The Crucible

2 Pages 387 Words

What If
What if Abigail's parents had not been murdered by Indians? In Act One of The Crucible Abigail threatens the other girls involved by telling them the story of her parents’ death.
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. And you know I can do it; I saw Indians smash my dear parents' heads on the pillow next to mine, and I have seen some reddish work done at night, and I can make you wish you had never seen the sun go down!
Abigail uses this information to threaten Mary Warren, Mercy, Betty, and the other girls involved.
Abigail must have experienced severe trauma after her parents’ murder. This kind of experience can cause someone to act different than normal and cause them to be vengeful toward others. If Abigail had never experienced the death of her parents she may have never felt compelled to have the love of an older married man. If Abby had not needed Proctor’s love the girls would not have been in the woods trying to kill Elizabeth Proctor. Abigail lies without shame, threatens without fear, and thinks of nothing of sticking a needle two inches into her own belly in order to bring about the murder of Elizabeth Proctor.
Out of the many repercussions on Abigail caused by the murder of her parents the most important is that she uses it as a threat to the other young girls. Abigail uses it to become the leader and the bully. During the witch trials she is the girls' leader, bringing them into the court and presiding over their "torments."
In Act III, John Proctor convinced Mary Warren to go to the court and confess. Not even John Proctor's great strength can keep Mary from breaking under the stress of being "cried out" by Abigail and the other girls. Mary's more afraid of Abigail than anything, even the fact that "God damns all liars," and this fear fully ...