...Character Analysis of Abigail Williams Author Miller’s drama The Crucible takes place in the seventeenth-century in Salem, Massachusetts. Salem suffers from witch-hunts, trials, and false accusations. In effect, the town is full of worry and suspicion; and when young girls falsely accuse self-righteous neighbors in Salem of witchcraft, the town goes against itself, which ultimately causes a conflict between power and aggression. The personality of Abigail Williams, the understood leader of all the young girls, ultimately causes the whole play to go into effect. Abigail displays that she is sinful, envious, and manipulative. Abigail Williams’ characteristic of sinfulness causes her to be the antagonist of the whole play. Abigail commits...
Words: 906 - Pages: 4
...Abigail Williams is a character in the play, The Crucible. Her parents were killed by Indians so she now lives with her uncle, Reverend Parris. Abigail William had an affair with John Proctor. She was the reason to why all the girls left to go to the woods. While in the woods, she attempted to put a spell on Goody Proctor because she was obsessed with Mr. Proctor so she wanted Mrs. Proctor gone so that she could have Mr. Proctor all to herself. Abigail lies about why she was in the woods to protect her name. Later her uncle, reverend Parris, questioned why she was kicked out of the Proctors home, she then lied again and said because she did not want to be a slave and that is what they were trying to do. She lied so she did not have to admit she had an affair with John...
Words: 490 - Pages: 2
...theme manifest throughout most plays, movies, and books, you can particularly see throughout The Crucible by Andrew Miller and Goodnight and Goodluck written by George Clooney. The The Crucible, a play, and Goodnight and Goodluck, a movie both dramatize times in history when, in the case of the play, a real witch hunt occurs, and in the Movie a metaphorical witch hunt takes place. In both the play and the movie, you see people's actions are often motivated by a desire for revenge. In The Crucible, there is a woman named Ann Putnam. She has had seven babies and only one of them has lived. This would obviously make any mother...
Words: 783 - Pages: 4
...considered blasphemous as witches. Through The Crucible, Arthur Miller describes the irrational behaviour of people in “all classes”(Miller 7) from Salem, Massachusetts during this time of misdemeanor. Many characters throughout the play incriminate others due to bitterness and jealousy. For instance, Abigail indicted her former lover, John Proctor’s, wife. Ultimately the corrupted men and women of Salem reached their goal of hanging the pure, which leads to hysteria amongst the townsfolk. Although John Proctor begins the play as an ambivalent and uncertain man, who is paralyzed...
Words: 1325 - Pages: 6
...guilt for an event that never happened. During the Red Scare this is what was occurring all around. In The Crucible, Elizabeth Proctor was accused by Abigail William because of her hatred towards Elizabeth. In the Red Scare they targeted celebrities because they thought they were high targeted and could possibly be a communist. The Red Scare influenced the book “The Crucible” by reflecting the United States government with the court of Salem, people who were accused and arrested for being a Communist, in addition to fear with how scare tactics impacted societies. The Red Scare influenced the book “The Crucible” by reflecting the United States government with the Court of Salem. During the Red Scare, the United States government and the communist Soviet Union became engaged in a series of largely political problems with economic clashes. Both the Soviet Union and the United States’ intense rivalry caused tension between these two superpowers which raised concerns in the United States that communists were inside America might have been working as Soviet spies. These Soviet spies were said to perhaps, pose a threat to the U.S security. As for the Court of Salem, a group of young girls claimed to be...
Words: 1323 - Pages: 6
...Deputy Governor Danforth: The “Savior” of Salem Village? In The Crucible, Deputy Governor Danforth plays a major role, seeing that he is the highest official that has been called in to officiate the Salem Village court. Danforth does his best to make everyone believe that he is like the “hero” of Salem Village. He acted like he could almost do no wrong, even though that is very incorrect. Danforth even keeps this attitude after the evidence is shown that the whole Salem Village Witch Trials were a sham. Danforth is not the “hero” of Salem Village, he is the destructor of Salem Village. There is much proof that shows that Danforth was not following his job of giving a fair trial to the accused people of Salem Village. Danforth has multiple...
