How Is Abigail Presented In The Crucible

Crucible Essay In abnormal times or times of hysteria, one can easily be tempted to seek out a scapegoat, and if a sensible place of blame is not found, a somewhat ridiculous idea can be resurrected. These beliefs are held to be true, especially by those directly affected by these strange events, or those with an ulterior motive. The character of Abigail in The Crucible by Arthur Miller exemplifies this. She is also represented in the poem, “Witchcraft was hung, in History,”, by Emily Dickinson. In “Witchcraft was hung, in history”, what is seemingly normal is made to look like something abnormal because sometimes, in times of hysteria, people need a place to put the blame. Abigail makes her first accusations of witchcraft because of the pressure to find a cause for Betty’s sudden illness. Witchcraft is an evil practice to the Puritans of Salem, and the mention of it worries Abigail’s Uncle, Parris. Parris’s worry and the quickly spreading rumor of witchcraft put pressure on Abigail to explain the events
This is exemplified in the quote, “Witchcraft was hung, in History,” (Dickinson 1). The word “hung” is especially important because of its double meaning. When referring to the act of killing someone by hanging, the correct word is hanged. Danforth asks, “And seventy-two condemned to hang by that signature?” (Miller 87). The usage of the word “hung” shows that while getting rid of the scapegoats could temporarily solve a problem, it really just suspends the “need” for answers, as in “hung up on the shelf”. “History” shows that taking the easy way out by placing unfair blame is ineffective for the long term. Abigail gets people to believe that things were caused by witchcraft when they really were not, and it will probably eventually catch up to her or the people of