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A Look at Abigail Williams

            
             Abigail Williams is the antagonist character in Arthur Miller's The Crucible. Throughout the play she does not change much. She basically stays the same, but her true character appears.
             Abigail's main motivation is to win John Proctor. She blames witchcraft on Elizabeth Proctor so that she will be hanged. She is also motivated to save her name from the worst. When she does not get what she wants, she gets someone else in trouble or pulls someone down with her. She will not take the blame by herself. She is extremely selfish.
             Abigail has many conflicts in this play. She has a conflict with Betty in the beginning because Betty knows she didn't tell the truth about what the girls did in the woods. She has another conflict with Mary Warren toward the end of the play. Mary Warren is supposed to be her friend but she betrays her by telling on her for lying and gets her into trouble.
             The actions that Abigail Williams shows are not the actions that a good person would show. She lies about everything. She lied about what went on in the woods. The only person she tells the truth to is John Proctor. Abigail says to John, "It was all sport", (839). Nothing she told the court was true. Abigail tells the court, "Goody Proctor always keeps poppets", (870). Goody Proctor hasn't kept poppets since she was a child. She also told the court the she saw a bunch of people using witchcraft. She never saw anyone using witchcraft. The only people using witchcraft are she and her friends.
             I think her character is believable; there are girls like her that only want what is impossible to get. She only wants John Proctor and she will bring down anyone who gets in the way of that. She never does the right thing. She is a liar. People like Abigail Williams are not admirable. All my feelings about her are negative. Everything she does is for her own good, not for others.
            


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1. Abigail Williams of the Crucible

... a way to get revenge on their enemies others soon joined in. In Arthur Miller's play The Crucible the leader was Abigail Williams. Her traumatic childhood turned her into a resentful and vindictive person who valued nothing but her own life. In the play we learn that ... says children should be "thankful for being permitted to walk straight, eyes slightly lowered, arms at the sides, and mouths shut until bidden to speak" (Page 4). Due to the life she lived Abigail learned to always look after herself and no one else. Her care of self preservation and lack of feelings for ... the communi...

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2. The Tragedy At Salem

... in Salem. Vengeance. The first and most obvious form of vengeance in the story occurs between Abigail Williams and John Proctor. John Proctor, a reformed sinner, engages in a callous affair with the young Abigail Williams. When Proctor's wife learns of the affair, she encourages him to put it out immediately and ... change your shape. No, I cannot, I cannot stop my mouth; it's God's work I do." Prompted by Abigail's accusation, the girls cry, "Her claws, she's stretching her claws!" "Mary, please don't hurt me!" "Look, she's coming down!" and other such lies. Arthur Miller makes it painf...

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3. Review of the Crucible

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  • Word Count: 2620
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4. The Crucible

... States. In Puritan society, Abigail Williams was considered lower class because she was an orphan and unmarried. The only people that were considered lower than her were the social outcasts and slaves such as Tituba. Even though Abigail seems to be friends with Tituba at the start of the play, ... This would have finally destroyed Abigail's credibility, but Elizabeth's misplaces loyalty destroys her husband's case. Abigail screams and claims there is a bird on the beam and that it is attempting to attack her. Mary tries to stop her, but Abigail just repeats Mary's words, making it look l...

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5. Crucible

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6. Newspaper article Crucible

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7. The Power and Capability to Kill

... Massachusetts who hold the power to exploit the deception that has swept their community. The most powerful character is that of Abigail Williams, the adolescent niece of the town Minister. Williams is said to have committed lechery with her former employer, John Proctor. She is a jealous and naive young girl who ... witchcraft even began, she held a certain air of intimidation among others. The girls who looked up to her, were threatened and manipulated by her. Now look you. All of you. We danced. And Tituba conjured Ruth Putnam's dead sisters. And that is all. And mark this. Let either ...

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9. The Crucible

... a man like John because he committed adultery and she makes a decision to lie against the court because of their love. Elizabeth can be described as loyal, and generous. She fires Abigail Williams who was the Proctor's house servant for having an affair with her husband. Elizabeth depends on her husband and loves him unconditionally even though he committed a horrible sin. Elizabeth loves ... cares for her. "You will not judge me more, Elizabeth. I have good reason to think before I charge fraud on Abigail and I will think on it. Let you look to your own improvement before you go to jud...

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