Throughout the entire play, Abigail Williams uses her good name to control Salem by accusing people of witchcraft, which results in the deaths of many people in the town. After witnessing Tituba confess to Reverend Hale, Abigail confesses “I saw Sarah Good with the devil! I saw Goody Osburn with the devil! I saw Bridget Bishop with the devil!” (Miller 189). Abigail realizes that by giving the names of people she saw with the devil she can control Salem because she has a good name and people will listen to her.
Abigail purposely plants false evidence inside the Proctors’ home by manipulating Mary Warren, the Proctors’ teenage servant. In Act II, Abigail gives Mary a poppet – a doll typically associated with witchcraft – who in turn gives it to Elizabeth. Later, this poppet is used as a weapon against Elizabeth because Abigail accuses her of using the poppet to bewitch her. “‘Stuck two inches in the flesh of her belly, he draw a needle out. And demandin’ of her how she come to be so stabbed, she testify it were your wife’s familiar spirit pushed it in’” (Miller 71).
Haley Houston October 3, 2013 Honors English 11, Per. 3A Analysis Essay The Evil of Jealousy and Lust Much of the evil in today’s world is driven by jealousy and lust. Affairs occur often, students betray each other in order to get something they desire, and many young girls like Elizabeth Smart have been kidnapped and raped because of that unreasonable lust. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller describes a young group of girls as they wrongly accuse many of witchcraft in the small town of Salem, Massachusetts. One of the girls, Abigail Williams, is the cause of all wrong accusations and innocent deaths in Salem, thus making her the antagonist of the play.
She was taken in by her Uncle Reverend Parris, who she now lives with. She is the leader of the group of girls who accuse witchcraft on the town members of Salem. She danced in the forest with Tituba, and is also in love with John Proctor. Abigail has many different attitudes which include determination and dishonesty. She shows that she is determined by trying her best to condemn Elizabeth Proctor to death just to be with her husband John Proctor.
Not only did Abigail accuse innocent people of witchcraft, but also had an affair with a married man, John Proctor. In the late 1600’s it was said to be a sin to sleep with a married man. Because of her affair with John Proctor, I think that Abigail ended up falling in love with John and wanted his wife out of the picture, hence the reason why she falsely accuses her. “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!
Abigail first tells the lie “No one was naked! You mistake yourself, Uncle!” (The Crucible, I.9) Then she goes on and accuses Tituba of witchcraft to cover her trail of lies, starting from dancing naked in the forests to Elizabeth stabbing the poppet with the needle. Elizabeth is just as bad with her only lie. When she is asked to answer a question about the affair with her husband and Abigail, she lies to protect him. She is thinking if she tells the court the truth, then she is going to lose
When Hales questions her about witch crafting, she responds saying, “‘He say Mr. Parris must be kill! Mr. Parris no goodly men, Mr. Parris mean man and no gentle man, and he bid me rise out of my bed and cut your throat!’” (848). Since Hale orders her to speak the truth about the devil, Tituba voices out all her hostilities towards her master, and blames that it is suggestions from the devil. At the same time, she can accuse “‘white people’” (848) with the devil. Hale claims that Tituba is “‘selected’” and is “‘chosen to cleanse our village’” (848).
Hanna de Villa Ms. Jackson ENG 3U1 - 11 16 May 2008 The Source of All Evil in Macbeth: Women Macbeth is a play full of betrayal, deceit and murder. Generally, men carry out these actions but instead women stir the cauldron of trouble. From the witches’ prophecies that spark Macbeth’s murder, Lady Macbeth’s domineering presence and the exploitation she uses on her husband are the inevitable roots of catastrophe and evil in the play. They do not show any aggression and violence but relies on deception, manipulation and supernatural phenomenon. The Witches and Hecate portray the image and eminence of evil in Macbeth.
The Crucible, by Arthur Miller can be superficially interpreted as a play that takes place during an era when witches posed a threat to people. With the villagers of Salem being a strictly religious puritan, any malicious event would have been considered to be the act of the devil and therefore were sought to be terminated immediately. It was during the early year of 1692 when mass hysteria rapidly spread throughout the people of Salem; with people being accused of consorting with devils and casting spells. These honest people were mainly middle-aged women who were childless or who were abandoned by their husbands. This trend undoubtedly represents the theme of empowerment and gender in the play.
Abigail new the punishment for the crime of witchcraft was hanging and carried out her accusation so that she and Jon could “dance upon her grave together.”(Act 3) John Proctor is also charged with witch craft; he had a choice of lying about consorting with the devil or keeping his integrity. John Proctor died a positive role model for the community and his children, and went to death with his soul and integrity. Similarity, In “Macbeth” individuals are killed for greed of power. Macbeth makes foolish decisions that lead him to paranoia, grief and his downfall. “Where our actions do not, our fears do make us traitors.” (Act IV, Scene 2) Macbeth’s downfall is attributed to a sense of over-confidence and ambition Macbeth’s destruction.