The Crucible Film Analysis

In Arthur Miller 's The Crucible, the main character Abigail Williams is to blame for the witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts, Abigail Williams remained a static character throughout the book. Abigail is a mean, deceitful and manipulative person who always wants her way; she has no remorse about who she hurts along her journey to get her want she wants.

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.

Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible portrays the historical events of the Salem Witch trials. Insanity and fear drive these Puritans to reveal their true colors while facing their accusers in the prejudice courts. Of all the madness in Salem, two women stand out above the rest. Although they both create suspense and tension in the play the difference between the two is also evident. Hatred and revenge live in the heart of the teenage adulteress Abigail Williams while truth and kindness resides in the soul of Elizabeth Proctor faithful wife of John Proctor.

The Crucible is an award winning 1953 playwright that was composed by American author, Arthur Miller. The play takes place in the time of the 1600’s Salem Witch Trials and tells a story of 17 year old Abigail Williams who has an affair with well entrusted family man, John Proctor. When Williams is caught in what seems to be a conjuring of spirits in the forest one morning, she faces accusations of witchcraft which would result in a hefty charge if pleaded guilty; death. Understanding the price for such a crime, Williams comes up with a lie to cover up her tracks. The playwright has had many runs in the production industry and even appeared on movie screens in the late of 1996. However, when looking at the movie and the play there are many differences that can be seen when looking at the two side by side. While the movie and the play do indeed have some similarities, they also have some differences that are very much apparent in terms of how the characters are portrayed and the scenes that had been cut out as well as the script having some altercations when transforming this playwright into a major motion picture. When zooming out and discovering the differences between the two it is obvious to see that the playwright is and always will be the better of the duo.

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

The Crucible, an original play written by Arthur Miller, has had a multitude of adaptations come out after its’ release in 1953. Among these adaptations are the movie, The Crucible, directed by Nicholas Hytner and starring Daniel Day-Lewis and Winona Ryder and local performances of the play, such as the one seen at the Civic Theatre. The Crucible is about the people of Salem, MA and trouble of the accusations of witchery after Abigail, the niece of Reverend Parris, has an affair with the married John Proctor and he denies her when she attempts to do it again. Specifically, Abigail’s reaction to the rejection in the movie is portrayed so much more realistic than it is in the play and the entire cast portraying their characters realistically for how it was appropriate for the setting of the movie. Although the movie was exceptional in content, the universal portrayal of the characters was better in the movie. Overall, The Crucible movie version, directed by Nicholas Hytner, portrayed the characters better the play because Winona Ryder portrayed Abigail Williams better than the written play did, and the cast as a whole worked together to create the mood of the historical time period of both the Salem Witch Trials and the communist era. Additionally, even though the written play was amazing due to it being ‘first’, the movie was still better at portraying the development of the characters.

How does Miller portray the character of Abigail in ‘The Crucible’? Abigail Williams was a 17-year-old girl, who held a significant role in the Salem witch trials in 1692, in the play based on the event: “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller. Abigail was raised an orphan by her uncle, Reverend Parris, after her parents were murdered by Native Indians in front of her when she was young. The location of the play shows significance due to at the time Salem was extremely religious. Miller foreshadows key events later in the play numerous times throughout the book and while Miller’s portrayal of Abigail is strategic, highlighting Abigail’s personality and character itself is a genius way to convey issues and experiences going on around him.

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 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.

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.

The devastating Salem witch trials occurred between February 1692 and May 1693. By the end of the trials many people were accused, nineteen were executed and several more died in prison. The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, captures the hysteria that developed during the Salem witch trials. Crucible character, Abigail Williams, represents the repressed desires that many of the Puritans possess. Abigail’s readiness to abandon Puritan social restrictions sets her apart from the other characters, and eventually leads to her downfall. Abigail Williams uses manipulation and cruelty to create an atmosphere of terror and intimidation in her town. In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, Abigail Williams leads the hysteria in Salem by taking extreme measures to succeed in attaining John Proctor's love.

Imagine the year is 1692. In a small Massachusetts town a culture of highly religious folk live in peace. Salem. It´s late January and the reverendś young niece Abigail and only daughter begin to act strangely. Rumors of witchcraft fly through town and fear runs rampant.In around a year 200 people are unjustifiably accused and 20 sentenced to capital punishment. Who is next? The strange widow down the road? The Coreys? In a time of obscured justice, line were crossed and innocent lives lost. In his breakthrough play, The Crucible, Arthur Miller spins a tale not far from the truth.Letting his readers explore a gruesome tale of blind hatred. In Arthur Miller's The Crucible, Abigail Williams embodies the wrongdoings of the Salem Witch Trials.

Manipulative people can easily utilize hysteria to gain authority, something Abigail Williams takes full advantage of. In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, the Salem witch trials bring chaos and fear into the town of Salem. Salem is a hierarchical community with women being inferior to men. With chaos rampant, the people desperately search for a scapegoat to solve the mystery of witchcraft. Three girls, Abigail Williams, Mary Warren, and Tituba see their opportunity and use it to raise their power.

The Crucible by Arthur Miller is an elaborate play that tells the story of the village of Salem and how the community slowly falls apart because of a strategic witch hunt ploy. The fear of witchcraft turns the once peaceful village upside down and accusations destroy the lives and reputations of so many people. Different characters’ actions have different impacts on the community, but one character stands out the most. Abigail Williams from The Crucible is a clear representation of how impactful the power of manipulation and deception is in a vulnerable society to create mass hysteria.

In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, the audience introduced to a chaotic 1692 Salem, Massachusetts. Throughout the play we see a series of unreasonable events including the hanging of 19 people due to false accusations of witchcraft. These witch trials killed many people and jailed hundreds for no reason at all. There is many people to blame for the Salem Witch Trials but, Abigail Williams is most culpable.