Witch Trials Deception

If Abigail was not worried about the hysteria that will start because of the accusations she will later receive she would not have told herself and others to lie about it, showing that people will lie in face in hysteria.

Even though she tried to explain that it was only a bandwagon of lies that made her “[think she] saw spirits” before , the sharades put on by the accusers convinced the sectarian crowd ,including judge Danforth and Mary herself, that a supernatural evil was really present (1147). As Danforth yells “You have seen the Devil, you have made compact with Lucifer, have you not?.. Do you confess this power!” Mary can’t help but shake and yell with fear until she gets drowned in the situation, lie and live or die with honesty(1151). Abigail’s fabrication came to consume many people’s lives.

“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 a pointy reckoning that will shudder you.” (Miller, Act I). This shows that Abigail doesn't want anyone to know what happened in the woods so as to not raise suspicion about the girls delving into witchcraft. Abigail is also not afraid to threaten the other girls to show her power to them. Abigail wants to have more power over all of them so they will fear her and not betray her in fear that Abigail will get them killed or punished in some way. Abigail also want’s to be more powerful than the other girls so she has most say in the courts and so she can sway the opinion of the townspeople. With all of the lying that Abigail is doing there is little hope for this to be worked out in a way so people won't get

Mary Worren is being questioned by Judge Danforth and she is being truthful about everything and Abigail is not very fond of this. Judge Danforth then starts to question Abigail and she starts saying stuff then catches herself as if she is going to give something away and this is when she starts to freak out about seeing a bird and starts to shiver like she got really cold. The group of girls play along with Abigail and this makes it seem like Mary Worren really is a witch. It proves Abigail’s guilt because she is lying about seeing the bird and she makes all the girls play along with her causing Mary Worren to look guilty when she really is not. This is not the only time Abigail Williams shows she is most to

On the off chance that the judge and the other authoritive grown-ups had observed what was happening and were not all that ignorant concerning reality which lied directly before their eyes, at that point nothing would have happened to the casualties who were made to look like witches. The general population were so blinded about what they needed to see and what was there. Nothing intriguing or energizing had ever gone ahead in the residential area of Salem, and now that something had, they needed to trust it was genuine only for the unadulterated diversion that it brought. Everything Abigail said just gave her more control over Salem, and its courts. More notoriety in the group and a superior notoriety.

Fear. Most people have it and in a single moment it can turn a normal person insane. In the play, The Crucible, they use Fear and Hysteria to coax the town into believing in witches, the power of fear can make the average person do unusual things, go against people, and make them go against themselves. In certain situations Fear and Hysteria can be used in good ways as a natural protection against the dangers that occur, but sometimes that same fear can lead to death. Arthur Miller portrays this in the Salem Village when a large amount of the village is accused of being bewitched.

Mary’s inability to stay strong, even under the pressure Abigail’s scare tactics place her under in the courtroom, shows her weakness. Moreover, it’s because of her weakness so many more innocent people are hanged. Later on Elizabeth demonstrates immense courage when holding back the urge to convince her husband to sign a false confession so he could live. She does this because she wants to let John have at least some integrity after the sins he has committed. Lastly, Abigail proves lies have no benefit other than making life even harder in the end.

During the trials, Mary follows Abigail’s lead and claims that she sees spirits, when in actuality she did not. When Abigail faints or cries out, the girls faint or cry out. Mary tries to stand up to Abigail and prove to the judges that she is lying. During Mary’s testimony, Abigail asks “Mary, do you send this shadow on me?” (Miller 101) This shows that Abigail is accusing Mary of witchcraft. Under pressure of being hanged, Mary decides to side with Abigail again.

One given point is, that Abigail is a violent girl and threatens others to ensure her own safety. During the first half of the scene, Reverend Parris caught the girls dancing in the woods at night and started to interrogate

Abigail gained power and a voice within the town of Salem. The community listens to everything that she says and takes her word as credible. She and the other girls confess to practicing witchcraft so people, such as the court, believe that she and the other are telling the truth. The town is scared of witchcraft and unnatural things, so they will listen to even young unreliable girls over well-respected citizens. When some unknown evil comes into a town everyone is scared and will listen to anyone who speaks out and seems as though they are telling the truth. While in the courtroom, the girls follow in Abigail’s footsteps as she pretends to see the devil and spirits lurking in the courtroom, throughout the town, and at night. While Elizabeth was talking to John Proctor, her husband, she describes how the girls follow Abigail and how much power she has in the courts decisions: “Abigail brings the other girls into the courtroom, and where she walks the crowd spits like the sea for Israel And folks are brought before

Witchcraft is an invisible crime, only the witch and the victim can prove that the crime happened. Many times throughout the novel, Abigail Williams uses crowd mentality to prove that there is witchery in Salem. When Abigail was suspected to have commited the crime of adultery with John Proctor, she almost loses her position of power with judge Danthorf. As soon as Elizabeth lies that Proctor did not commit the crime of adultery, Abigail uses this opportunity to pretend that Mary is using witchcraft. Abigail explains, “Oh, Mary, this is a black art to change your shape. No, I cannot, I cannot, I cannot stop my mouth; it’s God’s work I do,” (Miller 107). When Abigail starts to imitate Mary all of the other girls jump in and imitate Mary. By doing this Abigail is using crowd mentality to protect her reputation and is able to convict others of witchery. Abigail and the girls are able to manipulate the witch trials, because they are the mass majority that can prove that witchcraft is real. Abigail and the other girls protect their own reputations by convincing others of

She confesses that it is all a lie. To save face, Abigail pretends to be under Mary Warren’s spell, and the other girls soon follow. They start shouting, saying that Mary is a bird on top of the rafters. Then they start repeating what Abigail is saying. This drives Mary to madness and she recants her confession.

Manipulation can happen to the best of us, but sometimes you never realize it is happening to you. Abigail manipulates the girls and the rest of the town into believing her lie. She has advantages that can aid her in her influence over the girls. She is the oldest of the girls and they all look up to her so they crave her respect and acceptance so they will do anything to get it even if it means doing crazy things. Abigail tells them what to do and say so no one will suspect her of what she is actually doing:

Before the play actually starts, Abigail and the other girls were actually practicing witchcraft and got caught by Reverend Parris while doing so. Since the girls didn’t want to get caught by the others, they started to point and blame others for what they did. Everyone that is accused is either imprisoned or executed. Abigail threatened that she would

At the beginning of the play she wishes for Elizabeth Proctor dead. When the group of girls get caught Abigail lies and says they were just dancing. From that point on, her lies just keep getting bigger and bigger. When John gets fed up with her and tells the court that he knows her, he has seen her. Of course, Abigail tries to deny it. She was the main accuser and she “mentioned” Elizabeth and Elizabeth goes to jail. At one point she gets mad at Mary Warren because she is siding with Elizabeth Proctor and trying to get her out of jail. Abigail’s solution to this problem is to accuse Mary of witchcraft. They are in court when this happens and starts acting like Mary is bewitching her and a group of girls. Eventually everyone learns about her sin and starts talking behind her back. Abigail thinks her reputation is ruined so she steals her Uncle Parris’ money and runs