Comparison Between Private Lives and Abigail's Party
There are many differences and similarities between the two plays,
Private Lives is set in France in the 1930's, Abigail's Party is set
in England in the 1970's. The similarities between the plays are, in
the beginning of both there is a sense of tension and strain
politeness, in Private Lives the tension and strain politeness is due
to the two newly wed couple and the awkward conversations between
them, where as in Abigail's Party it is due to the growing annoyance
between Lawrence and Beverly and because they are holding a party at
their house.
Both plays have a very strong minded female character, Beverly and
Amanda, a likeness between the two characters is that they both seem
to be with the wrong man , there relationships with their partners are
like 'chalk and cheese,' women are overpowering and sometimes wild,
where as their husbands are hardworking and behave in a very uptight
proper manner.
Private Lives is however different from Abigail's Party in the
following ways, Private Lives is set in a different time period, the
period in which it is set is a period where everybody was expected to
behave in a certain manner, there is never once a referral to
different to children or people of a different race or colour, whereas
in Abigail's party there is constant conversation on children and at
least one or two mentions of class or race. The use of the English
language is also different, Private Lives spoke with received
pronunciation while Abigail's Party tended to use a more modern
version of the language with usage of slang and the shortening of
words such as 'cos and sentences such as;
" Ang, do us a favour, throw us me fags. Would you please?"
In both plays there is a lot of alcohol consumption and talk of
divorce, arguments and re-marrying. The two characters who resemble
each other strongly are Elyot and Lawrence, both men are with the
wrong partner and both care a lot about the standard of society in
which they live, they also care for their reputations and wealth.
There is also a few moments of wit and comical violence in both plays,
for instance when Lawrence comes out of the kitchen holding a knife
after Beverly has mumbled that she hopes his sandwich chokes him and
then Beverly shrieks in pretend terror when he appears holding the
knife and when Sibyl and Elyot are having an argument and Elyot says;
"I should like to cut off your head with a meat axe."
The biggest most noticeable likeness between the two plays is the
Abigail Williams is motivated to lie about her affair with John Proctor. What motivates her to lie is the thought of getting hung. Another big reason that she could be lying is for vengeance. Abigail loves John Proctor and one night they had an affair and touched. Since then, Abigail has been jealous towards John’s wife, Elizabeth. Abigail goes into the forest with some other young girls and Tituba, who makes a potion to have boys fall in love with them. This is a great example, “ABIGAIL, pulling her away from the window: I told him everything; he knows now, he knows everything we—BETTY: You drank blood, Abby! You didn't tell him that! ABIGAIL: Betty, you never say that
In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, Miller demonstrated that it was Abigail William’s flaws – mendacity, lust, and arrogance – that led her to be responsible the most for the tragedy of the witch hunt in Salem, Massachusetts. Driven by lust, Abigail was able to lie to the Salem community in hopes of covering her and her friends’ deeds and gaining the attention of John Proctor. Her arrogance enabled her t0 advance her deceit.
Abigail Adams an American Woman was written by Charles W. Akers. His biographical book is centered on Abigail Adams the wife of John Adams, the second president of the United States, and the mother of John Quincy Adams, the sixth president. She was the All-American woman, from the time of the colonies to its independence. Abigail Adams was America's first women's rights leader. She was a pioneer in the path to women in education, independence, and women's rights.
On January 12, 1780, Abigail Adams, former First Lady, wrote to her son, John Quincy Adams, while he was abroad with his father and brother. Adams addressed to her son and future President to maintain his spirit to learn and grow. She expressed his purpose through her motherly tone, various religious and historical allusions, use of logos, rhetorical question with simple syntax and use of metaphors.
Abigail Adams: A Revolutionary American Woman. Abigail Adams married a man destined to be a major leader of the American Revolution and the second President of the United States. Although she married and raised men that became such significant figures during their time, she herself played an important role in the American society. The events that happened in her life, starting from childhood and ending in her adult years, led her to be a revolutionary woman. Three main reasons behind her becoming such a strong, independent woman was the fact that she married a man who had an important role in politics, growing up with no education, and raising a family basically by herself.
