She then starts to mimic the actions and words of Mary; this in turn builds a solid proof in the eyes of the court that Mary Warren practices witchcraft. Abigail could care less of who she accused and sentenced to death, she watches people die in front of her eyes without feeling any regrets on her actions. In the end of The Crucible, Abigail and Mercy Lewis steal Reverend Parris’s money and aboard a ship because the town detests her and she loses her reputation in Salem. Abigail didn’t expect this ending, she thought by sentencing Goody Proctor to death she will live happily ever after with John. Lack of guilt made Abigail do contemptible actions, which took the lives of innocent
They deemed The Crucible was an allegory to McCarthyism. The book follows the events that occurred in Salem, Massachusetts. It portrays from the view point of the girl who started the witch hunt to townsfolk being victimized by the horrible acts of fearful people. The person most responsible for the epidemic of fear is Abigail Williams, a manipulative teenager trying to connect with her lover. Abigail Williams
Hale claims that Tituba is “‘selected’” and is “‘chosen to cleanse our village’” (848). She knows that by calling out names of people who are the “‘devil’s agents’” (848), she will not be in trouble. She cries out, “and there was Goody Good” and “‘Goody Osburn’” (848), in front of everyone. Being that she is God’s representative to accuse the witches, she has the power to make everyone believe in her. Before, no one will listen or take her seriously to a word she said, but she now has a position of authority from which to name the secret sins of other Salem residents.
Another reason their relationship is dangerous is that if John Procter were to prosecute against Abigail Williams saying that she is in fact a witch, Abigail Williams could very easily tell the entire town that she and Procter have been having an affair to get revenge on him. It wouldn’t really affect her too much, but on the contrary, it would ruin his reputation in the town and his relationship with his wife. Later in Act I, Abigail is being “interrogated” by Reverend Hale and she claims “I never sold myself! I’m a good girl! I’m a proper girl!” (Miller 40) in this statement, Abigail is defending herself that she never sold herself to the devil.
When told that his daughter, Betty, was ill because of "unnatural causes," Paris quickly interjected, "No, no. There be no unnatural causes here." The Reverend denied this all even with seeing the girls dancing in the woods. With Reverend being in denial, he was unable to consider all causes of the problem. He was so quick to blow off the idea that witchcraft caused her sickness because he was too worried his reputation would get shot with that possibility.
How does miller present Abigail as a powerful character in The Crucible? Abigail first shows her power when she is heavily questioned about what was going on in the woods. Abigail starts answering the questions that she is given but soon realises that she will be court and get into trouble. So she uses her power to shift the attention to someone and make people forget about her. Miller presents this when Abigail is asked about the devil and she responds by saying, “I never called him!
“And I look - and there was Goody Good... Aye sir, and Goody Osburn” (p. 49). At first, the social outcasts were accused, then respected characters such as Elizabeth Procter and Rebecca Nurse are accused as a result of the town's mass hysteria. And so this mass hysteria is created, only by young girls, but it has spiraled into a black hole consuming everyone in the town of Salem, regardless of their social
Many people were also accusing Ultima of being a witch since she didn’t use the power of the lord to cure people and instead used “magic” to do her bidding In Bless Me, Ultima, Ultima was pushed away from the people in the town because many believed she was a witch. They were merely mislead by others thinking that she used her powers for evil when she actually was at peace with the earth, maintained a religious catholic image by attending masses and praying, and using her herbs to cure the people of the curses placed by witches. The first day she made her appearance at church, people expressed their opinions in whispers. Some said “es una mujer que no ha pecado” (pg 33), she is a women who hasn’t sinned; one even called her a “hechicera, bruja (pg 33), a sorcerer or witch. Even after she cured Lucas of the curse the witches put on him, people were still skeptical saying “Hechicera, Bruja” (pg 104).
Abigail and the girls pretend Mary is bewitching them again which make Mary breakdown and accuse john of being a witch. After being tried as a witch and told he was going to get hanged he has a chance to confess and live but he chooses to die and keep his name. As a result of the lies and the affair between john and Abigail there were a lot of innocent people killed and hurt even those who they claimed they loved. Abigail and Elizabeth are two very different characters but have some similarities. Both Abigail and Elizabeth show determination in order to get what they want, and they are both strong
Abigail deceives her closest friends and many other well respected townspeople. She manipulates the whole town and begins to gain power and control over everyone. Soon, Abigail starts to get revenge on the people from her past by accusing them of witchcraft. She goes after Proctors wife Elizabeth. Abigail previously worked for the Proctors until Elizabeth became aware of the affair between her and John.