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How Does Abigail Lie In The Crucible

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Imagine living in a world where each day could be your last day on earth. Learning how to appreciate each and every day is crucial, considering there is no guarantee of tomorrow. In Salem, Massachusetts in the year of 1692, many innocent people lost their lives due to ridiculous accusations of witchcraft. The worst part about this was that the people being accused had no way to defend themselves against these so called “victims” of witchcraft. This horrific time in American history has been retold in an exciting, suspenseful piece of literature. The play, The Crucible by Arthur Miller, portrays one character in particular that should be the one to blame for multiple innocent lives lost in the Salem witchcraft trials. Abigail Williams, the niece …show more content…

In Act I of the play, Reverend Parris questions Abigail about what he saw one night in the woods. It is very noticeable that Abigail is lying because the text shows not only did she dance naked in the woods, but she replied in a frightful voice when her uncle asks: “And I thought I saw someone naked running through the trees” (10)! She replies, “No one was naked! You mistake yourself, uncle” (11)! Not only did she lie to her uncle to protect herself from getting in trouble, she also lies in the court which is a serious offense. Later in Act III when John Proctor attempts to expose Abigail Williams as a liar he admits to the court officials that he and Abigail have had relations in the past. Judge Danforth asks Abigail: “You deny every scrap and title of this?” and Abigail replies, “If I must answer that, I will leave and I will not come back again” (103)! The way Abigail replies to what John Proctor reveals about their affair is very suspicious. She does not give a straight answer to Judge Danforth but rather says things to ‘beat around the bush.’ Abigail Williams lies and manipulates people around her all throughout the play and eventually it becomes evident to all characters that she was in fact pure …show more content…

Abigail single-handedly destroyed the Proctor’s relationship as husband and wife and let innocent people hang from crimes they did not commit. The Salem witchcraft trials that took place around that time is why America’s judiciary system is like how it is today. One’s actions and words can ultimately change the way the government rules in the court forever. These policies that are now intact today are all because of Abigail Williams, the character in the play, The Crucible, which is based on a true

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512 Words | 3 Pages

In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, the setting is Salem, Massachusetts during the late 1600s where the town’s pious Puritan beliefs directly influence their government. A 17-year-old girl named Abigail Williams had an affair with John Proctor, a wealthy, married man. Abigail is told by John to move on but instead, Abigail starts accusing the townspeople of witchcraft, including John Proctor’s wife Elizabeth. As this hysteria begins to rise, other people such as Thomas Putnam, a rich landowner, start to also allege Salem villagers. In this play, the author illustrates the central idea that people should not allow jealousy to control their actions.

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The more people she killed, the less it meant to her. The town started to realize the horror taking place--even some of the girls. But Abigail no longer had any consideration for her sins and continued to persecute more and more innocent people. Abigail Williams proved to be the most heinous character throughout the entirety of the play. Her actions were not justifiable in any way.

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504 Words | 3 Pages

She is eighteen years old, she had an affair with a man named John Proctor, and she cannot be trusted. Abigail displays three character flaws: dishonesty, envy, and lust. Abigail displays dishonesty in the play because she lied about her and the other girls conjuring spirits in the woods. Abigail lied to her uncle and told him “It were sport uncle” (Miller 10 and 11) .Abigail ’s uncle questions her about why she was kicked out of Elizabeth

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582 Words | 3 Pages

Adolescent minds are the most intelligent kind of mind. A young brain is filled with creativity, imagination and innocence. Though the thought process of a teen is assumed to be selfish there are other factors involved. A combination of these characteristics seems almost dangerous. One would undermine a juvenile to use these qualities to manipulate the court for their own selfish wishes or pleasures.

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168 Words | 1 Pages

In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, in 1692 witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts the main character in the play, Abigail Williams is to blame for. Throughout the play Arthur Miller had many things to state about injustice. One of the many things was how Tituba had been blamed for witchcraft because she was a slave as well as the race that she was. Arthur Miller also showed the trait, injustice, through Abigail Williams: everyone else was wrong and she always had to be right. In addition, John Proctor was married to Elizabeth Proctor and he had an affair with Abigail and throughout the play her jealousy was revolved.

