A dynamic antagonist‚ Abigail Williams from Arthur Miller’s The Crucible is a great example of how a character can be molded by personal desires and a work’s setting to become a villain. Seemingly innocent‚ orphaned adolescent Abigail ultimately causes hysteria in the town of Salem from her frivolity and selfishness. The reasoning and origins of Abigail’s malice demonstrate the setting’s influence on the inhabitants of Salem during the 1962 witch trials. Abigail is introduced as Parris’ niece
Premium The Crucible Salem witch trials John Proctor
Hester Prynne and Abigail Williams The Scarlet Letter‚ by Nathaniel Hawthorne‚ is a novel about a young women named Hester Prynne who is forced to bear a scarlet A on her breast for commiting the sin of adultury. For violating the strict puritian religion‚ she is isolated from society‚ with the product of her sin‚ her daughter Pearl. She is greatly critizised and humiliated by the townspeople. Hester did not commit the sin alone‚ but her lover is at fault as well. He remains silent until guilt
Premium The Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne The Crucible
Abigail Williams: Misfit Archetype Abigail Williams‚ a character from The Crucible‚ is a misfit archetype. A misfit archetype describes a character who doesn’t fit in with their community and surroundings. These types of characters can often display an attitude of freedom. I chose the misfit archetype for Abigail Williams because she fits into it very well. To begin with‚ Abigail was found conjugating with Tituba and other girls in the woods. She is also a misfit because she starts accusing fellow
Premium The Crucible Salem witch trials 21st century
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
Premium Salem witch trials The Crucible English-language films
Many authors use themes in order to develop the key concepts in their literature. Arthur Miller uses character motivation in developing the plot of his play‚ The Crucible. Abigail Williams is one of the key characters in this play. She is a dramatic‚ greedy young girl who claims innocence during the time of the Salem Witch Trials in Miller’s play. She is driven by her hunger for power‚ her love for John Proctor and her hatred of Elizabeth Proctor‚ John’s wife. Her motivations and her actions caused
Premium The Crucible Salem witch trials Salem, Massachusetts
Although Abigail Williams liked to think of herself as an important part of the witch trials‚ her motivations for what she did were not that different than many ordinary teenagers: she sought revenge‚ put her own well-being ahead of others‚ and let her feelings for John dictate her actions. Abigail has a conniving mind like most teenage girls have when they plot revenge‚ and she goes above and beyond to get her revenge. Seven months had passed since Abigail Williams worked for the Proctor’s and
Premium The Crucible Salem witch trials
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. To begin with‚ Abigail Williams starts the accusations of witchcraft in order to fulfill her ulterior motives. We first see hints of her motives when Abigail tells John Proctor‚ a married man under whom she had worked that‚ “I am waitin’ for you every night”(1099). While Abigail worked under
Premium Salem witch trials The Crucible John Proctor
trying to dictate over other people is Abigail Williams. On the other hand‚ a few of the people that attempt to escape the powerful peoples’ grasp are: John Proctor‚ Reverend Hale and Marry Warren. This struggle for power is very suspense full and it is shocking to imagine the way a town could be so easily deceived. First of all‚ Abigail Williams is no innocent twelve year old. She develops immense control over the village with the power of fear. At first Abigail wins over her peers such as: Mercy
Premium
Power: A Compare and Contrast of Hester Prynne and Abigail Williams Abigail Williams and Hester Prynne were two very different characters in books about the same Puritan religion. The two had many differences and even a few ways they were alike. Their views on society and their reaction on how they reacted to the way they were treated by the Puritans. Hester feared society and thought that it was something to be avoided‚ while Abigail long to be the center of attention. While Hester attracted
Premium The Scarlet Letter Hester Prynne Nathaniel Hawthorne
shows how neighbors would accuse each other for revenge. Although many might first blame Abigail Williams‚ Reverend Parris is responsible for the deaths in Salem. In the first act‚ Reverend Parris pushes Abigail‚ his niece‚ to admit to conjuring spirits in the woods. In the beginning‚ he sees Abigail‚ Tituba‚ and other girls in the woods dancing‚ and he assumes that it was witchcraft. He confronts Abigail about the situation‚ and she denies all of it. Because of this‚ he uses guilt to push her into
Premium Salem witch trials Witchcraft The Crucible