Who Is Abigail Manipulation In The Crucible

Eduardo Cruz Mrs Tran English 11 31 October 2024.

The Inventor of Chaos: Abigail Williams The event of the Salem Witch Trial was a period of hysteria and chaos that tormented the town of Salem. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller demonstrates in what manner the use of false accusations may lead to the lives of many innocent people. Motivated by her envy, use of false accusations, and exploitation of fear, Abigail Williams became the primary facilitator for the Salem Witch Trials. Her use of manipulation exposes the risks of unchecked deceit and jealousy. Abigail’s envy of Elizabeth Proctor was a factor that substantially contributed to the Trials. Abigail's hostility towards Elizabeth comes from the fact that Abigail believes that she is an obstruction
Realizing her current position and how nobody is speaking up, Abigail can manipulate and blame others to protect herself from what occurs in the forest. She discovered that she could twist the story to her advantage to seem innocent and make sure she avoided any punishments. This is evident when she states, “She made me do it! She made Betty do it!”(Miller 43; Act I) Here, Abigail is blaming Tituba, being the only adult figure in the forest with them, for acting in “witchcraft” and “rituals”. By creating an older figure as the scapegoat of the problems, she is making sure she can avoid any punishment and divert them onto Tituba. This statement shows that Abigail's use of false accusations works and allows her to protect herself from any issues. This is the beginning of Abigail's many forms of lies and manipulations. After Abigail saw just how much success she had by scapegoating Tituba, she decided to accuse multiple, well-respected figures in the town falsely. This was not just to protect herself as she did before, but to make herself seem trustworthy and seen as someone standing up to the devil as shown in the quote, “I saw Sarah Good with the Devil! I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil! I saw Bridget Bishop with the Devil!”(Miller 48; Act I). By accusing respected individuals in Salem and accusing them of coercing the devil, she knows that by doing this, she will be seen as trustworthy and her word will have much weight when it comes to more allegations in the future. This illustration shows how powerful falsely accusing innocent citizens can be, as she is creating something much worse because Abigail just wanted to shift the blame for what is occurring. A minor issue that could have been resolved within a few days if she just confessed what she was doing in the forest expanded to trials that would end many citizens’ lives. Through Abigail’s targeted false accusations, she is