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811 Words | 4 Pages

In the first Act, Abigail manipulates the girls into helping her lie about the forest “incident” in the beginning of the play. "Now look you, all of you we danced and Tituba conjured Ruth Putnam 's dead sisters, and that is all. Mark this let either of you breathe a word 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 I, 20). In this quote, Abigail becomes aware of what she did in the forest along with the girl and threatens them to keep silence if they want to keep their lives.

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604 Words | 3 Pages

Abigail Williams Destined for Hell "The truth doesn't cost anything, but a lie could cost you anything." This quote by an unknown author perfectly sums up the way Abigail Williams acted and treated people. During the Salem witch trials Abigail Williams was no typical Puritan women. She was seventeen years old and did whatever she wanted.

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462 Words | 2 Pages

As time has passed, throughout history, during different periods of time there are parallels. There are three eras that we are focussed on, where there are three types of people during each era. The three different eras that we’re focusing on, are The Salem Witch Trials (1600s), The McCarthy Era (1950s), and Today (2000s); the three types of people are the people who are the reasons why there’s accusations towards the accused, the accused, and finally the accusers.     In The Crucible, or during the Salem Witch Trials, the person that’s the reason why characters were accused is John Proctor. The accuser in the play, who decides to point fingers at everyone, is Abigail Williams.

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987 Words | 4 Pages

When people think of the play, “The Crucible”, they usually picture the witch trials and women being hanged, but Arthur Miller depicts the witch trials in a completely new light. He shows through a story that the witch trials were much more than just people calling others witches. There was deceit, pain, greed, and more. Through the play, we follow the character, Abigail, observe her actions and their consequences. We witness the lives of people she impacts, what happens to them, and how many times she lies to get her way.

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825 Words | 4 Pages

Afterwards, she was willing to destroy anyone in the way of her getting to be with him. Proctor definitely wishes he had never laid with Abigail, and everyone else was paying for his mistake, as she ruined everyone’s lives, “I have known her, sir. I have known her.” (Act III, 378). A single lie snowballed, leaving death and terror in its wake, all because Abigail could not, and likely did not want to control herself.

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565 Words | 3 Pages

She not only forces the girls to lie but forces herself too. On the other hand some, more than others, do think that Abigail Williams is nothing but an innocent girl or child. These might have created this opinion based off of her past filled with great trauma and tragedy. She witnessed her parents being murdered with her own two eyes and at such a young age.

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934 Words | 4 Pages

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.

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451 Words | 2 Pages

If Abigail, John, and Elizabeth would have been honest to begin with then many innocent people would not have lost their lives and left the town in despair. Abigail Williams lied to many people a during the entire story. In Act 1, Abigail made Reverend Parris believe that she was dismissed from working for the Proctors was due to the fact that “She (Elizabeth) hates me, uncle, she must, for I would not be her slave. It’s a bitter woman, a lying, cold, sniveling woman, and I will not work for such a woman!” (Miller, 140).

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566 Words | 3 Pages

In Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible”, Abigail is most to blame in the Salem Witch Trials. The Salem Witch Trials is based on a period of time where the devil’s work has found its way into the Christian city of Salem, causing everybody accused of witchcraft to confess, or be hanged. Abigail, a teenage girl at the time, has fell madly in love with a man by the name of John Proctor. John is a married man, but in his past he has had an affair with Abigail which nobody knew of. Abigail’s immaturity shows throughout the story, along with major jealousy over Elizabeth Proctor, John’s wife.

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429 Words | 2 Pages

She will say or do anything to cover up the fact that she took a blood charm to kill John Proctor's wife, whom she had affair with. Abigail threatens the girls that she will come “in the black of some terrible night” if they mention what happened to anyone that night (1.1.1244). Abigail Williams will also lie about anything to

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