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Post by vikranthel112 on Oct 1, 2012 19:20:40 GMT -5
Like a lot of the characters in The Crucible, Abigal yearns to be inside the consensus. She tries to keep her good name by trying to convince her uncle, Parris, that she was not doing any witchcraft (that she was only dancing). Abigal was also seen trying to quiet Betty from revealing the truth: Abigal was trying to practice witchcraft by drinking chicken blood. This was supposed to create a charm to hurt/kill Goody Proctor. It is revealed that the reason for this murderous intent is that she thinks (it is not known until Act 2 that Goody knows) Goody kicked her out her house because Abigal had an affair with her husband, Proctor. Here lies the underlying contradiction of Abigal. She yearns to convince people she is a good Puritan and yearns to get into the consensus, but her method of doing so is to kill the person who knows the truth-she wishes to join the consensus by doing the very thing that would, without a doubt, kick her out of the consensus (and most likely kill her). This undoubtably shows that Abigal has internal strife: her attempts to join the consensus only threaten to make her one of the outcasts. Knowing this, why would Abigal commit such actions that contradict the consensus. It is because she despises the tyrannical nature of her community with their scare tactics and "fire and brimstone"just as much as the Proctor (which may give an insight as to why the two came together). She, perhaps sub-conciously, does these things like affairs and witchcraft to push away the society she despises so.
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Post by hannahmo116 on Oct 1, 2012 20:08:03 GMT -5
I feel as though Abigail, like many of the other characters in the play, mirrors one of the many factors that contributed to the Red Scare. When Joe McCarthy managed to create crisis amongst the American community, those who people even slightly suspected of Communism were left outside of the consensus. Like Abigail's association with witchcraft, many people were associated with Communism and were forced with either lying to join the consensus, or face the dangers of being blacklisted. These people, like Abigail, may disagree with their community but they would rather excuse themselves from the accusations by hurting other people than be forced to deal with the consequences of their actions.
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Post by clarele112 on Oct 1, 2012 22:25:01 GMT -5
The topic of the desire to be inside the consensus reminds me of what was mentioned during class the other day about the Nazis. There probably were some Germans who did not believe in the beliefs of Hitler and did not have any animosity toward Jews. However, their desire to be part of the consensus may have made them go along with the atrocious things the Nazis had done. This illustrates how dangerous that desire can be; people are even willing to put lives of others at risk in order to be in the consensus. Relating this idea to the Crucible, Abigail and other girls may have lied and accused others not only because Abigail desired to take the place of Goody Proctor, but also because they feared that if they admit to their doings in the forest, they would be placed outside the consensus for not being puritanical. Thus, they were ready to kill others to keep their place inside the consensus.
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Post by meganp112 on Oct 2, 2012 15:02:54 GMT -5
Abigail is one of my favorite characters in the play so far because there is so much to discuss about her. As a lot of you were saying, she has a very strong desire to be inside the consensus. However, it is almost shocking what she is willing to do in order to get in it. Not only does she accuse innocent people of witchcraft when she was the only one actuallly doing it, but she also creates fake evidence. In Act II she goes as far as to stab herself in order to show proof that ELizabeth is a witch. She goes above and beyond to prove her point and she makes people fear her by trying to stay in the consensus.
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Post by emilysi112 on Oct 2, 2012 15:54:27 GMT -5
I think that Abigail is a very manipulative character and is willing to stop at nothing to preserve herself and stay inside the consensus. An example of this can be seen on page 20. " Let either of you breathe a word, or the edge of a word about the other things, and I will come to you in the black of some terrible night and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you." In this part of Act 1, Abigail is threatening the other girls in order to try and save herself from being accused of witchcraft. Also, to protect her position inside the consensus.
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Post by rachelfa112 on Oct 2, 2012 18:48:04 GMT -5
Abigal's desire to be inside the consensus is something that's a part of human nature. Everyone wants to be apart of the group. No one wants to be an outsider in any case. When you are inside the consensus, in a way you are safe because you have the support of the group until the consensus changes. Sometimes, in order to be a part of the group, people use others to their advantage, which is what Abigal does. However, I agree with Megan that the extent she goes to in order to get inside the consensus is surprising. She doesn't seem to understand the gravity of her accusations, or if she does, she is fully capable of sustaining the guilt she feels for accusing innocent people.
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Post by sheafi116 on Oct 2, 2012 20:00:26 GMT -5
I certainly agree with Megan that there is much to discuss about Abigail's character, however I've found her to be my least favorite character to the point where I almost find her intolerable. The way she conducts herself in her conversation with Procter on pages 22 and 23 is quite assertive, almost to the point where she is rather abrasive, particularly in the way Miller describes her actions in the stage direction. She taunts him, physically grabs him and stands in the way of his path, which I interpreted as demonstrating her controlling nature. Procter is an older man, and at this time it was not the societal norm for a young woman to speak to an older, married, man in such a domineering manner. For instance, she angrily argues "you loved me then and you do now!" (22) after Procter denies that he has any intentions of continuing his adultery. Additionally, while I am not removing any responsibility from Procter for being unfaithful to his wife, I believe that Abigail's disrespect for his marriage and false accusations of Elizabeth are immature and unnecessary.
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Post by danielsa116 on Oct 3, 2012 22:47:10 GMT -5
I think what was said above can go back to what Cheddar keeps saying about the tyranny of consensus. Abigail's actions are very immature and unnecessary and that shows how willing one, back in that time, or any time, would be willing to go to work their way into the "center" of society. Abigail comes off as dominant at times, because that is what she needs to do to establish herself and to prevent her from being pushed to the way outer limits.
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