Words: 546 - Pages: 3
...The protagonist of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, John Proctor, passes his extreme test because he is willing to put his life and reputation at risk to free Elizabeth from all of her troubles. John’s past affair with the jealous Abigail Williams is no secret to Elizabeth. Determined to do anything she can to accuse Elizabeth of witchcraft, Abigail makes up many lies about her like accusing her of implanting a needle in a doll. John finally sees that there is only one way to stop the hysteria in Salem: to admit his sin of adultery. “I have known her, sir. I have known her”(1145). Proctor faces one of his crucible moments in the play, when he tells the court he committed the crime of adultery, and he passes. He confesses in front of the court and the judges that he himself was an adulterer. Proctor feels he owed this to Elizabeth. He wants to make up for...
Words: 828 - Pages: 4
...LC Plays and Performance – Formative Assesment To what extent are the plays you have studied on this module concerned with issues of gender? Both The Crucible by Arthur Miller and A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare are highly evocative pieces of theatre that have transcended the category of brilliance and have had a profound effect on the course of Western literature and culture. Both plays explore a broad range of themes, from the supernatural to comments on the power of religion in society. However, I have chosen to explore the ways in which they portray the theme of gender. Firstly I will examine the issues regarding gender in A Midsummer Night’s Dream in particular the oppression of the female characters. I will explore Shakespeare’s portrayal of Titania and Hermia and his ability to disguise the deeper feminist consciousness that is at work. I will then look at the way in which gender is presented in Miller’s The Crucible, ranging from the heroic depiction of John Proctor to the oppositional presentations of Abigail and Elizabeth. William Shakespeare is a famously suggestive author in terms of highlighting issues regarding gender ideology. Although in some works, such as Othello, he reflects and arguably supports the stereotyping of men and women, he is also seen to challenge such representations. A Midsummer Night’s Dream dramatizes tensions between genders, from a young woman quarrelling with her father for the right to choose her own husband, to Theseus...
Words: 2021 - Pages: 9
...The Salem split “Yes, hang him!.. No, he’s innocent”, shout the people of the city. Persecutions can tear a society apart! One book that displays a torn society is The Crucible by Arthur Miller. This story is about the Salem witch trials in the late 1600s. The Salem society in The Crucible is a great example of the theme, persecution of the innocent destroys society, because of the blame of innocent people, lying to save’s one life, and factionalism in the community. Many people have been accused of something they didn’t do, it has happened in the past will happen in the future. That is one of the fastest ways to get people all worked up. Abigail gets so worked up when Reverend Parris asks what she was concealing that she shrieks, “She made...
Words: 886 - Pages: 4
...The Crucible Act Three Questions Short Response Answer the following questions based on your knowledge of the drama. Write a response on a separate sheet of paper. 1. Describe one piece of evidence that Giles, Francis, or Proctor bring before the court to show that the girls are lying. 2. What does Abigail do to distract Danforth from Hale’s accusations that she is lying? 3. How does Hale show that he believes that the court is not doing the right thing? Use three details from the text in your response. 4. Danforth explains that “. . . a person is either with this court or he must be counted against it, there be no road between.” What conclusion can you draw about Danforth’s character from this line? 5. How does Hale excuse Elizabeth’s lie about Abigail’s affair with Proctor? 6. Danforth explains that witchcraft is an invisible crime and that only the victims are reliable. How does his philosophy flame the hysteria? Use details from the drama to support your response. 7. How do Hale and Parris try to thwart each other, or act as foils, in regards to Danforth and the court? Use details from the drama to support your response. 8. Describe the point at which you think the plot reaches its highest intensity, or climax. 9. After the outbreak in court, Mr. Danforth makes the following short statement to Mr. Hale: I will have nothing from you, Mr. Hale! In your own words, describe what Mr. Hale has said or done to instigate Mr. Danforth’s...
