“With great power comes great responsibility”, said Ben Parker in the Spider-Man story. He explains that when one obtains power, he or she needs to use it responsibly for the betterment of other people. What would happen, however, if those granted power are irresponsible? What if they use their power to protect themselves at the expense of others? Most importantly, what if the person had the power to manipulate others with fear? What if the people in power are listened to unquestionably, even though their claims could be lies? The Salem Witch Trials are a perfect example of this. During this time, there was a great fear of witchery in the land, and because there was no proof of it other than the accusations of the victims, a single accusation …show more content…
The Crucible by Arthur Miller takes place in this time period, and Miller shows that a group of teenage girls caused the events. People thought they were committing witchcraft, and the girls lied, stating that other witches forced them to do it. They lead the town in the witch trials by claiming to know other people who were agents of the devil and revealing them to the town. The leader of these girls is the niece of the local reverend, Abigail Williams. Abigail is an individual who has experienced much hardship, which has hardened her into a harsh person who will do whatever it takes to protect herself. In The Crucible, Abigail Williams, though she experiences much hardship and one could think of her as an innocent victim, is ultimately the antagonist and villain of the …show more content…
While it is true that Abigail has had a very difficult life, as she has lost her parents,and her uncle, Parris, has treated her horribly, and the one person she loves will not return her love, she cannot be claimed to be an innocent victim. Her choices are what make her a villain. For one thing, Abigail states that she wishes for John to return for her, meaning that she willingly chose to have a sexual relationship with John. John let Abigail do this, but he also did not force her into it. Abigail chooses to have a relationship with John, and knows the trouble it will bring them both. The fact that later John wants to stop the relationship is reasonable and right, but Abigail refuses to do it, and even chooses, willingly, to destroy John’s family by attempting to kill his wife to reclaim John for herself, as shown when Betty states, “You drank a charm to kill John Proctor’s wife! You drank a charm to kill Goody Proctor!” (1.157). She chooses to do this again when she accuses Goody Proctor, as mentioned earlier. She also chooses to let other people die so that she can avoid a whipping. As Mary Warren stated earlier, Abigail would only be whipped for dancing, which she chose to do, meanwhile, people would be hanged or forced to a long time in prison for being accused as witches, even though
Abigail Williams' remorseless behavior cruelly ended the lives of 19 in Salem. An example of this is when the girls are discovered in the woods,” Parris caught them dancing, with Tituba singing and one of the girls being naked ”(Miller,10-11). Once Abigail was caught, she desperately tried to conceal her actions of that night because Her option to kill his wife would reveal her affair with John Proctor and Have her accused of witchcraft. To deflect the blame from herself she accuses many of witchcraft. Abigail’s remorseless behavior caused deaths because the accused were arrested and many were hanged or died in the jail.
You can never miss Abigail being a selfish liar ever, yet she has many reasons to cover her description, She took it too far when she tries and attempts to guilt trip John Protector into continuing their affair. Since Abigail has a huge amount of jealousy towards Elizabeth, and yet she doesn't want to admit it. Abigail is still deeply in love with John and is wishing he would end up feeling the same and leaving his family for her. John refuses many times because he wants to end the affair with her to protect his family. Act 1 pg 22 ”
The Crucible reminds us that the abuse of trust and good standing to trick people into false beliefs, often leads to tragedy. Abigail Williams is the best example of this. Miss Williams wasn’t the most respected girl, but she was a young woman, and therefore held to a high standard. When Abigail was caught doing “witchcraft” in the woods, she used that standard to lie,and blame other girls for consorting with the devil and tricking her. Such as in Act 1 when she shouts at Tituba "She made me do it!
The Devil had infiltrated the small town of Salem, Massachusetts and it was up to the townspeople to get to the bottom of it. During the Salem witch trials, the town was surrounded by hysteria and panic. At a vulnerable state, many people let others take advantage of them and blindly trusted anyone who had an inkling about the Devil among the town. The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, highlights these gullible and panicked people by showing how others rose to power at this time. Girls like Abigail Williams were trusted on who to blame for witchcraft while others like John Hale were pushed to the side and silenced for questioning the reliability of these blind accusations.
