Set in 1692 Salem, Massachusetts, a group of young girls were in the forest chanting “spells” in order to have the men they desired. Leading them was a black woman named Tituba, who later confessed to being afflicted and was let off with minimum charges. The teenagers feared being exposed when two young girls fell ill and the town doctor couldn’t find a cure. They confessed to being afflicted and used it as means to accuse the women whose husbands they wished to have relations with. Leading the herd of deceiving girls was Abigail Williams who was in lust for a married man named John Proctor. The trial for Abigail and the girls was heard at the congregation hall where the girls pretended to be possessed by fainting and hallucinating causing
The Salem Witch Trials were a series of prosecutions of men and women who were accused to practice witchcraft or have associations with the devil. The first Salem witch trial began with two girls in 1692, Elizabeth Parris and Abigail Williams who started to have “fits”, in which they would throw tantrums and have convulsions. The random outburst of the girls threw the town of Salem into a mass of hysteria. Although historians have not found a definite reason or cause for the witch trials, they have taken different approaches to explain the hysteria that took over Salem. Some historians approach a psychological theory by proposing the girls suffered from diseases that made them act out. Other historians refer to factors such as religion, economics, and weather to explain the beginnings of an unforgettable time in Salem, Massachusetts. For over 300 years, historians have tried to reveal the truth about the beginnings of the Salem Witch Trials, but in order to do so historians must look at both the way of life in Salem in the seventeenth century and use knowledge that is available now to explain the phenomenon.
One night in the minute New England town of Salem, Massachusetts, three young girls and a slave from Barbados were caught dancing naked in the forest around an immense kettle. This wasn't something that girls normally did in the 1600s and was also socially unacceptable. These girls, Abigail Williams, Betty Parris, Mercy Lewis, and Tituba were immediately accused of being witches just because they were dancing. To get themselves off the hook, the girls pointed their fingers at other women in the town of practicing witchcraft. They indicted some women because their names popped into their heads, but one particular girl, Abigail Williams, accused a woman named Elizabeth Proctor because she had lust for her husband, John Proctor. Abigail Williams and John Proctor had already had an affair. However, unlike Abigail, John wanted to leave that horrible mistake in the past and forget about her. Abigail also did not like other women in Salem because they called her names. They knew of her lust for men, so Abigail took the initiative and they were also charged.
In the Crucible there was three characters that stood out from all the other ones in this wicked story. Abigail Williams was a big influence in this story she would lie and lie to get out of things and she was also the leader of the girls in the woods. Furthermore she also had an affair with John Proctor which made John and Elizabeth relationship unstable. Also John Proctor runs into a situation at the end of the story where he is put in the position if he wants his pride of not signing that paper full of lies or die knowing he did the right thing of not lying. Additionally, Elizabeth Proctor has never lied ever until the day John was being prosecuted for his witchcraft and possibly adultery and Elizabeth lied so that his name wouldn't be ruined.
During the early years of the colonies, there was a mad witch hunt striking the heart of Salem. Anger, reputation, and even religion play an important part during the play of The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller. The author allows us to witness the vivid idea of the hysteria taking place in Salem, Massachusetts, and why it was so vulnerable during the time.
In the Town of Salem Massachusetts, 1692, a group of adolescents are caught dancing in the forest. Among the adolescents in The Crucible, Abigail Williams and Mary Warren. The girls are horrified that they have been caught dancing, a sinful act, therefore they devise a story to evade punishment: they claim to have been bewitched. The first person who they accuse of witchcraft is a the black maid, Tituba. This results in her jail sentence as well as fearful suspicion throughout the town. Arthur Miller demonstrates the impact of lying as the girls recognise and manipulate their power in the town. Lead by Abigail, they go further, claiming countless others guilty and dooming them to exile. Miller demonstrates that there power is so great that even when Mary attempts to stand against her friends, she is quickly overwhelmed and once again plays along with their trickery. As the girls’ conspiracy continues, controversy arise over their truthfulness; people choose sides often lying themselves to support their side, further altering the lives of all involved.
A motivation can be described as a character having a reason to behave or act in a particular way. Someone or something can be someone's motivation. A child obeys its parents to avoid punishment or a clerk works overtime so that he can afford a better car are examples of motivation. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, characters illustrate several types of motivations. Throughout the play, Abigail is motivated by jealousy, power, and attention.
Abigail Williams the main character in The Crucible by Arthur Miller draws the interest of the reader as she is a wicked, confident girl who lies to get what she wants and defends her name and her life.
During the 1690s, the Salem Witchcraft Trials occurred. However, they did not start in Salem, they occurred first in Danver (Starkey vii). This atrocity of an event was first started because of the fantasies of very little girls. These girl’s accusations created the largest example of witch hysteria on record (Starkey viii). During this time, the authorities had arrested over 150 people from more than two different towns (Gragg ix). Salem however, was not the only town that had girls saying there were witches in their town (Godbeer ix). Many people tried to escape, but that didn’t go to well for them (Godbeer x).
