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Abigail Williams Blame

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The Salem Witch Trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. It was such a massive, bizzare occurance that logically, something or someone should be blamed for the start of it. Although it is one of America’s most showing cases of mass hysteria, there had to have been many other causes for the tragic ending. Salem’s tragic ending in The Crucible was clearly caused by an abundance of factors, but the two most weighty were Abigail Williams and the idea of reputation in Salem. Abigail Williams is very much to blame for the tragic ending in Salem for many reasons. One of Abigail’s characteristics prevalent throughout the book that helped the tragedy unfold …show more content…

Reverend Parris’s need for a good reputation had an impact of the tragic ending in Salem. An example of Reverend Parris’s desire of good reputation shows when he makes the claim “I am certain there be no element of witchcraft here”(Miller 14). Although he knows Abigail might be involved in witchcraft he is arguing against it so that no one will suspect that he is connected to witchcraft in any way. He doesn’t want his reputation in the town to be ruined. Reverend Parris drills Abigail about what the girls were doing in the forest because it reflects on him. He is paranoid that people in the town are talking about him, or are out to force him out of the church. This is important because he is quick to believe the girl’s accusations of witchcraft because it relieves him of having to justify what he saw the girls doing in the forest. This has a big impact in Salem because it allows many more false accusations to be overlooked. Another character whose desire for a good reputation had an effect on Salem was John Proctor. John’s desire stems from the concept of being a good Puritan man but it still has lasting effects on Salem. After his affair with Abigail, John tries to put her out of mind and keeps the affair a secret for as long as possible. Because he doesn’t want to connect with Abigail, it allows her to get away with false accusations for much longer than if John would have brought the affair to court. John’s care for his reputation really shows at the end of The Crucible, where he falsely confesses to save his families name, leading to his death. Many townspeople are left upset and without hope because such a good man that they looked up to was hanged.The biggest affect that this had on Salem though was that it gave way to many more false accusations. Most importantly though, Judge Danforth’s need for a positive

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During the Salem Witch Trials a lot of people were accused of using witchcraft. As a result many people died for other people’s lies, rumors, and selfishness. There is one person that really caused and is most to blame for all the chaos, her name is Abigail. Abigail is to blame for all that has happened in the Witch Trials, the reason for that is because of all the accusing and lying she has done. In addition, it all leads up to her for instance, she used a doll to accuse people of witchcraft.

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The way that Abigail’s actions come full circle adds irony and John’s execution adds an element of remorse. Their relationship was doomed from the start, Abigail knew this and simply wanted to be a homewrecker. She gets what she deserves but not in the expected way, she now has to live with the result of her actions for the rest of her life. She has caused the whole town to resort to complete chaos and paranoia all for the attention of a man and not wanting to convict herself of her “bewitching” actions. Without the scandalous and twisted relationship between Abigail and John, neither the book nor the movie would be quite the

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882 Words | 4 Pages

John Proctors role in Salem at the beginning of the play was as a local who was married to Elizabeth Proctor. He was to stay out of the drama going around town about the witchcraft. He did not believe it at all. John Proctor knew right away that the girls were lying because he knew how Abigail was since he had been having an affair with her. But because of this affair with Abigail Williams he could not say anything because than he knew his secret of having an affair with a minor would get out through Salem and his good name and reputation would be wrecked so would Elizabeth's.

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476 Words | 2 Pages

Abigail Caused It All: The Crucible is a historical fiction based on The Salem Witch Trials. It shows how it started and why it became such a big deal. It explains how a 17-year-old girl caused 19 people to be executed. Abigail Williams was an orphan who lived with her uncle and his daughter. She was the main reason the Salem witch trials got out of hand.

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875 Words | 4 Pages

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.

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509 Words | 3 Pages

Did you know that during the Salem witch trials, over 200 people got accused of witchcraft? The Crucible takes place in Salem, MA during the trials. With all the panic around witchcraft, many people were accused of it, causing hysteria. But, there is usually one person to blame for contributing most to the hysteria. In Act 1 of The Crucible, Abigail is the most responsible for creating mass hysteria because she was found dancing in the forest, accused others of dancing with the devil, and had an affair with Proctor.

