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Salem witch trials information
Salem witch trials and historical analysis
Salem witch trials and historical analysis
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In the Crucible there are many heinous characters, but for me the most despicable is Abigail. The two reasons that I find her to be the most despicable is because she somehow got all her friends to perform satanic rituals with her in the forest, and also the fact that she and her friends all lied about it, which put many innocent people in jeopardy. In the beginning of the book, Parris sees a large group of girls dancing in the forest naked. As he was approaching the girls to see what was going on, all the girls ran away screaming, leaving behind a pot with a ladel and a frog in it.
Abigail can be described as villainous for being a notorious liar. A prime example of this villainous behavior is shown when Betty is waking from her sleep during the beginning of the play. The girls are discussing about how they should cover up the truth about the night in the woods, when Betty starts to cry out. In the midst of her distress, Betty exposes Abigail and gives the reader more insight as to what went on in the woods that night. “You drank blood, Abby!
Human beings all have selfish tendencies, we tend to care for ourselves more than we care for others but how far would you go to get what you want?Would you kill? Would you steal? What would you do ? I Arthur Miller's the Crucible Abigail Williams is one of the most important characters but she chooses to be very selfish and chooses to put her own needs first which caused several people to lose their lives.
In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible (1952), there are many examples of aspects of the Salem witch trials repeating themselves today. One example in specific was the similarity between President Trump banning seven countries, mainly Muslims countries, and Abigail Williams accusing people she does not like of being witches, they both abuse the power they are given and when doing so it negatively affects others. Trump judges people based on their religion and the color of their skin by the banning seven countries from entering the U.S. because he thought they are terrorists. He abuses his power, by unfairly judging people and trying to keep them out of the country. Likewise, Abigail misuses her power when she accuses innocent people of being
The way someone appears, or acts, is not necessarily always correct or truthful. In the book The Crucible, the Forest Girls, Abigail, Susana, Mary and the others, effectively deceive the townsfolk into believing that witchcraft is practiced in Salem. Abigail Williams is not as innocent as she portrays herself. She misrepresents herself as a virtuous young girl who was unjustly affected by witchcraft. During an escapade in Act III, the girls become disillusioned by Mary Warren who attempts to expose the charges of witchcraft as mere acts of vengeance.
The Crucible reminds us that the abuse of trust and good standing to trick people into false beliefs, often leads to tragedy. Abigail Williams is the best example of this. Miss Williams wasn’t the most respected girl, but she was a young woman, and therefore held to a high standard. When Abigail was caught doing “witchcraft” in the woods, she used that standard to lie,and blame other girls for consorting with the devil and tricking her. Such as in Act 1 when she shouts at Tituba "She made me do it!
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.
Whether a citizen wills to gain power or keep their power, accusing citizens of witch craft seemed to be the way to achieve power. Ultimate power and the ability to send anyone to their death becomes the same thing in Salem. Constantly the people in Salem struggle for power. Mr. Danforth, the judge in Salem has the characteristic of being power hungry, He maintains his power by sending people to death row. The Salem Witch trials are the response to power hungry individuals.
What if the most loved and cared for people were punished and killed because of a girl trying to cover up her own mistakes she made, but created an even bigger one by doing so. A girl named Abigail Williams went against the law along with many other girls and practiced witchery, knowing you could be killed for it. Once confronted, she took many innocent people down along with her, in hopes of covering her mistake up. By doing so, she created a mass hysteria in the small town of Salem, Massachusetts, just to save her own life. A thought out plan containing selfish acts, manipulation and hatred created a tragic mess in a once beloved town.
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
She wants to kill his wife so she can marry John Proctor. Abigail is trying to be on both sides in the situation so that she can save herself. When she is accused of being a witch she rats out other people to try and make it less of a problem for
Abigail does all this for the man that she loves and had an affair with, John Proctor. If the reader begins to focus on John, his actions and what he stands for, they are easily able to recognize he portrays characteristics of the flawed nature of an individual. It is shown through the fact that he had an affair, isn’t able to forgive himself, and at the end of the book, is unable to give up something dear to him to save himself and others. When analyzing John Proctor, the first thing that stands out is that he had an affair with a 17 year-old Abigail Williams. Proctor has a wife who loves him and three children but still decides to stray from his family and fancies someone else.
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
Abigail finally sees the outturn of her lies she has made for what she wants. Proctor is hanged which she didn’t attend to do, but now pays the price. She also found out what lying can do “They’re pretending, Mr. Danforth... Mary, please don’t hurt me!.”(miller 120-121). Lying has made her corrupt and is used to persuade to make harm with.
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
