Society as a whole seeks to satisfy themselves. This may be at the expense of their peers or individuals they are associated with. Arthur Miller brilliantly displays this dark side of humanity’s side in his play The Crucible. This play is based on the Salem witch trials in the early 1690s. During the Salem witch trials over two hundred people were accused of witchcraft and twenty were executed. Miller best depicts the evils in people through the main prosecutor in the the play Abigail Williams. Abigail is undeniably the most destructive and corrupt individual in The Crucible. Through her vengefulness, threatening her peers, carelessness at others’ expense, and complete disregard for human life, she ensues a tumultuous event to Salem. Abigail’s initial accusation against the town beggar was solely to defend herself from punishment for dancing in the woods. She …show more content…
This is the most defining characteristic that shows her malice. All cultures have definite laws to punish those who take the life of someone else. It is abhorred by everyone, especially in a culture of piety. Murder is so abominable because it ends life, the God given right of life. Even the malicious Abigail knew this, whether or not if she did respect her Puritan religion. 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. She was the epitome of an immoral, self-centered person. Many people were executed on her behalf and even more were damned. Everything she did agonized someone else. Through tyranny, she forced her friends to protect her. In the end, though, Abigail had no choice but to run away from where she had previously