Preview

The Crucible Power Analysis

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1035 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Crucible Power Analysis
Knowledge is power, which can give an individual the ability to persuade others. In the Play The Crucible by Arthur Miller, the characters are accused of witchcraft. They tell the truth to who they choose, giving that person the ability to persuade the judge’s thoughts to their advantage, because, they know what actually happened in the woods. Power in the form of truth is passed between the characters as the witch trial progresses. Power is obtained when secrets or knowledge about others are revealed, or the illusion of knowledge, through weakness and vulnerabilities, or the illusion of knowledge comes the power of persuasion. Power in the form of knowledge and the ability to persuade others can easily be lost, when one's knowledge no longer …show more content…
In the play, Abigail Williams starts with little to no power, however, as the trails are carried out she becomes on of the most powerful characters, by the means of persuasion as she creates an illusion of knowledge. At the start of the play, Abigail is just a normal girl, but once she confessed to witchcraft her reign of power begins. Abigail explains, “I look for John Proctor that took me from my sleep and put knowledge in my heart! I never knew what pretense Salem was, I never knew the lying lessons I was taught by all these Christian women and their covenanted men!” (24). At the beginning, of the play, Abigail does not have much control over others as she is not well known in the town. Throughout the play, she gains influential power over others. We also learn that she is having an affair with Proctor. This affair causes her to get revenge on Elizabeth, Proctor's wife. The drama and lies she later creates lead to the increase of her power as she is able to accuse anyone. Once in court, Abigail accuses many of the women, some of them for no reason at all. She yells out, “I saw Sarah Good with the Devil! I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil! I saw Bridget Bishop with the Devil! (48). Abigail has this influence on the judges because she confessed to witchcraft, and dealings with the devil. Her confession made the judges believe what she says, as they do not know if she is telling the truth, or not. Abigail becomes one of the most powerful characters in the play because of her deception. Abigail uses her power in a selfish and manipulative way just so that she can be with

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    In the novel The Crucible by Arthur Miller and Lord of the Flies by William Golding greed for power causes destruction to individuals and the whole of the community. Abigail Williams threatens the girls that if anyone speaks of her actions she will hurt them. She gains power through their fear creating an entire group of girls with the power to destroy those who get in Abigails way. “And mark this. Let either of you breath 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). Abigail wants things to be run her way in the village and in order to do that she needs power in the court. If her sinful acts are discovered her name will be blackened and she will loose all the power that she anticipates. To avoid this she threatens the girls that have knowledge of her behaviour, causing them in fear to follow her path of destruction. During this she is destroying their inner voice and the morals they have. This group of girls also destroys the life of others in the community by accusing them of the devils work. Goody Proctor has power over Abigail because she knows more truth about her then the rest of the village and is married to the man she loves. Abigail seems threatened by Goody's position and to try and rise over her she attempts to insult Goody. “She is blackening my name in the village! She is telling lies about me! She is cold, snivelling woman, and you bend to her” (23-24). Abigail beginning to feel vulnerable destroys Goody Proctors name in front of her husband in order to add appeal and innocence to her own, possibly attempting to win him over as well. This is one of the first signs leading up to Abigail accusing Goody and threatening her life along with many others. Abigale and Jack Merridews need to be on top is a close comparison. That need drives them to intimidate and manipulate others around them in order…

    • 882 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Abigail has many issues that she tries to solve using manipulation. She controls others in an attempt to feel like she is in control of her life.. Throughout the story, she attempts to manipulate John Proctor. She keeps failing, as shown in Act 1 lines 409-410, where she says “You come five miles to see a silly girl fly? I know you better.”(Miller 197) After Abigail said that, Proctor replied by telling her to forget about it. Since Proctor would not fall for her tricks, Abigail decided to move on to other people.…

    • 1148 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    John Proctor Sacrifice

    • 1868 Words
    • 8 Pages

    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
  • Good Essays

    In the novel of The Crucible, written by Authur Miller Abigail committed the greatest crimes. Abigail destroyed the reputations of many and killed much of her surrounding society. Her power lied in the fact that judges believed her, making all those women who fell victim to her scapegoats. She is the one who triggers off a sense of hate in the play. She tempts John Proctor into sexual activity, and to escape punishment for dancing, she deflects the actions and blames them on someone else, and does not care how many lives she ruins. “ ABIGAIL: give me a soft word, John. A soft word; PROCTOR: No, no, Abigail, that’s done with; ABIGAIL: oh I marvel how such a strong man may let a sticky wife-; PROCTOR: You’ll speak nothing of Elizabeth” (page…