Abigail Williams is the prominent antagonist of Arthur Lee Miller’s The Crucible. Abigail Williams, also known as Abby, deceives others, especially throughout the action of the trial. Her rationale for deception centers around her desires. Her dishonesty hurts many innocent characters throughout the conflict. Abigail is a deceitful person who truly only cares for her gain.
As a “witch,” Abigail reveals she possesses the ability to identify other witches all over Salem. Abigail and her friends go on a rampage, accusing anyone for whom they have hatred, and witchcraft trials become extremely prevalent. The accusations made were filled with little evidence and were almost always filled with the means of revenge. Eventually, Abigail points the finger at Elizabeth, accusing her of being a witch. The Proctors know Abigail is doing this to take vengeance and be with John.
In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, Abigail Williams took one step farther, just to put the whole town into misery. If she chose to make the right decision many lives would be saved and the trials could not have happened. Given Abigail Williams' vengeful and selfish personality as well as all the constant lies and accusations she gave, she should be blamed for the witch trials. When John’s wife Elizabeth finds out about Abigail's and John's relations she throws Abigail out. Since then John has not gone back for her however, Abigail has not accepted that.
Abigail says to Proctor in Act I, “Oh, I marvel how such a strong man may let such a sickly wife be-,” then John cuts her off and says “You will speak nothin’ of Elizabeth!” (1270). In this Abigail is showing her anger to John about how he is now staying committed to his wife and trying his best to keep Abigail out of his life. When asked why Arthur Miller asked why he decided to make Abigail and John have an affair, he said he “…Could find no good reason why Abigail distinguished so vehemently between the guilt of a husband and a wife. So I took creative license with her character to make the connection between sexuality and politics more dramatic,” (Shmoop).
Abigail seeks vengeance after her affair with John Proctor. She is still madly obsessed with him. After John rejected her, she makes up lies in court in desperate attempt to get Goody Proctor hanged. She thinks if she gets rid of Goody Proctor she will be able to have John all to herself. One quote that supports this is “I do sir.
The first clue of Abigail’s longing for John was when she told Betty that she confessed, but Betty, knowing she had forgotten an important detail, exclaimed “You drank a charm to kill John Proctor’s wife! You drank a charm to kill Goody Proctor!” (Miller Act 1). Then, later in the act, Abigail admits to “waiting for John” every night, but he basically claims that while she is in his thoughts from time to time, it’s never going to happen (Miller Act 1). It is revealed in this conversation that they once had an affair, but if it had never happened, she would not have found herself casting spells in the woods to kill John Proctor’s wife.
Abigail Williams The Crucible by Arthur Miller is about the suspicion of witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts. The play started with Betty Parris being ill. Betty Parris was the daughter of Rev. Parris, who was Salem’s town minister and only cared about his reputation. Suspicions were circulating in the town that Betty was involved with witchcraft. They sent out a special doctor, Rev. Hale, who knew all about witchcraft to see if Betty was truly involved with witchcraft.
Abigail is willing to accuse any one in her path of witchcraft even if it means taking the lives of those close to her. Abigail Williams’ emotional desire guides her actions even if it conflicts with morality. Abigail williams is driven to do unthinkable things because of her love for John Proctor. Abigail works in the Proctor’s home and while doing so she finds herself attracted to John. Abigail’s obsession with Proctor leads them to have an affair, which they try to keep
The Crucible The Crucible was about a group of girls who threw a fire in the woods and danced around it to conjure spirits but it was illegal so when they got caught they accused many, many people of witchery to save themselves from getting accused of anything. There lies eventually ended up killing many innocent people to benefit themselves. The main girl in the group was Abigail Williams. She was the servant for John and Elizabeth Proctor however she was intimate with John Proctor
The Crucible is a play written by Arthur Miller. It takes place during the Salem witch trials. Salem is an isolated town in the Boston area that is set up perfectly for witchcraft accusations. Abigail is being accused of witchcraft and she is a manipulative girl. Abigail has been accused of committing witchcraft in the woods and she plans to bring other people down with her.
Abigail 's heartless attitude is shown in act two when she frames and accuses Elizabeth Proctor for witchcraft. She desired and longed for this revenge on poor Proctors innocent wife, aiming for her through out the play. Later on in Act Three she seems to lose her last attachment of society by destroying John Proctor, who she claims to love with all her heart. When John attempts and threatens to expose Abigail’s wrong doings, she skillfully manages to turn the whole problem around on him, sending him off