Essay On Abigail Williams

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Character Analysis: Abigail Williams The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, is about the witch trials of 1692 that took place in Salem, Massachusetts. Abigail Williams is the girl who manipulated other girls into helping her accuse innocent people of being witches. The sordid actions of these girls caused countless innocent lives to be lost. Abigail Williams is a vindictive girl who affects many people’s lives in more ways than one. Abigail is widely recognized as being a manipulator in the town of Salem; for example, when she is in the forest with Betty and Tituba she tries to get them to agree with her and say that all they did is dance. Abigail shows that she is pernicious by threatening the girls, saying that if they tell …show more content…
Abigail is known as a liar, jealous, and manipulative throughout the play and shows this when she has an affair with John Proctor and lies about it. Elizabeth Proctor is the complete opposite of Abigail and is truthful and forgiving. Elizabeth shows the readers this when she forgives John for having an affair with Abigail. Abigail Williams is a static character throughout the play because she continually accuses people and feels no remorse. Abigail shows no remorse and is dishonest when she responds, “I want to open myself!... I want the light of God; I want the sweet love of Jesus! I danced for the Devil; I saw him; I wrote in his book; I go back to Jesus; I kissed his hand. I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil!” Abigail is not connected at the end of the play; she ends up fleeing Salem with Mercy Lewis and stealing money from her uncle, Reverend Parris. Abigail Williams did teach the readers exemplary lessons throughout the play. One lesson that she taught is she shows that hysteria can be made by one person. This lesson is demonstrated when innocent people are accused of witchcraft and when she lies about her affair with John Proctor. Another lesson that she helped show is that lying can lead to bad things. This is exhibited when she lies about dancing in the forest and when she lies about her
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