Today in society a person’s future is often dictated by their past. Traumatic events will in many times create a such a person to behave in an unacceptable behavior. Throughout literature such people are used as characters to further the plot. The term frequently used for this type of character is an antagonist. In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, the protagonist, Abigail Williams, creates the sole conflict based on her adolescent years. For characters like Abigail, in The Crucible, her early life and relationship with John Proctor contributes to her actions despite some being seen as inexcusable.
Abigail Adams, a woman very well known today originally met her husband John Adams when she was 15 years old and later on became the first lady during his presidency. When she turned 11 she met with a college professor and started her education. Abigail was born on November 22, 1744 and died on October 28, 1818 (The World of Abigail Adams). Throughout her life she had many long lasting accomplishments and was a leader in her household and for women. She helped make the Americas what they are today and helped give rights to woman. Abigail Adams was an important figure because of her relation to John Adams, her religious views, her accomplishments, and how they had long lasting effects in the world and on the United States today.
“If particular care and attention is not paid to the ladies, we are determined to foment a rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any laws in which we have no voice, or representation.” This is a famous quote by the equally renowned Abigail Adams. Natalie S. Bober wrote Abigail Adams: Witness to a Revolution, a 221 page biography of Abigail Adams. Abigail had chronicled the hardships and victories alike of the American Revolution through letters to family and friends. Even though she asked them to burn the letters, historians since are glad they chose not to.
Now I know what you are thinking: ‘Abigail Williams should be hanged for her crimes and for the false accusations of women in Salem.’
To sum it up both of these plays share the same broad message conveyed throughout the entire play. Which includes, women have the capabilities to do more than they show and are allowed to do. As well as the relationship men and women share is not constant, or the same, there are many different views on the relationship they share and many different variations that change as time progresses. Furthermore the rights of women also change with much time, and hard work by many women who have worked hard for their rights and future rights of all women. Some of this can lead to these two plays, giving new, bold ideas that were frightening for many during their times but helped for the push for a better tomorrow.
Have you ever blamed someone for something they never did? In the play written by Arthur Miller, The Crucible, Abigail Williams accuses many people of witchcraft which eventually leads to the death of twenty innocent people. Ever since she is caught dancing in the woods at the beginning of the play, Abigail and her friends have been trying to disguise their mistakes by blaming others for “being with the devil.” By the end of the play, Abigail is responsible for the death of many people because of the flaws she had which led her to make poor decisions. Abigail’s decisions lead her to put many lives in the town of Salem in jeopardy. Her flaws, consisting of selfishness, anger, and cowardice, ultimately lead to her downfall which results
Shmoop Editorial Team. "Abigail Williams in The Crucible."Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 7 Dec. 2015.
The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, was written during the early 1950s.It was the time of The rise of Senator Joseph McCarthy’s.All throughout history, accusations of witchcraft have been used as an excuse for the discrimination of people who cultures, traditions, race, and ideas were not easily accepted nor understood by the society even if it was untrue.In today’s society students are taught this because it show’s how important “The Crucible, and McCarthyism were and what changes they went through because of the human condition.It is extremely important and appropriate because it allows students the opportunity to respond in terms of their own experiences .The Salem Witch Trials and McCarthyism had many similarities. In The Crucible Abigail
How can a girl who condemned seventy two to a death sentence and drank a charm to kill a man’s wife, a man she has slept with on more than one occasion be the victim? It’s possible when the town she lives in is worse than her. Although Abigail Williams is typically thought of as the antagonist of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, she is in fact a victim as much as any other tragic character in the play.
In this play, the men and women characters are separated even from their first entrance onto the stage. To the intuitive reader (or playgoer), the gender differences are immediately apparent when the men walk confidently into the room and over to the heater while the women timidly creep only through the door and stand huddled together. This separation between genders becomes more apparent when the characters proceed in investigating the murder. The men focus on means while the women focus on motive: action vs. emotion. While the men...