Wednesday, October 14, 2015

What are all the things Abigail Williams has done wrong that she knows to be wrong by the end of Act One of The Crucible?

By the end of Act I, Abigail knows that she's done some
bad things.  She knows this and tells her crew as much and forces them to "stick to the
story."  Her list of transgressions is fairly exhaustive.  She knows that she got her
friends together and, along with Tituba, danced in the woods when they knew they were
not supposed to do so.  She also "drank blood" as part of a potion to eliminate
Elizabeth Proctor.  She did this because she coveted her husband, John Proctor, and
wanted to be with him at all costs.  She also is gulity of lying about all of this and
"convincing" her friends to do to the same. She says this much to Proctor when they are
alone. By the end of Act I, she has also "borne false witness," in saying that
everything was Tituba's idea.  Additionally, when some of the girls start showing signs
of weakness, she threatens them to capitulate to her.   When she says, "You will see
red," it is a direct threat, one that is reinforced with a reference to the violent
death of her parents.  By the end of Act I, there is much for which Abigail bears much
responsibility.

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