characters. After a group of girls is found dancing in the woods by Reverend Parris, the rumor of witchcraft spreads like wildfire through a strictly Puritan society. Abigail, the girl to confirm the rumor, finds herself in a place of power, and begins accusing other townspeople of witchcraft, ultimately leading to the deaths of many innocent people. Driven by a desire to seek revenge and protect her reputation in town, Abigail manipulates the intolerant nature of society, and sets a cycle of mass hysteria with a fatal ending. In the rigid boundaries of Puritan society, reputation and respect quickly become

In the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller many characters deceive others to make themselves look better. The play The Crucible is about the Salem Trials and is set in Salem, Massachusetts in the year 1692. In these severe trials about witchcraft one person who deceived others was Abigail Williams. Abigail was a seventeen year old girl and was the niece of Mr. Parris. Abigail's motives for deceiving others were to protect her reputation, to get John back from Elizabeth and because she is selfish.

Arthur Miller creates many unforgettable characters in his play, The Crucible, to depict the historical events of the Salem witch trials. Although there are many other influential characters in the town of Salem that cause major events to happen during the trials and are eventually subject to their consequences, two women were most prominent. As a young, manipulative, vengeful, jealous, and selfish liar, Abigail Williams feels that she has superiority over everyone and uses this mindset to accomplish her malicious intentions. Elizabeth Proctor portrays a virtuous, selfless, and forgiving housewife who can often be cold towards people but still has the courage to face the people after finding out about her husband, John Proctor’s, sin of committing adultery. Despite the numerous hardships they overcome throughout the play, both women continue to prove their determination towards achieving their respective goals. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller shows the true dedication of Abigail Williams and Elizabeth Proctor through their love for John Proctor, realization of their role in the witch trials, and their influence on their surroundings.