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Character analysis essay the crucible
Character analysis in the crucible
Character analysis essay the crucible
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Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, is seen as a true piece of American Literature that presents itself at the core of McCarthyism in the bitter wake of Communists spies inside the United States. In many cases the main character of Abigail Williams is considered secondary to that of John Proctor. However, many years later, Miller writes a screenplay for the 1996 film adaptation starring Hollywood heavyweights like Winona Ryder; whose portrayal seems to allow the character of Abigail to have more room to expand. It is to my opinion that the author does this to present a more rapid and truthful motif that differs from that of the 1950 ‘witch hunt’ for communists. It is shown in the differing aspects of Abigail’s character from play to screen,
In the words of Richelle E. Goodrich, “Vengeance is a monster of appetite, forever bloodthirsty and never filled.” Arthur Miller recognized this sinful inclination as it commonly circulated during the anti-communist, “Red Scare.” He corresponds this period to the 1692, Salem Witch Trials, another frightening occasion where wicked accusations loomed over civilians. At least 200 people were thought to practice witchcraft and around 20 were executed on account of this. Without a doubt, both incidents prove how quick someone can act upon bitter motives, specifically by spreading unscrupulous lies for the sake of getting even.
Winona Ryder stated that Abigail Williams is not the villain in Miller’s play, The Crucible. In reality, Abigail definitely portrays the villain by her manipulative and evil deeds. For example, Abigail accused Goody Proctor of witchcraft because Elizabeth suspected lechery between Abigail and her husband, John, which allowed for Goody Proctor to dismiss her. In Act III, Mary Warren confesses to the court that Abigail Williams was the one to accuse Elizabeth Proctor of witchcraft. In which Elizabeth replies, “Question Abigail Williams about the gospel, not myself.”
The play The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller uses an excessive amount of stage directions to establish the character of Abigail Williams. At the beginning of Act 1 when Abigail first enters, Abigail is described as a “strikingly beautiful girl with an endless capacity for dissembling.” Miller immediately established Abigail as a dishonest person because she is willing to lie to save her name in Salem. Another example, of Miller’s use of stage direction is when Parris and Abigail are arguing about her being discharged from Goody Proctor's service, Abigail spoke to Parris “with ill-concealed resentment.” The way Abigail spoke Parris shows that Abigail is short tempered and has a bitter personality.
In , The Crucible, Abigail Williams is described as a vindictive and manipulative person. Abigail often makes the wrong decisions and tends to hurt others around her to get what she wants. Abigail is a victim of her strict society, living under the strict rules of her uncle, and hoping to be with a man who she does not believe loves her back all contribute to forming who her character is. In Act 1, Abigail Williams was seen dancing in the forest at night with some of the other girls.
Metamorphosis In prominent works of literature, there is always one character or a handful that cling to minds of readers. This could be due to the characters’ heroic deeds that are deeply admirable. On the other extreme, characters can encapsulate all we despise, making it a challenge to not link the story as a whole to the actions of one character in our minds. One such example of this extreme is Abigail Williams, easily the most despicable and vile character of The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller.
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
As abigail says to the other girls “And mark this. Let either of you breathe a word, or the edge of a word, about the other things, and I will come to you in the black of some terrible night and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you.(Act 1) In this quote abigail is threatening and controlling these young girls to not say one word about anything or else she would kill them. Abigail and the girls got caught in the woods and abigail took charge in attempt to cover up what they were actually doing, with this she threatens the girls to speak of nothing. This quote shows how intimidating and controlling Abigail can be; she threatened to kill these girls if they said anything she was not okay with.
“You drank blood, Abby! You didn’t tell him that!” “Betty you never say that again! You will never-” “You did, you did! You Drank a charm to kill John Proctor’s wife!
“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?
Sometimes there are things that occur in people childhood lives that may turn them into a unpleasant person. Their behavior as a young adult can be a result from what they were exposed to as a child. In the play Crucible, playwright by Arthur Miller shows and tells some of the effects from the childhood life of Abigail Williams. Abigail has grown up to be selfish, conniving, and ruthless. Her parents (along with the Indians), Reverend Parris and John Protector can be somewhat accountable for her actions as the young adult she is.
In my experiment I was testing the effect of varying baking soda amounts in a buttermilk pancake recipe. I was interested in seeing how the different baking soda amounts would change the texture, color, and height of the pancake. The texture of the pancake varied. The first few batches, with no to small amounts of baking soda, were very dense and didn’t have many air bubbles. When we followed the recipe using the suggested amount of baking soda, Batch E, the pancake showed more, larger air bubbles than the first few batches.
Arthur Miller said in an interview once, “ I took creative license with her character to make the connection between sexuality and politics more dramatic,” (Shmoop). This is one of the reasons Arthur Miller made Abigail Williams in The Crucible so different compared to the real Abigail. Abigail Williams was an 11 year -old girl who lived in Salem and worked for the Proctor family, John and Elizabeth, before the time of the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. Before the trails even started, Abigail and her cousin, Betty Parris, got into fortune telling their future like whom they would marry and what their social status would be. After a while they got the other girls in town to start playing their fortune telling game and soon the adults saw it as
Nicole Schaefer Mr. Becker American Literature October 29, 2014 Two Women for Two Different Worlds In the novel the crucible, Elizabeth, wife of John Proctor, and Abigail Williams, mistress of John Proctor are two main roles. Elizabeth, a woman who is loyal and true, or manipulative and ruthless liar, Abigail. She pretends to see spirits and commands the other girls to pretend as well.
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.
