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Examples Of Abigail Williams In The Crucible

1137 Words5 Pages

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. As this play unfolds, the clandestine actions of Abigail compound rapidly, illustrating the fragile state of her morality. To begin, Abigail starts the play off with a harmless, yet controversially viewed method of “witchcraft” to win the man she lusts over. As events unfold, she uses every resource at her disposal to protect her reputation and keep the ball rolling. From the very beginning, Abigail intimidates her friends in order to play along with her schemes, saying, “ Now look you... We danced...Tituba conjured Ruth Putnam’s dead sisters...breathe a word, or the edge of a word...and I will come to you in the black of some terrible night and I will bring a pointy reckoning,” (1137). The plot thickens as John Proctor refuses Abigail’s affections, as he feels guilty for his adultery with her. …show more content…

During the time period of the 1950’s, Arthur Miller writes, The Crucible. With the rampant fear of Communism spreading widely, a senator, Joseph McCarthy was rapidly gaining fame with his accusations. McCarthy claims that the Senate is infiltrated by hundreds of Communists, and leads an investigation. All who opposed his investigation suffer accusations of involvement with Communism as well. The actions of Senator McCarthy are a direct parallel to the actions of Abigail Williams in her accusations against all that threaten her

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1779 Words | 8 Pages

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,

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329 Words | 2 Pages

The Crucible’s Abigail Williams is best known for her involvement in the Salem Witch Trials just as Senator Joseph McCarthy is best known for his involvement in the Red Scare. Abigail Williams was known in her society as a saint. She had supposedly committed some form of witchcraft and had redeemed herself by giving the names of other “witches”. She, and several other girls, were largely responsible for the conviction and deaths of nineteen innocent villagers. Abigail and McCarthy both had caused mass hysteria in their communities in order to draw attention to themselves, further their reputations, and to get rid of people they saw unfit to live in their society.

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264 Words | 2 Pages

In The Crucible, a movie based on the play written by Arthur Miller, fear constantly motivates Abigail Williams to make decisions that will not only determine the fate of members of her town, but Puritanism itself. In Act 1, while accusing an innocent black lady known as Tituba, Abigail pleads to Reverand Hale saying “She sends her spirit on me in church; she makes me laugh at prayer!” (Miller 272) Abigail attacks Tituba’s harmless reputation by accusing her of something that is completely against their religion. With fear of being charged of her wrongdoings in the forest with the other girls, she seeks a scapegoat to divert the accusation of guilt away from herself.

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291 Words | 2 Pages

In the small town of Salem Massachusetts around springtime in 1692, many problems have occurred. But none more potent and dangerous than witchcraft. The buzz of the theory or sorcery happening in the town riled up the people who are ready to go witch hunting. However in a small twist of events, many women were falsely accused of being apart of the sorcerers and were left alone to face the consequences. But who could be responsible for these actions?

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622 Words | 3 Pages

In both stories Mary Maloney and Miss. Strangeworth appear kind and loving but both demonstrate betrayal and hatred towards people at the end of both stories. Sometimes we get fooled by the appearance of others. In “ The possibility of Evil” by Shirley Jackson and “Lamb to the Slaughter” by Roald Dahl both share a common theme of appearance could be deceiving . At the beginning of “The Possibility of Evil” Mis.

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358 Words | 2 Pages

What would you do if you were accused of witchcraft by someone who was just trying to get back at you? In Salem, Massachusetts in 1692 women were being accused of being witches and more than half of them were innocent. Arthur Miller tells about how the town fell apart after hearing the word “witch” and people lying. The whole story goes downhill because lies just keep piling up on each other. Abigail Williams and John Proctor are two big characters that lie throughout the whole play.

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1143 Words | 5 Pages

In The Crucible, a play written by Arthur Miller, Williams shows who she really is. She is not as innocent as everyone believes she is. She has done some bad things. Williams’s heart is much colder than Sauer’s. No person is perfect, yet the moral transgressions of Williams far exceeds the

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450 Words | 2 Pages

We often hear that betrayal can lead to deadly effects, with this in mind, in the story The Cruicible, betrayal is the wall from truth. The play took place in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. During this time strange acts were appearing all around Salem. As a result of these acts people blamed each other to exclude themselves from death, knowing that such acts were considered witchcraft. Abigail Williams is one of those people.

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1169 Words | 5 Pages

Abigail Williams’ Influence Is it okay for a person to lie and hurt other people just to keep him or herself safe? In Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible, Abigail Williams lies, a lot, to keep herself safe. Throughout the story, many people are accused of witchcraft. When a person is accused of witchcraft, it is very easy for them to get out of the accusation if they lie. The lies that are told shifts the belief of who knows witchcraft, and Abigail Williams uses those lies to gain influence over other people.

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756 Words | 4 Pages

One of the most powerful human emotions is desire. Everyone is constantly trying to fulfill their own desires. A desire or passion may be so strong it can conflict with morality. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, Abigail Williams, is driven to go against her moral duty and pursue John Proctor. She will stop at nothing to see her plan through.

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782 Words | 4 Pages

The Crucible “Be careful not to mistake insecurity and inadequacy for humility! Humility has nothing to do with the insecure and inadequate.” In today’s society people can be insecure about anything especially when it comes to relationships, societal expectations, or just the way we perceive ourselves compared to others. Elizabeth Proctor started to blame herself and become insecure over her husbands morbid act of Infidelity, and Abigail Williams became insecure over John Proctor choosing his wife Elizabeth rather than her. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, there was many signs of so called “witchcraft” which had led to many false accusations of this crime that caused many unnecassary hangings of numerous people.

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570 Words | 3 Pages

Cruelty is a recurrent theme in literature that often acts as a critical factor in a novel’s development. In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, the occurrence of cruelty is seen to be gradually increasing as the story goes on from accusations of witchcraft that lead into chaos and death. Through Miller’s depiction of the merciless accusations and murders of innocent people, cruelty reveals a high extent of people’s animosity and vengeance that is greatly influenced by the attitude of the surrounding atmosphere. The accusations first began when the girls who were caught “dancing” in the forest were under pressure to confess what they were truly doing.

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658 Words | 3 Pages

The question[s] that I will answer for my essay would be the following: Who is the most admirable OR despicable character in the play? What would be the larger message that Miller sends through this character? Throughout the whole Crucible play, we observe the characters and the attitudes they portray. There are characters that change over time in the play, and there are characters who stay the same.

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780 Words | 4 Pages

Corruption and manipulation are common trends in Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible. When crisis surfaced in the town of Salem, citizens leaped at the opportunity of salvation. The corruption and manipulation became prominent once this issue arose. When Abigail Williams is accused of witchcraft, she yells, “I want

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818 Words | 4 Pages

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

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