Abigail holds the most blame for the events that occurred. Abigail is involved from the first scene when Betty is sick and it is said they were dancing in the woods and Abigail drank blood. She is the leader of the group of girls that accuse people and Abigail gives many names herself. In the appendix, Proctor goes to Abigail to convince/threaten her to tell the true, knowing that if she comes forward, the court will believe her more than any of the other girls. Towards the end of the play Abigail invents the bird in the rafters and the others in the group follow her lead. When Mary gives her testament about pretending, Danforth questions only Abigail to see if she'll repent. Abigail holds the most blame for the happenings in Salem.
Although I do agree that Abigail holds quite a bit of blame for what happened, I also believe that it is hard to place the blame on one person alone. If John Proctor had never slept with Abigail, she never would have felt the need to ask Tituba to create a curse for Elizabeth. Had Tituba not agreed to create a curse or call upon the spirits of the dead babies, Reverend Parris never would have caught the girls dancing in the woods. Had he not caught them dancing, he would not have called Reverend Hale to investigate into the witchcraft. Had Reverend Hale not been pushy and power-hungry, the trials may not have ever happened. I think almost everyone shares a small piece of the blame.
In my opinion, two people hold the most responsibility for the Salem witch trials, one of them being Abigail. She was the one who started everything. She often lies and persuades friends and the people of the town, giving her a lot of power. She also sends multiple people to hang. Her biggest motive is revenge on Elizabeth Proctor. Not to mention she cheats with John Proctor and is very lustful.
The other person I believe is responsible for many of the trials is Reverend Hale. He is naive and pushes the witch trials. He probes for confessions and people to testify. If he had not pushed so hard in the beginning, there is a great chance the Salem witch trials would not have been as extensive as they were. Essentially, by the end of the book, he is broken and has lost trust from many of the people in the town.
I agree with your idea that Reverend Hale share a large portion of the blame with Abigale for the trials. Abigale may have served to ignite the flames of panic in the populace, but Reverend Hale offered a all-too ready and willing hand to help her achieve her goals. She played off his natural feelings of fear and self-justification, and he definitely shares responsibility.
I agree that Reverend Hale deserves some of the blame, but I feel he is not one of the main people responsible. Yes, he played a role in the beginning with accusing people, but then towards the end that role faded and eventually he tried to stand up for those accused. In the end when Abigail and the girls pretended to see the bird, Hale tried to support Mary, denying seeing anything.
The Puritan people had fled persecution and traveled to the New World in hope of finding a peaceful and safe environment in which to keep their religion alive. Unfortunately, not everything worked out as perfectly as the leaders of this strict religion had initially hoped. With each generation born in the Colonies, the younger generations of Puritans became more distant from the strict interpretation of faith for which their parents and grandparents had risked so much. Because of this, the leaders of the Puritan society desperately looked for something to bring their community back together. Unfortunately, the thing that brought the community together also tore them apart. Although the spread of mass hysteria and fear briefly formed the society into one homogeneous unit, they emerged from the tragedy more damaged than ever. Because of this, I believe that the fault lies with each member of the community. If one or two more brave Puritans would have supported John Proctor in his cause and shone light on how ridiculous the girls’ claims were, many lives could have been saved.
I agree that every member of the community shares the blame. They all allowed the hysteria to go on and did nothing to stop it. If people would have seen the big picture and realized how crazy they were acting killing innocent people because of the words of a few selfish teenagers the trials would have ended much sooner and lives would have been saved. I find it ironic that such a godly community would support something as ungodly as killing innocent people by lying so that a select few could gain something (Abigail and the land owners).
I believe that Abigail was the cause of the whole downfall of Salem. Based of the foundations of Salem, the community ran on a self-imposed and enforced moral code. Their foundation had a specific guideline of right and wrong. Abigail was the furthest away from that guideline. She crossed the boundary of what is acceptable. She was practically an anti-Puritan. She was a liar, a murder and a adulteress. Salem did not know how to deal with someone so far away from their standards, so the system failed. The system failure lead to the people who would normally be protected getting hurt. Abigail started started the domino effect starting with her and lead to the trials and the political distrust.
I agree with your opinion that Abigail was the main cause of Salem's destruction. She was clearly a person that their system of order just simply wasn't prepared for. While Salem was well prepared to deal with someone they know was a lair, an adulteress, or a murderer, they were clearly unable to foresee someone who was so far beyond their comprehension of an evil person. The fact that Abigail was able to use her skills to murder other people using their own justice system proves this.
I do agree that Abigail deserved some of the blame, but the blame should be laid on the entire town of Salem. They believed this young girl so quickly that they didn't even bother to question if they should or not. As the saying goes "you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink." Abigail had her say, but the townspeople willingly believed it and believed in her.
To be frank, the downfall of the community cannot be blammed on the citizens, but rather it should be blammed on the overly strict rules of society the townspeople live by. While Abigail's entire reason for her actions in the woods with Tituba at the beginning of the play were not morally correct under any standards, it is not irrational for a young girl to have feelings towards a man that she looks up to in society. Do not take this the wrong way, I do not think that a society should allow young girls to be having relations with older and married men, but the entire issue with the play stems from the fact that dancing and other sins are thought of as so awful that young girls would lie to the point of risking the lives of others. Abigail's entire reasoning behind lying about her actions in the woods was to protect herself from essentially the same punishment she bestows upon others with her accusation. All in all, Abigail is to blame for the trials, but at some point it could be seen that Abigail initially acted as a scared girls afraid of the consequences for her actions in the woods. Honestly who can say that they have never lied about something they did wrong?
