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Abigail Williams horrible deeds in the crucible
What is the significance of abigail williams in the crucible essay
Title the crucible
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Abigail Williams in the Play The Crucible by Arthur Miller Abigail Williams can be seen in two ways. She can be seen as an aggressor or as a victim. An example of her as an aggressor is in act one where she threatens the girls ,"Let either of you breathe a word… and I will come to you in the black of some terrible night and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you." An example of her as a victim is also in act one when she describes how she feels that she was used as a slave by Goody Proctor, "She hates me, uncle, she must, for I would not be her slave." The play begins with Reverend Parris' Betty lying on a bed apparently unconscious. Reverend Parris believes that she has been carrying out witchcraft. Abigail Williams enters the room. Abigail Williams admits to dancing round a fire in the woods but she says that it was not witchcraft. I believe that this is the start of her lies. Later on in the play she admits to witchcraft. This is the first piece of proof that we have, that she is a liar and therefore an aggressor. Abigail Williams does not want to be associated with the unknown because many of the village's inhabitants were afraid of the unknown and anyone that had links with acts of witchcraft would have been people to stay away from. An example of this is when Abigail blames Tituba, who is an outsider from the West Indies, with the quote, "We danced and Tituba conjured." Tituba is easy to blame because most people will agree that Tituba is a likely suspect to commit witchcraft. Abigail Williams has had an affair with John Proctor before the play has started. She uses this affair to blackmail John and then accus... ... middle of paper ... ...h and in the end did not get what she wanted (John Proctor). The play is also based around the fact that the author Arthur Miller was attacked by McCarthyism and this story could be his way of expressing it. Arthur Miller was ruthlessly accused of being a Communist at the time that he wrote this book during the Red Scare. During the Red Scare many important people were accused of being communist because a senator called Joseph McCarthy wanted to gain a name for himself. There are some very big similarities between the storyline in "The Crucible" and the Red Scare. The main similarity being that one person sparked off accusations that had very little foundation that ruined many peoples lives. I believe that the moral of this play is that even if you do everything you can to get it, you will not always get what you want.
American literature often examines people and motives. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, The Scarlet Letter, and in Aruthur Miller’s modern dramatic masterpiece, The Crucible, people and motives often depict patters of Puritans struggling for life during a shaky time. Two main characters from both pieces of works share the traits of a struggling Puritan as adulators. Even tough Hester and Abigail have similar traits, their sins differ dramatically and were punished differently.
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.
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.
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.
Do you agree that Eva Smith is presented as a victim in the play ‘An
...disrespect from Tea Cake. She threatens him, saying if he leaves her again without her permission she will “kill yuh” (124). Within Janie’s past marriages her husbands treat her comparable to a slave and isolate her from the community. Even though her voice is still developing, she will not allow her husband to show her contempt. During the trial, Janie both matures and shows control over her voice, as she faces the horror of retelling the story of Tea Cake’s death to the court room. While giving her testimony, Janie knows when to talk; however, when she is through “she hushed” (187). By expressing and controlling her voice in court, Janie ultimately reveals her new found vocal maturity, but it is only because of her final marriage to Tea Cake that Janie finally develops an understanding of when and how to use her voice.
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.
Mariam can be seen as the victim of many men’s actions. A victim can be someone who is physically or emotionally hurt from another person’s actions. Because of the choices a person, or a group of people make, people are affected and made victims of the situation. In Mariam’s life, she faced many attacks from men, both physically and emotionally. She was the victim of Jahlil’s actions to send her away in order to keep his reputation. He made her the victim of his lies and actions to make sure society viewed him
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.
I will come to you in the black of some terrible night and I will bring a pointy
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
The reason she can be seen as the victim is because of the many injustices she faces. For example, when she is subjected to the improperly done electric shock treatment.... ... middle of paper ... ... Madame Bovary, Books.google.ca, November 30 /09.
also why the author has her speaking in monologue form. It is anoher way we feel