Although witch trials were not uncommon in Puritanical New England, none had reached such epidemic proportions as Salem. In 1691 the mass hysteria began when several young girls dabbled in witchcraft and began acting strange. When villagers took notice the girls were seriously questioned and so they began naming people, mainly woman, who had supposedly bewitched them (Boyer, p66). Several other who had been accused were woman displayed ‘unfeminine’ behavior and those who
“ A wild thing may say wild things. But not so wild, I think..” Abigail Williams is a 17 year old girl who lives with her uncle. In the past John Proctor and Abigail Williams had an affair while she was his servant. Now Abigail is obsessed with John and will do anything to get him to be her’s. Abigail and I are similar but only in a few ways like we both get jealous, were passionate , and we both are strong leaders.
“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 black of some terrible night and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you… and I can make you wish you had never seen the sun go down!” (Miller 1097) The Crucible was written in 1952 by Aurthur Miller. The play is known to be a reflection of the Puritan witch hunts of its time. The Crucible was an act of desperation. While reading this play, many have argued who is to blame for all the deaths during the trials. Abigail Williams is to blame for the deaths caused by the Salem Witch Trials because, she danced in the woods and conjured spirits, had an affair with John Proctor, and was leader of all the girls during the trials.
In Arthur Miller's The Crucible, the main character Abigail Williams is to blame for the 1692 witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts. Abigail is a mean and vindictive person who always wants her way, no matter who she hurts. Through out the play her accusations and lies cause many people pain and suffering, but she seemed to never care for any of them except John Proctor, whom she had an affair with seven months prior to the beginning of the play. John Proctor and his wife Elizabeth used to employ Abigail, until Elizabeth found out the affair and threw Abigail out. Although John told Abigail that the affair was over and he would never touch her again, she tried desperately to rekindle their romance. "Abby, I may think of you softly from time to time. But I will cut off my hand before I'll ever reach for you again." (Page 23) She claimed that she loved John and that he loved her. Before the play began, Abigail tried to kill Elizabeth with a curse. She thought that if Elizabeth were dead John would marry her. Further into the play, Abigail accused Elizabeth of witchcraft. She saw Marry Warren, the Proctor's servant, making a poppet. Mary put a needle into the doll, and Abigail used that for her accusation. She stabbed herself with a needle and claimed that Elizabeth's soul had done it. Although Abigail claimed she loved John, she may have just loved the care and attention he gave her. John cared for her like no one else had. In a way he could be described as somewhat of a father figure to her. When Abigail was just a child, she witnessed her parents' brutal murders. "I saw Indians smash my dear parent's heads on the pillow next to mine..." (page 20) After her traumatic experience, she was raised by her uncle, Reverend Parris, who is somewhat of a villain. In the play it was written, "He (Parris) was a widower with no interest in children, or talent with them." (Page 3) Parris regarded children as young adults who should be "thankful for being permitted to walk straight, eyes slightly lowered, arms at the sides, and mouths shut until bidden to speak." (Page 4) Therefore, it is obvious to see that Abigail grew up without any love or nurturing.
What is a Crucible? It is a pot that can withstand very hot temperatures, but it also is used to describe a hard time, trial, or tribulation, and it is used as an adjective to describe a very high grade of steel, but that is not the point. The Crucible is a book and also a play about the Salem Witch Trials that were taking place in Salem, Massachusetts. Some of the characters in The Crucible do have certain qualities that could have relation with the other definitions of crucible, but there is one character that fits them the most.
Abigail in the Crucible Act 1 Within the Crucible, there lies a complex story involving the accounts and happenings surrounding the 1692 Salem witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts. Act 1 of the Crucible sets up the unfolding of events which lead to witch accusations and increasing superstition among the puritan community. The Crucible reveals the intriguing and malicious character of Abigail Williams to be a manipulative and unabashed liar, who possesses the remarkable quality of self preservation even among what seem to be insurmountable odds. The character of Abigail Williams demonstrates domineering behavior throughout the act in such events as Abigail’s threatening the girls to remain silent regarding events in the forest, Abigail’s attempts of seducing John Proctor,
“Never question the power of one! Throughout history it has been the actions of only one person who has inspired the movement of change “ Steve Maraboli. Abigail williams is a young resident of Salem who lives with her Uncle the Reverend of the town. Abigail is one of the 10 girls who accused many of Salem’s residents of wichary just by saying the words “She’s a witch” in order to save their secret of dancing in the woods. Abigail has the power of one because of her past situations, her young, “innocent” age and her ability to manipulate situations and people.