What Is Abigail's Motivation In The Crucible

In the play The Crucible written by Arthur Miller hatred and jealousy is shown through the character Abigail Williams. The play is about the Salem Witch Trials and all the drama that it entails. Most of the conflict in the play is caused by Abigail Williams. Since Abigail is motivated by her desire to kill Elizabeth Proctor, her decision to drink blood and start accusing innocent people causes many deaths by the end of the play.

A crucible is a large test that one may face that may force them to make a controversial decision to benefit them or to hurt them. In Salem, Massachusetts in 1691 there were whispers of witch craft. To avoid it one has to make lies to save themselves. Abigail Williams is one of the most important people in this story because she tells by far the most lies because

Abigail put on an act, mimicking Mary Warrens every move as though her spirit was possessing the girls and could be found guilty of witchcraft. “Suddenly, from an accusatory attitude, her face turns, looking into the air above—it is truly frightened. ‘What is it, child?’ ‘I—I know not. A wind, a cold wind, has come.’ Her eyes fall on Mary Warren. ‘Abby!’ ‘Your Honor, I freeze!’ ‘They’re pretending!’… ‘Mary, do you send this shadow on me?’ ‘Lord, save me!’” (Miller p. 108-109). Abigail uses this in order to draw attention away from Danforth questioning if Abigail is only seeing illusions and not true spirits. Abigail uses the idea of witchcraft to repeatedly cover up her affair with John as well as uses it to an advantage to complete the envious attempt to kill

The townspeople of Salem feared that they would be called witches so they lied and blamed their family and friends. Mary Warren being one of those people feared being hung and Abigail’s vengeance. When John tells Mary to go to court and confess, Mary refuses, knowing that Abigail will act out of revenge and in court she faces what she had been avoiding “ABIGAIL. Her eyes fall on Mary Warren. MARY. Abby!”(101). Mary Warren knows that Abigail will claim she is a witch so Mary goes along with it to escape death and she blames John Proctor by saying “You’re the devil’s man!”, instead of possibly ending the trials once and for all.

In the first act Abigail had to scare the girls into not exposing the truth to the town about the actual events that occurred in the woods. While getting the girls to agree to her plan, she uses pathos to strike fear into them, creating her own army of support she needs to justify the events that took place. “Let either of you breath a word, or the edge of a word, about the other things, and I will come to you in the black of some terrible night and I will bring

When Abigail was accused of being involved in the events that happened in the forest, she took a proactive role in the situation. Abigail was able to manipulate others to make them believe she was innocent. One of the major factors that motivated Abigail in her lies was fear. She did not want to be punished or whipped for what she did in the forest. She also made the other girls fear her by threating them with their lives if they contradicted her story. Abigail did not want to bring shame to her name. When Reverend Parris approached her with the events that happened in the forest, she placed all of the attention on everyone but herself. Revan Parris also asks her why Goody Proctor fired her, and her

She has so many people believing that she is innocent in all the horrible things that are happening in the town, but in reality the things that she has done could get her charged for witchcraft in a heartbeat. This is the reason why she wants to not be punished for her doings and to continue to gain power. Abigail is also acting innocent, and in all of this craziness no one but John Proctor sees through her lie. John tries to show the court that Abigail is lying by telling the truth about his and Abigail's relations together, but in the end the court's opinions are still not changed. With John trying to prove that Abigail is lying and John failing this only makes Abigail able to gets away with more things and gain more power. As Abigail starts gaining power she starts blaming the innocent to get them out of her

“Let either of you breathe a word, or the edge of a word, about the other things, and I will come to you in the blank of some terrible night and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you.” (Miller 1097) A group of girls go dancing in the woods secretly and they end up getting caught so they start blaming innocent people of witchcraft, which results in hanging. Almost everyone in this play is against each other so everyone is at risk of getting arrested. Abigail Williams is responsible for the deaths of many innocent people in The Crucible based on her numerous accusations those including dancing in the woods, faking seeing a spirit in court, and faking being stabbed.

Moreover, Abigail did not want to get caught faking the proceedings where many innocent people were sentenced to death. The few that knew about this, such as John Proctor, were accused by Abigail and her friends of being under the influence of the Devil. Accordingly, John Proctor was sentenced to his death, unless he confessed his crimes. Abigail was responsible for the deaths of anyone who threatened her, so she can escape her punishment and remain innocent in the eyes of the court and her uncle. Miller writes, “[Abigail says] [l]et either of you breathe a word, or the edge of a word, about the other things, and I will come to you in the black of some terrible night and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you…

Integrity: or the Lack Thereof When many consider the word integrity, much comes to mind: actions, people, or even other words. While and after reading The Crucible by Arthur Miller, this word is brought into question very often. In both the play and in reality, there are examples of both integrity and the lack thereof.

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.

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.

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.

The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, is based in Salem, Massachusetts in the 1692 Puritan era. In the Crucible, Abigail Williams is viewed at the antagonist. She is a young manipulative lying, girl with a terrible reputation. Abigail is held responsible for the charges of many women in Salem at the time. While many people view Abigail Williams as a saint, she is actually motivated by selfishness.

Abigail Williams was ultimately the cause of John Proctor's death. She was a sneaky girl who wanted to get rid of John's wife, Elizabeth. The acts that Abigail committed throughout the play all were leading up to John's death, even though that is not what she intended to happen. Abigail is most responsible for the witchcraft in the drive. She is the person you drives all the other girls to cry witchcraft.