In Arthur Miller's play "The Crucible," the antagonist is a group of individuals who are responsible for inciting and carrying out the Salem witch trials. This group is led by Abigail Williams, a young woman who becomes the main driving force behind the hysteria and accusations of witchcraft.
At the beginning of the play, Abigail is revealed to have had an affair with John Proctor, a married man, and is fearful that their relationship will be exposed. She and a group of other young girls, including her cousin Betty and her friends Mercy Lewis and Mary Warren, begin accusing people in the town of Salem of being witches in an attempt to deflect suspicion away from themselves.
As the trials progress, Abigail becomes more and more power-hungry and manipulative, using her influence over the other girls to further her own ends. She is willing to go to great lengths to achieve her goals, including lying and making false accusations, even if it means condemning innocent people to death.
Despite the efforts of some of the other characters, such as John Proctor and Reverend John Hale, to expose the truth and stop the hysteria, Abigail and the other accusers continue to fuel the fire of the witch trials. In the end, their actions lead to the death of several innocent people, including John Proctor's wife Elizabeth.
Overall, the group of individuals led by Abigail Williams can be seen as the main antagonists in "The Crucible," as their actions and manipulations drive the plot and ultimately have devastating consequences for the characters and the town of Salem.
Antagonist of the Crucible: Abigail Williams
Bettys not witched," page 10. She endures attention by constantly needing to get things done her way by lying and persuading others through her tricks which makes her the overall antagonist of the play. Abigail Williams is again seen breaking one of the 10 commandments when she bears false witness multiple times in court and makes multiple testimonies about seeing and hearing spirits of people working for the devil. Its is evident in The Crucible that Abigail Williams is the antagonist of the story based on her willingness to do anything to get her way, her not following the 10 commandments, and her lack of morale. She did everything in her power to protect her reputation and to make sure to not let anyone get in her way of ruining it all. Danforth represents the evil of blind certainty in the play: he refuses to accept the truth because to do so would humiliate him. The other girls are frightened of the truth being revealed in actuality, they tried to conjure a curse against Elizabeth Proctor and being labelled witches, so they go along with Abigail.
The Crucible
Miller gave all his characters the same colloquialisms, such as "Goody" or " Title Miller originally called the play Those Familiar Spirits The Crucible. Francis and Giles desperately interrupt the proceedings, demanding to be heard. Retrieved July 16, 2016. She then went on to be the main reason why dozens of townspeople were sent to jail or sentenced to hanging in Salem. For instance, John Proctor was nearly 60 and Abigail Williams only 11 at the time of the witch trials. Although the evidence that she had lied was overpowering, the high court still decided to carry on the executions. The Ancient Proprietors of Jones's Hill, Dorchester.
The Crucible Study Guide
Hale is sceptical about the Proctors' devotion to Christianity, noting that they do not attend church regularly and that one of their three sons has not yet been Suddenly, Giles Corey and Francis Nurse enter the house and inform John and Hale that both of their wives have been arrested on charges of witchcraft; respectively, John becomes greatly angered, tearing the arrest warrant to shreds and threatening Herrick and Cheever with a musket until Elizabeth calms him down and surrenders herself. John attacks Abigail's character, revealing that she and the other girls were caught dancing naked in the woods by Rev. Another example of Abigail doing anything to get her way can be seen after she is caught dancing in the woods she eventually ends up blaming Tituba and says Tituba forced her to dance and work for the devil and to help her own case she says she saw Sarah Good and Goody Osbourn with the devil also because she knows they are easy to convict of witchcraft. When challenged by Parris and Hathorne to 'pretend to be possessed', Mary is too afraid to comply. No character is in the play who did not take a similar role in Salem, 1692.
The Crucible: Antagonist
When this proves unsuccessful, Proctor decides to protect his name for personal reasons and his family by paying the final price. She stands opposed to John Proctor, even though she claims to love him and want to be with him. Herrick is the town marshal of Salem, and leads the effort to find and arrest those accused of witchcraft until he falls into despair and turns to Judge One of the two judges presiding over the court. He mentions that Rebecca Nurse was also named, but admits that he doubts her a witch due to her extreme piousness, though he emphasizes that anything is possible. Danforth refuses, stating that pardons or postponement would cast doubt on the veracity of previous confessions and hangings. With all of the characters in The Crucible… Theme Of Greed In The Crucible Arthur Miller shows how greed can be both good and bad.
The Crucible: Full Book Analysis
Miller had his first real success with The Crucible opened in 1952, and was considered an attack on the anti-Communist McCarthyism then raging in the United States. The character is based on a real person of the same name, who was also pressed when he would not plead guilty to charges of witchcraft. This shows how it is easy to see Abigail Williams is the Antagonist of The Crucible based on her willingness to get her way even if that means threatening her friends and blaming others for forcing her to dance in the woods and practice witchcraft. In telling the story of a New England so gripped by hysteria they killed many of their own residents, The Crucible explores the tension between the repressive forces of a social order and individual freedom. While a verbal confession may have no relationship to the truth, signing his name on paper will give credence to the falsehoods being perpetuated by the trial, blackening the names of his friends who have died denying the charges against them. Puritans were those who moved from England with intentions of Purifying the corrupt ways of the Church of England.
