During the late 1600’s, in Salem, Massachusetts, a very unusual and strange event took place. In the year of 1692 the Salem Witch Trails began. Arthur Miller wrote a play titled the Crucible to depict the events that occurred during the event. The consequences felt by the community were completing devastating. About 20 people were hung due to the alleged crimes that they were convicted of. However, one character in this play was mainly responsible for the major disarray Abigail Williams was the main manipulator and instigator. Abigail made her problems everyone else’s problems due to her uncontrollable jealously. John Proctor, Elizabeth Proctor, and Abigail Williams are the three main characters in The Crucible. John Proctor was a Farmer …show more content…
She wanted what she could not have and did not care about who she hurt. The only person Abigail seemed to care for besides herself was John Proctor. John was happily married to Elizabeth, however Abigail believed that if Elizabeth was dead that John would love her. Abigail use to work for John and they engaged in an affair. When Elizabeth found out about the affair she immediately threw Abigail out and John promised Elizabeth that the he would never touch another woman again. Abigail still tried to provoke John by being provocative and inappropriate. “ Abby, I may think of you softly from time to time. But I will cut my hand off before I’ll ever reach for you again “ – (John Proctor, The Crucible) Although John’s statement was straightforward and blunt it still did not alter Abigail’s mind about him or her feelings towards him. Abigail even went so far as to accuse Elizabeth of witch craft. Mary Warren, a servant for Elizabeth and John making a puppet. Mary put a needle into the side of the doll. Abigail used that as accusation of witchcraft against Elizabeth. Abigail caused a self -inflicted wound and claimed that Elizabeth’s spirit was tainted and that the cause of the wound was
That Abigail started, in effect, to condemn Elizabeth to death with her touch, then stopped her hand, then went through with it, was quite suddenly the human center of all this turmoil." (page 3; paragraph 3). It wasn't certain that Abigail and John had an affair in real life, but according to Miller's research, Elizabeth, John, and Abigail were real people. The research he did helped form a key plot point out of observations of the history. In the play, one of Abigail's main drives of her actions is to dispose of Elizabeth, for reasons that are suspected to be that she wanted to keep Proctor for herself, vengeance towards Elizabeth for casting her away, or being married to John, or even the hope that John will perish for denying Abigail's second approaches towards him.
In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, Abigail Williams and John Proctor are known to have had an adulterous affair with one another. Even though both John Proctor and Abigail are worthy of blame for their actions, Abigail is the most culpable of the two. In The Crucible, Abigail is the most to blame because of her “tempting” Proctor to carrying out the act more. During Act 1, Abigail is shown to keep egging on Proctor although he does not want to have the affair with her anymore.
The Salem Witch Trials, which took place between February 1692 to May 1693 in Colonial Massachusetts, was a series of trials and prosecutions of many innocent lower class and upper class men and women being accused of practicing “witchcraft.” These prosecutions resulted in the death of twenty people, 19 hung, and 1 pressed to death. In The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, he focuses on the atmosphere of the individuals that were falsely accused of witchcraft; moreover, he gives his audience the mindset of the people who accused. The Crucible’s setting has taken place in Salem, Massachusetts during the well-known Salem Witch Trials; the book starts off by giving the reader a background of events that caused the Salem Witch Trials. In the
Stopping Panic One of America’s greatest plays is “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller. The Crucible is based off of the true events of the Salem Witch Trials, which caused mass hysteria all throughout Salem; However, it was a satire that explained the hysteria during Arthur Miller’s time known as the “Red Scare”. During this satire, he uses characters that had real-life counterparts to explain how mass hysteria, which is exaggerated and uncontrollable emotions of fear, to show how people of his day were doing the same things and how they needed to stop it before it got worse. In the play, two characters who could have stopped the hysteria that plagued Salem were Abigail Williams and Reverend Hale. One character that could have stopped the hysteria was Abigail Williams.
