Abigail Williams In The Crucible

Tahnay Boggs
English 11
Ms. Shovlin
October 3, 2014 There are multiple characters that show many different themes throughout the play of the cruicible. The crucible is a play in a small puritan town called Salem, that is dealing with who has seen the devil and who has committed witchcraft. A group of girls were caught by the reverend dancing around a fire in the woods naked. Once there are caught by the rev they try to put the blame on other people in the town of Salem. Abigail Williams is the reverends niece and she very vindictive throughout the play. John Proctor is a well respected man in Salem who shows a lot of pride. Dan forth is the town’s judge and he shows authority throughout the play. The different themes shown by the characters in the crucible help set the story and action of the play. The reverends niece Abigail Williams is a young girl in Salem who is very vindictive throughout the play. Abigail and John proctor committed the crime of adultery before the play starts. Abigail still has feelings for John but John doesn’t want anything to do with her because he has a wife, Goody Proctor. Abigail takes things into her own hands and while they were all dancing around the fire she decides to drink a charm to try to kill Goody Proctor. In the play Betty says “You did! You drank a charm to kill John Proctors wife! You drank a charm to kill Goody Proctor” (19 I). So she can be with John herself. She also claims Goody proctors spirits pushed a pin into the side of her during a court service. When Goody Proctor is getting picked up to go to the Jail house, john is trying to ask what happened and just as he is, Mr. Cheever explains to him “The girl, the Williams girl… demandin’ of her how she come to get stabbed, she testify it were your wifes spirit pushed it in” (74 II).Abigail drinking the blood and lying about being stuck by Goody’s spirits is showing how vindictive she is. Abigail Williams’s vindictiveness may be the main theme that sets the story of the play, but john proctor also play a role with his excessive pride. John Proctor is a well-known puritan man who lives in the town of Salem. He has a lot of pride in him but keeps it to himself until the time is needed. John Proctor saw Abby a few days after her and her friends got caught dancing in the forest. She told him about how they were dancing in the forest and he didn’t go to the courts and tell them until his wife was getting put on trial for the accusation of witchcraft. He also doesn’t sign the confession of him committing witchcraft, because he does not want his name to go bad in the town of Salem. In the play at the end John forcefully says “Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lie!” (143III).By John Proctor having so much pride with telling about his adultery and what Abigail told him about the forest and them dancing around the fire, and waiting until his wife got accused essentially it got him and his wife into deeper trouble. When John refuses to sign the confession he then knows that he is going to die either way and he’d rather die with his name, pride, and respect in the town, rather then with his name, very little pride,

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