Words: 3241 - Pages: 13
...In the small Town of Salem, author Arthur Miller shows how hysteria works in a crowd of people in the play, The Crucible The mass hysteria presented in the play is the witch trials and the Red Scare. The score could have been stopped in the Salem village if Abigail Williams and Betty Parris would have told the truth and not accuse the girls of connecting with the devil and practicing witchcraft and served their punishment. Abigail would have been able to stop this if she had not spread the rumor of witchcraft around the village and, also by not making accusations about Tituba being a witch. Because of her blaming Tituba, they know there is more than just one as Tituba says which, makes a panic for Parris. Abigail tells Mrs. Putnam about it when she blames Tituba. Abigail shouts to Parris, “She...
Words: 609 - Pages: 3
...The crucible is still revealing today because it’s a multi-layered book with events, characters and themes comparable. It is common for us to fear change and what is unknown, in this instance in The Crucible were dealing with witchcraft and the devil. Most recently this was comparable to McCarthyism. The themes that are presented within the Crucible are as important to people in this time period as Salem in 1692. A central theme that was found throughout the Crucible and relates back to us in society is the maintaining of reputation. Even today, we do not want to be associated with the doing of something bad, we want to be known for great things like making Ab honor roll, being polite, or being the one who is best at speaking. Not being associated...
Words: 541 - Pages: 3
...transform the world for the better, through their unfailing belief in goodness. In Arthur Miller’s, The Crucible, this elusive quality is displayed by John Proctor, and over two centuries later in 1955, we see it again in an African-American Civil Rights Activist, Rosa Parks. John Proctor is an honourable farmer from Massachusetts, USA, who after making the mistake of committing adultery with Abigail Williams, becomes caught up in the mass-hysteria of the Salem Witch Trials. Rosa Parks is a Coloured-Rights Activist from Alabama, USA, who’s defiance of American Segregation Laws features as an important landmark of the Civil Rights Movement in the US. Themes such as justice and community, found within the play The Crucible and Rosa Parks’ story are universal, and apply as much today as they did in 1955 and 1692. In The Crucible, a single, small accusation of witchcraft escalates into a full-blown witch hunt, in which dozens of innocent citizens are accused and persecuted on the basis of false charges. This opportunity for allegations becomes a way for people to express their grudges and upset towards others, to show them how they feel by muffling it with all the similar claims around the community. Similarly, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat once, and yet the action presented a way for many others who were unhappy with the segregation circumstances to express how they felt, without being singled out in the community. She recalls, “At the time I was arrested I had no...
Words: 824 - Pages: 4
...The Crucible is a tragic story, one of unjustified deaths and malicious lies. People died standing up for what they believed in, and according to the story, one of those people was John Proctor. However, he wasn’t the courageous individual who wanted to save the lives of others. He had something else in mind, his own reputation. John Proctor died to save his own reputation in his town. He chose to die rather than live with his pregnant wife and children, just to avoid losing his good name. As the story was spun, John Proctor was supposed to appear as a tragic hero, however this is not the case. John Proctor’s actions were driven by guilt, selfishness and arrogance, not because of heroism. Although John Proctor's death was not warranted, he...
Words: 1050 - Pages: 5
...Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible, whose actions and inactions greatly impact the lives of the other characters. In Act I, Reverend Hale appears and acts very haughtily. He believes he knows everything about witches and that he is the savior of Salem. For instance, when he says, “Here is all the invisible world, caught, defined, and calculated… Here are all your familiar spirits - your incubi and succubi… Have no fear now - we shall find him out and I mean to crush him utterly if he has shown his face!” he is displaying his haughtiness by bragging about his intellect (1106). Later, he uses his Reverend status to persuade the accused to confess. By saying, “The Devil can never overcome a minister” he is showing his overconfidence and ignorance by believing that ministers are invincible (1110)....
Words: 634 - Pages: 3
