Preview

How Does Abigail Williams Use Power In The Crucible

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
249 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
How Does Abigail Williams Use Power In The Crucible
Abigail Williams sets out on a vengeful quest to indirectly kill John Proctor's wife so that she can be with him. However, her accusations of witchcraft cause fear to run rampantly throughout the village as her original quest gets out of hand and eventually results in the hangings of several innocent townspeople.

From the begining of the story, people are fearful of witches and loose spirits. When rumors spread of supernatural forces, Abigail uses them to her advantage and rises to a position of power by using fear to manipulate the people. This newfound power allows her to make several accusations of withcraft in order to support her legitimacy as a victim and therefore, fuel her credibility when she persecutes Elizabeth Proctor. Eventually
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    How Does Abigail Williams Present Evil In The Crucible
    • 174 Words
    • 1 Page

    How Does Abigail Williams Present Evil In The Crucible

    During a time of crisis, Abigail Williams in the crucible exerts a malicious and vengeful behaviour towards Goody Proctor in order to take her place as proctor’s wife while Aphra Bont in year of wonders acts desperate for revenge of Anna and the Mompellions. In the crucible, Abigail Williams is the ‘ring leader’ of the girls who have been caught in the forest dancing doing witch craft. This leds the town to go crazy over witches and start the witch trials. Abigail attempts to justify her hatred towards Elizabeth accusing her of ‘telling lies’ and ‘blackening [her] name in the village.’ In comparison, Aphra Bont also delivers an evil aspect to the relation of the plague in year of wonders, creating a sense of insecurity. Early in the novel Anna…

    • 174 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Examples Of Abigail In The Crucible
    • 309 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Examples Of Abigail In The Crucible

    In “ The Crucible “ Abigail was accused of the Salem Witch Trials and the dreadful hangings because she was always sneaky, mean, dishonesty, and was the one to blame for when stuff happened. "Abby, I may think of you softly from time to time. But I will cut off my hand before I'll ever reach for you again”. Abigail tried to kill Elizabeth with a curse in the beginning of the play because she had always wanted to marry John Proctor and she thought that the time was right. Therefore, mainly everyone in the village didn’t trust Abigail because she tried to sneak behind Elizabeth back and tried to set her up for the kill. Abigail was the cause of the Salem Witch Trial all because she fell in love with a married man.…

    • 309 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Examples Of Abigail's Flaws In The Crucible
    • 564 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Examples Of Abigail's Flaws In The Crucible

    At one point in the play she gets angry at Elizabeth Proctor because she believes that she is ruining her reputation “My name is good in the village! I will not have it said my name is soiled! Goody Proctor is a gossiping liar!” (Miller 13). She is also threatening the girls so they won’t tell the truth “Let either of you breathe a word, or the edge of a word, about the other things, 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 20). Since Abigail is quick-tempered I believe that it causes more trouble in the play because the girls are to scared to confess the truth to the people of Salem.…

    • 564 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Who Is Abigail Deceiving In The Crucible
    • 643 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Who Is Abigail Deceiving In The Crucible

    During this part of the play characters are filled with hysteria and it seems as though madness has struck the town. Abigail makes accusations after all of the other girls have already accused many people in the town. I believe Abigail started to accuse others in the town of witchcraft so that she could have attention and was also pressured into it. Since everyone else was making accusations Abigail would have needed to also accuse people or else they might have started to question her or accused her of being a witch.…

    • 643 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Who Is Abigail Selfish In The Crucible
    • 855 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Who Is Abigail Selfish In The Crucible

    In Salem, Massachusetts in the year of 1692 the Salem witch trials ruined everybody’s lives and ignited all because of Abigail Williams. In the play the “Crucible” which is also known as a severe test, the town of Salem was considered a Crucible. The town was put through hard and controversial times. Abigail’s attachment to John Proctor makes her try to get rid of his wife Elizabeth throughout the entire play. Abigail also even threatens and lies multiple times to people to get what she wants. Abigail is a mean and selfish person that always wants her way no matter who she hurts.…

    • 855 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    What Does Abigail Williams Symbolize In The Crucible
    • 616 Words
    • 3 Pages

    What Does Abigail Williams Symbolize In The Crucible

    In act one Abigail Williams was most responsible for the riotous situation in Salem. “I look for John Proctor that took me from my sleep and put knowledge in my heart”(pg 1099). Abigail is saying that John gave her hope and love. John Proctor had an affair on his wife Abigail causing her to fall in love with him. Her desire to have John for herself was a reason why all the chaos happened. Abigail would do anything to have John to herself even accuse Elizabeth, who is John’s wife,…

    • 616 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    John Proctor Sacrifice
    • 1868 Words
    • 8 Pages

    John Proctor Sacrifice

    She was then taken in by Reverend Parris, her uncle, and was able to find employment in the Proctor household, which led to the development of the conflict in The Crucible. Abigail was sent away from the Proctor household after Elizabeth found out about the lecherous acts between Abigail and John Proctor. The build up of experiences, from the murder of her parents up until the first act probably led her to the current disposition she is in during the play. She easily prioritizes her own desires at the expense of others, even going to the extent of cursing Elizabeth Proctor during prior to the first act and, later on, blaming Elizabeth Proctor for practicing witchcraft. Abigail Williams does not seem to be bound by moral standards, as seen in her continuing active participation in the witch hunt and conviction of a number of Salem's citizens. Her knack for mischief develops further towards the third act, when Mary Warren came forward with the claim that she had lied about being afflicted by supernatural forces. This statement could have displaced the previous accusations that Abigail and her friends had given in the past. Abigail, recognizing the possibility of being imprisoned for deceiving the court, started acting as if Mary Warren had cast her spirit on Abigail and her friends. Mischief turned into vengeance at this point, when the girls were too deep into their lie that self-preservation and hatred towards those endangering that self-preservation fueled their…

