Abigail Williams in Arthur Miller's The Crucible Throughout the play “the Crucible,” we see the many different sides of Abigail Williams’ character. Arthur Miller has created an interesting and complex character with various personality traits, and her controlling and manipulative nature becomes evident for the audience during the very first scene. Abigail is first introduced as “seventeen, a strikingly beautiful girl, an orphan…”, already the audience is made to feel sorry for her as we find out that she has no parents. Also, because we are told she is full of “apprehension and worry,” leads us to like her because she appears genuinely concerned for the well-being of her cousin. Already, before she has even begun to speak, we have an opinion of Abigail, we are attracted to her by her actions and because of her distressing background we feel sympathy for her. Soon, we find out Abigail and Betty were discovered dancing in the forest by Parris, which is an action linked to witchcraft. This could be an indication that Abigail is not what at first she might seem, although the dancing could have been harmless. Abigail seems to be innocent when she replies to Parris’ question with, “uncle, we did dance….ill be whipped if I must be.” She realises she has done wrong and is prepared to be punished, the audience still believe she is harmless at this stage. A little further on, we are led to question the character of Abigail again. She has been continually defiant throughout this scene, and is constantly denying the truth. Parris, her uncle, questions her saying, “your name in the town-it is entirely white, is it not?” Abigail is h... ... middle of paper ... ...he hysteria linked to witchcraft around 1692. Miller also wrote the play as a way of making his political comment through the events in Salem. In his opinion, witchcraft was wrong in Salem and communism was wrong in America, this was going on around the time when Miller wrote the play, in 1950. Sociology is an important theme throughout the play. Abigail is almost a hypocrite, she has so many different sides to her character. She has the ability to control, overrule and manipulate, and as an audience we can see throughout the play she is constantly showing her ability to dissemble, to get into the minds of those around her, and influence their actions. Miller has been successful in creating a character that has the power to deceive everyone, and her domineering nature is portrayed continually throughout the play.
In act two of The Crucible, a poppet with a needle in it’s stomach is how Elizabeth is accused of stabbing Abigail. Abigail cannot let the affair she had with John Proctor seven months ago. She will do anything she can to get John Proctor for herself, even accusing Elizabeth of witchcraft. While Abigail Williams isn’t physically in act two, her dark shadow is noticed throughout the act causing trouble for the characters, especially Elizabeth Proctor.
takes her breath away. It seemed that in giving life to her child she had
and cannot have is a child of her own. When she hears of the mother’s
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.
to dancing round a fire in the woods but she says that it was not
Lydia Velishek Mr. Stensrud Honors: US Literature & Composition 10 October 2017 Title Here It is clear that Abigail Williams is portrayed as the antagonist in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, taking place in the late 1600s in Salem, Massachusetts and based on the witch-trials therein. She serves as a catalyst for the witch trials by falsely accusing innocent townspeople with the intent of maintaining the position of power she gains from them. Due to the transparency of her actions, Abigail’s ulterior motives are also distinguishable.
Abigail Williams is manipulative and wants everything to go her way. She is the main character and causes trouble everywhere she goes. The Salem Witch Trials is about hearings and prosecutions of people who were accused of witchcraft. In The Crucible Abigail is a no good villain. Abigail first commits adultery with Elizabeth’s husband. Later on Abigail begins to accuse innocent people of doing witchcraft which causes them to die. Abigail Williams uses the Salem Witch Trials to put out all the resentment she has toward everyone.
the town. Abigail doesn't want anyone to find out that she was in the forest so
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.
She is the niece of Reverend Parris and the cousin of Betty Parris; she used to work as a servant for the Proctors, before being sent away by Elizabeth Proctor; she is the ringleader of the “afflicted” girls. Abigail Williams was the initial instigator of the witch hunt in Salem in Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible. She lied and accused others of witchcraft in order to save herself. During the Salem Witch Trials over 200 people were accused of witchcraft and 20 were executed (Blumberg). Abigail Williams is a member of a strict Puritan society. Witnessing her parents being murdered right in front of her, being forced to live with her selfish inconsiderate uncle, and having a love for a man she
God, this child You bring into the world, please guide her as You please through all her days on this earth” (17). However, the childbirth quickly turns into a despairful occasion as the child is revealed to have been dead when the narrator comments about the appearance of a dead baby, “I never knew that dead children looked purple” (22). Celianne, overcome with sadness and anguish, throws her baby into the ocean and soon jumps after her child, “And just as the baby’s head sank, so did hers” (23). The residents of this boat sought hope in the miracle of childbirth, yet reality struck when the child and mother both died and sank
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.
...s that her family will come to her and beg her to return home. When she realizes that they are not going to do this, she will run back to them, and life will go on as she has always known it.