According to Merriam Websters dictionary malicious is an act that is vicious, wanton, or mischievous in motivation or purpose. In the novel The Crucible by Arthur Miller, Abigail Williams, the seventeen year old niece of Reverend Parris, portrays the characteristic of being malicious. Throughout the novel, Abigail performs malicious acts of deceit that fuels the plot for the entire novel.
The first act Abigail commits is an affair with John Proctor, a proud man who is married to Elizabeth Proctor. However, when Proctor ends everything between him and Abigail, Abigail is left hurt and envious of Elizabeth. In order for Abigail to enact revenge, she starts malicious rumors about Elizabeth. Abigail claims that Elizabeth was performing witchcraft in the woods with other women from the community. These acts succeed to Elizabeth being arrested and tried for the practice of witchcraft even though she was innocent.
Abigail also manipulates all her friends into going in to the woods and performing witchcraft. However, when her uncle finds them in the woods, Abigail claims they were just dancing and no witchcraft was happening. She makes all the girls who were in the woods to swear nothing of the truth, except that they were just dancing. Furthermore, Abigail goes on to accuse women who were not even present in the forest of practicing witchcraft to cover her and her friends from getting in trouble. This act of deceit caused nineteen innocent people their lives.
Abigails cruel malice helped her in the story. Her lies made it seem like she and her friends were just dancing and Elizabeth and the other women were practicing witchcraft. If she had not created such malicious gossip, Abigail would have been proven a phony and tried for witchcraft instead. Also, Abigail succeeded in revenge on Elizabeth Proctor. Through her lies, Abigail ultimately saved herself and achieved her goal.
The malicious acts Abigail Williams created destroyed reputations and caused innocent deaths. However, if Abigail did not create those lies, she personally would not succeed in revenge. Abigails maliciousness fueled the whole novel by demonstrating how deceit can cause horrible situations to happen.
Already have an account? Log In Now
7037