    • 1868 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Elizabeth's Motive In The Crucible
    • 471 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Elizabeth's Motive In The Crucible

    Abigail Williams is a seventeen year old orphan, who cares more about herself than others and she values John Proctor. All throughout this book Abigail was doing multiple selfish things, trying to avoid herself getting into trouble. She lied about her and a group of girls practicing witchcraft in the forest. She also never told that she drunk blood in order to kill Elizabeth Proctor. John Proctor's wife, Elizabeth Proctor, said “I think she see another meaning in that blush.” Elizabeth knows that Abigail has something more like a special feeling about John…

    • 471 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Traits Of Abigail Williams In The Crucible By Arthur Miller
    • 175 Words
    • 1 Page

    Traits Of Abigail Williams In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

    The Crucible" is a play about the Salem Witch Trials that took place in Massachusetts in 1692. The cause for these events is caused by a group of girls who refuse to take responsibility for their actions. Reverend Parris' niece Abigail Williams is the person in charge of the group of girls. She knew that everyone in Salem would believe what she said. She took advantage of that, and throughout this play Abigail's attention seeking, vindictive, and dishonest traits will be well-shown.…

    • 175 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Abigail In The Crucible
    • 833 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Abigail In The Crucible

    Her appearance was just as deceitful as her actual personality. In the story Abigail is introduced on page 8 as a “strikingly beautiful girl, an orphan, and with an endless capacity for dissembling.” It is ironic how alluring and appealing her appearance was, yet, her personality was evil and twisted. The fact that she has the ability to conceal her real motives and feelings gave her an advantage which she abused in order to achieve her sole purpose. Proctor, a married man whom she had an affair with, is the reason she began the entire witchcraft frenzy. All she wanted was to be with the man she fell in love with, Proctor, and she took the opportunity to do so. Her values were in Proctor, in getting what she wanted, and in power. She began to obsess in her values and motive, which created that fraudulent person in the…

    • 833 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Who Is Abigail Williams Evil In The Crucible
    • 751 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Who Is Abigail Williams Evil In The Crucible

    "All is fair in love and war"-proverb. People will do anything for love. There is no act that is too bad or too good when going after the loved one. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller takes place in Salem in 1692/93 where Abigail Williams is the main character who acts among an evil intent because she can't be with her "love", John Proctor. She is willing to do anything to get Elizabeth out of the way so that she can fulfil her fantasy of being John's wife. John regrets committing adultery while his wife was sick and rejects Abby. Whereas others once reproached her for her adultery, she now has the opportunity to accuse them of the worst sin of all: devil-worship. The sin is fatal. Abigail manipulates and accuses her way up to increase her credibility to get what she wants.…

    • 751 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Crucible Abigail's Behavior
    • 501 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Crucible Abigail's Behavior

    Early in the play, it is established that Abigail and John Proctor have had an affair, this being the reason Goody Proctor fired Abigail and also why Abigail starts the whole fiasco in order to get of Good Proctor so she and John can be together. Why Abigail thinks calling witchery on massive amounts of people will allow her and John to be together is beyond the understanding of the writer of this essay. But for some reason, she thinks this is a good idea and proceeds to aid in the accusation and death of 19 innocent people. One who is mentally stable would surely not take such extreme actions.…

    • 501 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Crucible Quotes Analysis
    • 849 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Crucible Quotes Analysis

    Abigail Williams is the force behind the tragedy in the town of Salem. She was the one who started the lies about witchcraft, and she also got the lives of innocent people taken for false accusations and lies. Throughout the book, Abigail shows her demonic ways by manipulating, lying, stealing, and threatening the lives of people. “Shut up! All of you. We danced. That is all, and mark this, if anyone breathe a word or the edge…

    • 849 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Who Is Abigail Williams In The Crucible
    • 985 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Who Is Abigail Williams In The Crucible

    Abigail Williams is known for lying about her affair with John Proctor, but at what cost? To clear everything up, Abigail Williams is a character in the play called “The Crucible’ by Arthur Miller. Within the play’s first scene, Abigail is caught “dancing” in the forest by Reverend Parris, causing her cousin, Betty, to faint. As the scene continues, Rev. Parris starts to question Abigail about what she and Betty were doing, and she lies, saying that they were dancing for sport; the action that night resulted in her going to court to testify her innocence. Abigail, instead of answering questions about her night in the woods, starts to stretch the truth to the court about John Proctor’s wife, Elizabeth, being a witch. She even goes as far as to drink blood as a charm to kill Elizabeth, and plant incriminating evidence against her. As we read the play, we can get a better understanding as to why Abigail went so far to cover up her affair with John Proctor. She wanted her name to be associated with strong and respectable, although why would a person go to such lengths just for a name?…

    • 985 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Abigail Williams in the Crucible
    • 497 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Abigail Williams in the Crucible

    In the book, The Crucible, Abigail Williams and her childish friends take advantage of the situation in their hometown of Salem, Massachusetts. At the time, there was a lot of tension about the discussion of witches and virtually anyone who was accused of being a witch was proven a witch. On page 33 of the book, there is a quote that points out the underlying plot of the book. “Sex, sin and the Devil were early linked…” is how the quote starts out and it describes the relationship between John Proctor and Abigail Williams.…

    • 497 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics