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Abigail Williams's Hysteria In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

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The witch trials that took place around the 15 and 1600’s ruined many lives and crippled many towns. One of the most notable towns that this witch hysteria broke out was in the town of Salem. Salem was a normal puritan town during that time period in the new America with religion being the core of the town. Most of the people had good relations with others in the town before the witch trials, were people would accuse one of perfoming demonic arts in attempt to steal one's wife, land, or goods. Of the characters in The Crucible Abigail Williams who was the niece the town's reverend is the main reason that the mass witch hysteria broke out in Salem. Some ways in which Abigail's proves to be the main reason for this mass hysteria is that she decides …show more content…

Once Tituba says she has dealt with the devil Abigail realizes the trouble she may be in because she was caught dancing and attempting to perform hex spells. Therefore Abigail in fear and trying to save herself cries out “[she] saw Goody Hawkins with the Devil,” even though she knows what she just said is not true (Miller 1157). When Abigail cried out names of people who dealt with the devil she damned the people of who she accused, for one can be hung for being accused a witch and not admit to dealing with the devil. When Abigail said the names it made people wonder if there were others roaming through Salem who is a witch, and now people are in fear because of false accusations a girl made to save herself. Abigail accuses some people witchcraft was not the only deed she did which cause the people in the town to constantly be crying …show more content…

With people in the growing against Abigail she begins to ruin anyone who goes against what she says. When Abigail accuses Goody Proctor John Proctor makes Mary Warren go to court to prove that Abigail is a fraud. Now that there is someone who is against abigail, abigail begins to fear that she may be proven a fraud and lose her power. With Abigail angry at Mary Warren for turning against her she starts to say how she sees a bird sent from Mary that is going to “tear [her] face” with this all the other girls begin to fear the bird that they say Mary sent upon them (Miller 1209). With part of the town in actual fear of witches and the other part in fear of abby there is now a huge hysteria going around and the town is not able to function

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Abigail Williams is the source of the witchcraft hysteria in Salem. Abigail is first accused of bewitching Betty Parris in the woods one night. She quickly disputes the accusation by saying they: Ruth Putnam, Tituba, Betty Parris, Mary Warren, and Abigail herself, were only dancing despite it also being highly looked down upon. By starting out with this single lie, her story snowballs and eventually leads to the downfall of Salem. By associating herself with Betty Parris and Ruth Putnam, both of which are sick while Abigail is well, Abigail is submitting herself to a fight she can’t win unless she lies.

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So she says. Abigail is the most responsible for the hysteria and the reason many innocent people are being hung to their death. Abigail goes to the woods to drink blood to curse Elizabeth Proctor. Abigail was the Proctors servant. Elizabeth found out about to adultery her and John have been doing and fired her.

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Instead of getting her punishment when they were found in the woods, Abigail Williams started to pretend that there were witches among them. Which was a big deal to the religious group known as the Puritans, and the Puritans wanted to know who the witches were. That’s when Abigail had this plan to accuse people who she didn’t like or hated as “witches”, so that she could take her vengeance out on them. If Abigail didn’t pretend that there was witches among them in Salem, then nobody would’ve died and the massive hysteria would've never happened.

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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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In The Crucible, Aurthur Miller illustrates, and suggests how fear of losing someone leads to atrocious and vicious acts. It all starts when Abigail gets caught for performing witchcraft. In this time Salem was Puritan, they were full of fear in the devil, and would kill anyone who was apart of it. Abigail's behavior in the woods lead her to be scared of the other girls she was with to betray her and her name being blackened.

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The Crucible: A Recipe for Disaster It is spring of 1692, and mass hysteria is flying in the air all around the town of Salem. Accusations are being thrown everywhere, and trials are being put into action. Many of the townspeople are being accused of bewitching children. This is notoriously known as the Salem Witch Trials.

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In the Salem Witch Trials, 141 people were arrested, 19 people were hanged, and one person was crushed to death. In the play, The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, the witch trials took place in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692. Abigail was the initial accuser of the witchcraft when she and a few other girls broke the rules. Abby had lied about what happened so she didn’t get punished. Abigail displays her villainous characteristics by telling lies, being manipulative, and leading nineteen innocent people to their untimely death.

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A group of girls control the whole village of Salem with their lies. In the story The Crucible, by Author Miller, many people begin losing their lives due to girls that crave to save their own. A seventeen year old girl by the name of Abigail Williams is the lead of all crazy witchcraft hysteria in Salem. Abigail Williams is the main cause for all witchcraft hysteria because of her threatening leadership and because of her revengeful accusations. First of all Abigail lead the whole group of girls into lying about what really happened in the forest the night before the hysteria started.

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Afterwards Abigail threatens the girls, ‘’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’’ (Miller 408) this is caused when Abigail and the other girls were dancing in the woods around the fire it seems as if they were doing some type of witchcraft but many don’t believe this since there are so many girls that are having to follow whatever Abigail says since she is always threatening them in some way. Doesn’t want to be accused or blamed for these

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1213 Words | 5 Pages

Fear and hysteria intertwine themselves and lead to a full outburst and breakdown within the Puritan community. Actions such as Abigail framing Tituba and watching her get whipped to spare herself, Abigail framing Elizabeth for stabbing her with a poppet, and threatening the group of girls to never mention anything about their dancing goes to show how Abigail’s actions are self-deviated towards only her well-being. Abigail was trying to avoid the fact that she executed unholy activities within the Puritan community, and as a result she began to blame those around her to deviate from the truth. Putting into little regard the effect her outcomes might have on

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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

Abigail forces the girls of Salem to dance in the woods with her to help conjure spirits and make the charm to kill Goody Proctor. Abigail threatens the girls right after Betty took fright by saying, “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.” (Miller, 144). Later on as the trials prolong Mary Warren turns on Abby and is telling the court that she lied. When Abigail then accuses Mary of witchcraft she turns back to Abby and obeys her once again.

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355 Words | 2 Pages

At the end of of Act II of The Crucible by Arthur Miller, the state of life in Salem was not easy. People were unhappy and accusations were being made every which way about who was using witchcraft that night in the woods. Abigail Williams is trying to blame everyone else for what she did. She is like the mean girl of these times. Everything is chaotic in the town.

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565 Words | 3 Pages

In a small village called Salem, witchcraft and sorcery exist, however everyone is pointing fingers but not a single soul knows who is actually to blame for this nonsense. During this time period of hysteria, there are multiple scenes that are very questionable due to one person and one person only. Abigail is the one most responsible for the hysteria and witchcraft in Salem. She threatens the group of girls that accompanied her in the woods while they all danced. She has also lied about many things on multiple occasions in which causes an extreme amount of suspicion.

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818 Words | 4 Pages

She’s the woman who holds grudges, is selfish, and a great liar. Abigail seems to be especially gifted at spreading destruction and chaos wherever she goes. She is able to manipulate others, for example, all her friends and the whole town. In addition, she obtains control over all of them and sends nineteen uninvolved people to their deaths. All these things add up.

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