    • 827 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Abigail Williams, a teenage girl who started the whole scare about witches in Salem, blamed everyone else for her witchcraft practices and ultimately caused many of her village members to be wrongly executed. She took advantage of the judges trust to frame people for her actions. Abigail Williams was once caught performing a ritual dance in the forest, and to save herself she blamed her so called friends. Abigail began doing witchcraft to fight for John Proctor's love, and she wanted to get rid of Elizabeth who was Proctor’s wife. “You did, you did! You drank a charm to kill John Proctor's wife! You drank a charm to kill Goody Proctor!”(The Crucible, Act One 13). Abigail is known for being mischievous, and selfish. She was definitely not possessed,…

    • 259 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    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
  • Good Essays

    Abigail In The Crucible

    • 833 Words
    • 4 Pages

    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
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, Abigail Williams plays a very important role as being a manipulative character that accuses many woman of witchcraft, some including Tituba, Sarah Good, Goody Booth and Goody Hawkins. Abigail also had an affair with Proctor, which leads to a lot of problems for him down the road. Abigail Williams gets a lot of women in trouble by saying that they were involved in witchcraft and that they were torturing children and young girls. The problem with Abigail saying stuff like this about other women is that the punishment for witchcraft back then was death, usually by getting hung. Abigail manipulated everyone into thinking that she was also getting her by one of the women doing witchcraft.…

    • 268 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    It can be said that in this play evil takes a human form in Abigail Williams. Abigail serves as the spark of hate in the play. She tempts John Proctor into adultery and commits acts against the Puritan Religion. To escape her punishment when found in the unlawful act of dancing she deflects her actions and blames them on others. She has no regard for those whom may be hurt by her accusations of witchcraft on others. It even seems, at times, she takes pleasure in her deception. All those she accuses are innocent, yet she manipulates many into believing her actions are good. Another character that plays,…

    • 486 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Abigail Williams - 1

    • 651 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Miller portrayed Abigail’s character as influential, "…strikingly beautiful girl...” (8) yet highly malicious with an "…endless capacity for dissembling…" (8) which is specified in Act 1. This represents and gives the reader an indication instantly, that Abigail can manipulate people using her looks in such a way that they crumble. As the play advances this is brought to action, especially with various members of the Salem community like John Proctor and Judge Danforth. She seduces John proctor with her looks to fulfill her loss of a man figure in her life. Furthermore, she utilizes her attractive looks to take control over the court. Abigail’s manipulation of the girls misleads the court by shifting the blame away from her and towards Mary Warren and Elizabeth. Thus, Abigail’s false pretence shows that she holds enough authority to make others follow her in her deceit, even if it is reflected as a sin.…

    • 651 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    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
  • Good Essays

    When present, fear can often be exploited for one’s personal gain. The Crucible, a play written by Arthur Miller, exemplifies the power of fear due to the imaginary idea of witchcraft in the small village of Salem. During the time this play was written, the United States was overcome by the fear of communism, which had led to the government accusing many innocent people for ridiculous reasons. Miller uses The Crucible to show how many of the accusations in the Salem Witch Trials, a similar event, often had underlying, selfish, and personal reasons behind them. In the play Abigail Williams, and Thomas Putnam’s take advantage of the pervasive fear in the village, allowing them to fulfill their selfish and exploitative motives which are what truly fuel the Salem Witch Trials.…

    • 893 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Lies In The Crucible

    • 1058 Words
    • 5 Pages

    “The trust of the innocent is the liar’s most useful tool.” According to award-winning author and screenwriter Stephen King, liars have the ability to utilize the trust of the innocent to accomplish their own agenda. Similarly, Arthur Miller’s The Crucible delves into the inner workings that motivate people to lie. To illustrate this, Miller uses the various characters of the play to represent the different motives to lie which include fear, lust, and greed. As the play progresses, it becomes clear that all of these motives occur mainly due to self-interest and desire.…

    • 1058 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    A crucible is a severe test as of patience or belief, a trial. Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible is a journey through the trials of many townspeople caused by suspicions of witchcraft. As the story progresses, people’s words and actions cause Reverend John Hale to change his views on whether the people prosecuted were guilty or innocent of witchcraft. As numerous events and their consequences unfold, they cause Hale to rethink his initial views on witchcraft and to be persuaded of the innocence of those convicted in Salem.…

    • 994 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Crucible

    • 1007 Words
    • 5 Pages

    One of the differences between Abigail and Elizabeth lies in the relationship between the accuser and the accused. Miller manages to show Abigail as a villainous character through multiple reasons while maintaining a simple message that accusing people wrongfully is a horrendous thing to do. She is shown to be accusing people in the whole village, managing to get the number of accused persons to hundreds in just a few weeks. Abigail, at the most basic level of the play, is simply a person who could care less about anything, except for their own gain. By accusing people, Abigail can be seen gaining multiple things of interest: Fame in the village, entertainment (which was hard to come by in the Puritan society), and lastly, John Proctor. Therefore, she is a very direct reminiscent of the people of the Salem village…

    • 1007 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays