The Crucible by Arthur Miller is based on the Salem witch trials in Massachusetts in the Late 17th Century. It shows how people's lives were affected during that time and how people were affected during the Salem witch trial where Fear, Manipulation, and Jealousy are prevalent and will affect the characters presented to us throughout the story. The character who displays signs of jealousy throughout the book is Abigail Williams. Abigail accuses many characters of witchcraft throughout the book on page 23 of The Crucible. Abigail, is jealous of John Proctor and how John’s wife had Abigail, who was their maid, fired due to an affair with John Proctor. Abigail's jealousy is shown on Line 27, and 28 when Abigail becomes jealous of John Proctor not wanting her anymore. Abigail is still in denial …show more content…
This shows the extent to which Abigail was willing to go for John Proctor to get back to her, manipulating people in the village and threatening anyone who tried to stop her plans; it also shows the readers how Abigail's actions had affected the story and altered it to a major extent. The reason Abigail was able to go this far or even was able to do what she did was because of other characters weakness. Its stated early on in the story (Page 23) that John Proctor wasn't mentally strong enough to resist Abigail's non-traditional Puritan restrictions that were enough to tempt Proctor in having an affair. When Abigail had revealed partial events before the story, we find out that Elizabeth Proctor had been sick and Abigail, who was still a servant under them, had taken advantage of John’s weak mental power and was able to break away from the traditional Puritan lifestyle. Another way weakness is portrayed in the story is when Mary Warren is unable to tell the truth about what happened in the woods and quickly folds under pressure placed by
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.
Despite Abigail pretending she’s angry at Elizabeth Proctor for tarnishing her reputation in the town. She is more envious of Elizabeth and her marriage to John Proctor. Here she resorts to paltry name-calling in order to cast suspicion in John’s
This suspicion creates tension between Elizabeth and her husband. The tension between the Proctor’s is exactly what Abigail wants to occur. She thinks that this means that John will come back to her when in reality Elizabeth just hasn’t fully forgiven him. This tension all started with Abigail causing problems within the Proctor’s marriage. She may not still be with John Proctor however, the idea of her and John together lights a spark of tension and difficulty within the Proctor’s marriage.
The Crucible is a bizarre story written by Arthur Miller describing the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. Once you hear the name “Salem Witch Trials” you might think the trials are about witches right? It may be true, but would you expect the core meaning of the trails to be about an affair? The Crucible takes you on a rollercoaster ride of emotions between John Proctor and Abigail Williams. We see their relationship change from almost nothing to literally deadly while also seeing the whole town suffer from it too.
Once she is hired by the family to fill in for Elizabeth's house work while she is ill, she goes after John. He falls for her and the two have an affair. Eventually John denies that the two were together and this drives Abigail to obtain revenge by ridding of his wife. Proctor sees fit after this to convince the town that Abigail is nothing but a fraud. Here the initial conflict is set between these two individuals who have their own reasons for what they're doing.
The entire book “The Crucible” is written based upon the Salem Witch Trials. There is constant paranoia about who is a witch in the town and Abigail Williams uses this to get what she wants. Abigail is motivated to keep the fear of witchcraft alive in the town of Salem because of her desire to be with John proctor, to get rid of her competition, Elizabeth Proctor, and with her idea for god to cleanse the town.
Arthur Miller's verifiable play, The Crucible, depicts the recorded occasions of the Salem witch trials through a swarm of life-changing characters. Trepidation drives these Puritans to uncover their actual feelings while confronting their informers in the predisposition courts before coldblooded judges. While in the long run all the individuals of Salem get subject to this frenzy, two ladies emerge above the rest. Retribution and disgrace live in the heart of the young adulteress, Abigail Williams, while truth and exemplary nature dwell in the soul of Elizabeth Proctor, John Proctor's dedicated wife. Although they both elevate the strain and tension of the play, Abigail William's and Elizabeth Proctor's disparities lead to turmoil because
Understandably, Abigail is immature and she is susceptible to hopelessly fall in love with men who give her attention, considering that she is a sixteen-year-old girl. She expresses, “John─I am waitin’ for you every night ” (Act I). Abigail is longing for Proctor’s attention, and she desires for their affair to continue. On the other hand, Proctor recognizes that their affair cannot resume, because he does not want to cause further damage to his family. Abigail responds to Proctor’s rejection by saying, “Oh I marvel how such a strong man may let such a sickly wife be─” (Act I).
The novel, The Crucible, written by the great Arthur Miller himself, portrays the historical events of the Salem witch trials through a mass of enduring characters. What drives these Puritans is fear which shall expose their true emotions while facing their accusers in the extremely bias courts before inexplorable judges. While eventually all of the people of Salem join this madness, two women distinguish themselves way above the rest. Shame along with revenge lie themselves in the heart of the teenage lady, Abigail Williams, while righteousness and actuality reside into the soul of John Proctor’s faithful wife, Elizabeth Proctor. Although they both raise the tension for the play, Abigail William's and Elizabeth Proctor's differences lead to
In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, Abigail Williams, John Proctor, and other characters feel guilty about their acts and deal with their feeling in different ways. It’s the story of a village where people believed in witchcraft, they want to find a responsible. It’s the Salem Witch Trials time period in America.
Abigail becomes so focused on crushing on John Proctor it kills him and nineteen others. This occurs because of her ignorance to be mature and accept reality. Abigail loves John Proctor and she will do anything in her power to acquire him. John Proctor cheats on his wife with Abigail, consequently giving Abigail a foothold on him. She takes advantage of that, and goes mad attempting to receive his attention. “She is blackening my name in the village! She is telling lies about me! She is a cold, sniveling woman, and you bend to her! Let her turn you like a-”(Miller 23-24). In attempt to win back John Proctor, she makes lies up about Elizabeth, Proctor’s wife. Abigail lets her anger out on the girls, supposedly her friends, in Salem. She is controlling the girls because they fear her. Abigail takes this
The Crucible by Arthur Miller is about the Salem witch trials in the 1600s written during the Red Scare in the 1950s. In The Crucible, the girls of the town are convicted of practicing witchcraft in the woods. Witchcraft in Salem causes paranoia and hysteria. Thirty-nine people were convicted of practicing witchcraft, and twenty people were executed as a result. Of all the characters in The Crucible, the one that stands out the most is Abigail Williams, a 17-year-old girl who is gifted with the power to lie all the time. To start off , Abigail can be seen in Act I when she speaks out that she saw others practicing witchcraft in the woods when she was among the group of girls, therefore being a hypocrite. Second, Abigail lies when she denies
Abigail is jealous of Elizabeth Proctor because of her affair with John Proctor, her husband. According to Goody Proctor, Abigail is trying to “kill me, then to take my place” (61). Abigail’s emotions for John are driving her to commit the black sin of murder. Obviously Abigail allows for her envy to control her actions against Elizabeth Proctor.
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
In Arthur Miller's play The Crucible Abigail Williams, an unmarried orphan in the Massachusetts town of Salem, incessantly grows more jealous, her desire for vengeance only grows stronger, and her selfishness escalates. She repeatedly lies to save herself by denying her involvement in witchcraft. Abigail's Jealousy of Elizabeth Proctor intensifies in attempt to realize her desire for Elizabeth's husband John Proctor. In order to save herself she accuses the innocent, without any sense of ethical violation. Abigail proves to be a selfish antagonist in The Crucible that shows no sense of right and wrong.