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406 Words | 2 Pages

In the play, The Crucible, a story told where the reader learns about lies, deceit, and hypocrisy. The play highlights how the puritans viewed witch trials in 1692. The character that was the most to blame for the Salem Witch trials and dreadful hangings, is Abigail Williams. There are two reasons Abigail Williams became the cause of all the Witch trials and hangings, the first being that she refused to admit to what she was doing in the forest with the other girls, the second was that she was resentful of the Proctor family.

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Abigail Williams and the girls is responsible for the deaths of the people who were wrongly convicted and hanged. Also Danforth has some of the blame for this situation as well. However, the girls are the ones who started this situation because the book explains, “Mr. Parris said, “That my daughter and my niece I discovered dancing like heathen in the forest,” (6). In Salem, the rules are to not go through the woods and dances. Now people think that they are doing witchcraft.

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345 Words | 2 Pages

Though there were many people who contributed to what happened in Salem, I believe that Abigail Williams was mostly to blame. I think this because she lied to save herself, made up false scenarios and blamed innocent people, and enjoyed the attention and power. In the beginning of the play, Abby is caught dancing in the woods. She herself drank a blood charm in which she wanted to kill Elizabeth Proctor. Though Abby wasn’t the only one who was caught, she lied to Reverend Parris so that she would not be hung once witchcraft was being talked about throughout the village.

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727 Words | 3 Pages

When John brings Mary Warren to court in Act III to confess about how Abigail has been lying to everyone, he tries to avoid confessing he’s been with Abigail, even though he knows it will help his cause. John built this name for himself in Salem that was tarnished so fast because if someone messes up in town everyone knows and there’s no way to fix it. No matter what John did, he couldn’t save himself, but it was his wrong doing to begin with. John also misleads the town by not going to church every Sunday. For the longest time, John had been seen as respected, but when he starts to visit church less he begins to create a reputation, If John had not played the town and continued practicing what most Puritans do, it would’ve been easier to rescue his friend’s wives and his own.

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761 Words | 4 Pages

However, this is inaccurate because he avoids Abigail and risks everything for his wife. Elizabeth was taken by the court because she was accused for being a witch, but John knows she is a good women and fights for her. Elizabeth is worth the trouble of going to the court and defying the government. It is honorable for a husband to protect his wife after all they are family. John is talking to the court and tell the court a secret that no one knows about, John’s reputation is on the line.

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825 Words | 4 Pages

In the play, the Crucible, by Arthur Miller, Salem, Massachusetts was a place of constant hysteria in the 1600s because of what would come to be commonly known as the Salem Witch Trials. This was a full-blown witch hunt for people found to display signs of witchcraft. Abigail Williams was the main person to blame for this pursuit of witches in Salem because, first off, she was the one who caused hysteria about witchcraft just to cover up the fact that

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655 Words | 3 Pages

In Salem, Massachusetts a series of hearings and prosecutions started, commonly known as the Salem Witchcraft Trials. The witchcraft trials in Salem became a big concern after two-hundred innocent people were accused and twenty people were executed. Many people of Salem believed the court was just in accusing all these victims. A seldom amount of people went against the court in saying that the court was a fraud and that the decisions were biased being made. Abigail Williams held all the power in the court and determined who was “guilty” or not.

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799 Words | 4 Pages

In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, Miller demonstrated that it was Abigail William’s flaws: lust, vengeance, and jealously that led her to be responsible the most for the tragedy of the witch hunts in Salem. Abigail Williams started the entire suspicion of there being active member of witchcraft throughout Salem, Massachusetts. She did this for her own benefits and used trickery to get what she wanted. Abigail was corrupt and only cared for her own desires. There are many reasons that these flaws are crucial to the outcome of the play.

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964 Words | 4 Pages

John Proctor, Deputy Governor Danforth, and Abigail Williams were worried about their reputation in town, and they were willing to commit many sins and harm others to prevent this from happening. To begin with, John Proctor was seen as a good citizen. He was well-respected among his neighbors and other people in Salem because of his upright morals. He had an affair with his old servant, Abigail Williams. He tried to keep this hidden from the people to keep his good name.

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