During the late 17th century a total of 200 people were accused of participating in witchcraft, while 19 people lost their lives to the mass hysteria. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, a group of girls start a huge uproar in Salem, Massachusetts when they start screeching about Salemites being associated with the Devil. Throughout the play write, it shows the consequences of mass hysteria and how it puts people's lives in danger. Abigail Williams causes a wave of mass hysteria and because of her trickery, innocent people have died by her and the other girl’s actions, for this Abigail is the most unforgivable character in The Crucible.
Abigail’s first major flaw in her character is lust. In act one she quotes “John I am waiting for you every night” When she says this she is explaining to her once lover John Proctor, how she waits for his return every night in hopes that he will return to her for love. As John tries to deny the love he once felt for her and
Abigail’s actions were mainly the result of the affair she had with John Proctor. Because John Proctor rejected her she felt like used and hurt, Abigail also pretended to be angry with Elizabeth, saying to Proctor “She is blackening my name in the village!
Abigail is consumed by the idea that John Proctor loves her. She considers that John’s kind actions towards her are more than just lust. Her acknowledgement that it would be a sin for him to love another woman besides his wife reveals that she believes that John Proctor has such deep feelings for her, which are undeniable no matter how wrong it may be. Though Abigail appears to be caught up in her idea of their forbidden love, her romanticized obsession is not enough to prove that her actions are completely motivated by her obsession of
In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, the setting is Salem, Massachusetts during the late 1600s where the town’s pious Puritan beliefs directly influence their government. A 17-year-old girl named Abigail Williams had an affair with John Proctor, a wealthy, married man. Abigail is told by John to move on but instead, Abigail starts accusing the townspeople of witchcraft, including John Proctor’s wife Elizabeth. As this hysteria begins to rise, other people such as Thomas Putnam, a rich landowner, start to also allege Salem villagers. In this play, the author illustrates the central idea that people should not allow jealousy to control their actions.
Arthur Miller’s portrayal of a town in the midst of a downfall “The Crucible”, tells the story of how mob mentality and hysteria can significantly influence not only individuals but the whole town. This mob mentality leads to unthoughtful acts and false accusations. Two characters who demonstrate how mob mentality can lead to the demise of Salem are Abigail and Mary Warren. As Abigail begins to be accused she is pressured to deter from the truth. While Mary Warren gets pressured by Proctor to reveal the truth about Abigail, but the overwhelming pressure from the mob makes her turn from the truth.
Abigail played a major role in the act of vengeance upon others. Just like all the other girls, she told many lies that kept on piling up, bringing people down one by one. The main person that fed her hatred was Elizabeth Proctor. Abby intended to take her place as John’s wife ever since her affair with him. She stated of fake accusations to make Elizabeth appear guilty of witchcraft.
Selfishness Consumes Human beings are innately driven by self-interest. They pursue goals, careers, achievements and all too often are deceitful and cheat in order to obtain them. The character Abigail in the play the Crucible is no different. The play, the Crucible, depicts the mass hysteria that overtook a town in Massachusetts during the Salem witch trials. In the midst of this fear, this panic, in the eye of the storm, lies the character of Abigail Williams.
In my opinion John Proctor is the protagonist of the crucible, because there are some reasons. One reason for me is that John Proctor is starting the Salem witch trials indirectly. It is Abigail who starts the trials, but she only does it to kill John’s wife to be the only one John love and they finally can get married. Because of that the relationship between John, his wife and Abigail is in the foreground. Another reason why John is very important in the Crucible is that he has a strong voice in the community.
In The Crucible, the protagonist John Proctor was. In the town of Salem, in 1692, a group of young ladies by the names of Betty Williams, Abigail Williams and Tituba were found dancing in the forest naked by Reverend Parris, Abigail’s’ uncle. Reverend Parris assumed that they were participating in witchcraft. This idea of witchcraft spread through the city of Salem and the citizens began accusing each other of being witches. This started a series of court cases known as the Salem Witch Trials.
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