I appreciate your unique response! I agree with you completely the the standards that were present in Salem were obnoxiously unrealistic. They were doomed for someone to break their code of standards from the start. I early said I believed Abigail was the cause, but I think you hit the nail on the head with this post. It wasn't Abigail's fault for their standards, and someone was doomed to break them eventually, she just happened to be the first to do so.
I agree. I understand that when these people were living the type of lifestyle under these rules then they would think extremely different then we would if this were to happen in a town like Metamora. Anyone could see that with such strict rules they were bound to be broken sooner or later. In the end it is easy to blame Abigail for the trials, although Salem can be blamed as a whole as well.
If blame is to be placed upon one person, then it would fall mostly on Abigail and the other girls. Abigail was able to manipulate the entire town and court proceedings of the accused witches. However, although it is highly suspected that she was pretending, there was never any true confession from Abigail or the other girls. But the blame should not solely fall on the children. The entire town of Salem is to blame in actuality. The citizens and court officials all became wrapped up in the frenzy of witch fever. They became so obsessed in the frenzy that they never really stopped to consider the fact that this entire event could be a hoax. The word of young girls was taken as gospel and motives were never questioned. There truly is no single person to blame.
I feel like Abigail was the one to stir up the most trouble. From the very beginning when asked whether or not she was doing something wrong in the forest, she lied. She lied multiple times throughout the book. If she were to tell the truth from the very beginning maybe things would have turned out better. She accused innocent people of being witches. Her accusations caused the witch trials in Salem to begin. Abigail is depicted to be cruel as she is the one to cause panic and continues to lie about what had happened in the woods. She even gets the other girls to lie along with her. She gets the people of Salem to believe her and hysteria breaks out throughout the entire town.
Abigail holds the most blame for the events that occurred. Abigail is involved from the first scene when Betty is sick and it is said they were dancing in the woods and Abigail drank blood. She is the leader of the group of girls that accuse people and Abigail gives many names herself. In the appendix, Proctor goes to Abigail to convince/threaten her to tell the true, knowing that if she comes forward, the court will believe her more than any of the other girls. Towards the end of the play Abigail invents the bird in the rafters and the others in the group follow her lead. When Mary gives her testament about pretending, Danforth questions only Abigail to see if she'll repent. Abigail holds the most blame for the happenings in Salem.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I do agree that Abigail holds quite a bit of blame for what happened, I also believe that it is hard to place the blame on one person alone. If John Proctor had never slept with Abigail, she never would have felt the need to ask Tituba to create a curse for Elizabeth. Had Tituba not agreed to create a curse or call upon the spirits of the dead babies, Reverend Parris never would have caught the girls dancing in the woods. Had he not caught them dancing, he would not have called Reverend Hale to investigate into the witchcraft. Had Reverend Hale not been pushy and power-hungry, the trials may not have ever happened. I think almost everyone shares a small piece of the blame.
DeleteIn my opinion, two people hold the most responsibility for the Salem witch trials, one of them being Abigail. She was the one who started everything. She often lies and persuades friends and the people of the town, giving her a lot of power. She also sends multiple people to hang. Her biggest motive is revenge on Elizabeth Proctor. Not to mention she cheats with John Proctor and is very lustful.
ReplyDeleteThe other person I believe is responsible for many of the trials is Reverend Hale. He is naive and pushes the witch trials. He probes for confessions and people to testify. If he had not pushed so hard in the beginning, there is a great chance the Salem witch trials would not have been as extensive as they were. Essentially, by the end of the book, he is broken and has lost trust from many of the people in the town.
I agree with your idea that Reverend Hale share a large portion of the blame with Abigale for the trials. Abigale may have served to ignite the flames of panic in the populace, but Reverend Hale offered a all-too ready and willing hand to help her achieve her goals. She played off his natural feelings of fear and self-justification, and he definitely shares responsibility.
DeleteI agree that Reverend Hale deserves some of the blame, but I feel he is not one of the main people responsible. Yes, he played a role in the beginning with accusing people, but then towards the end that role faded and eventually he tried to stand up for those accused. In the end when Abigail and the girls pretended to see the bird, Hale tried to support Mary, denying seeing anything.
DeleteThe Puritan people had fled persecution and traveled to the New World in hope of finding a peaceful and safe environment in which to keep their religion alive. Unfortunately, not everything worked out as perfectly as the leaders of this strict religion had initially hoped. With each generation born in the Colonies, the younger generations of Puritans became more distant from the strict interpretation of faith for which their parents and grandparents had risked so much. Because of this, the leaders of the Puritan society desperately looked for something to bring their community back together. Unfortunately, the thing that brought the community together also tore them apart. Although the spread of mass hysteria and fear briefly formed the society into one homogeneous unit, they emerged from the tragedy more damaged than ever. Because of this, I believe that the fault lies with each member of the community. If one or two more brave Puritans would have supported John Proctor in his cause and shone light on how ridiculous the girls’ claims were, many lives could have been saved.
ReplyDeleteI agree that every member of the community shares the blame. They all allowed the hysteria to go on and did nothing to stop it. If people would have seen the big picture and realized how crazy they were acting killing innocent people because of the words of a few selfish teenagers the trials would have ended much sooner and lives would have been saved. I find it ironic that such a godly community would support something as ungodly as killing innocent people by lying so that a select few could gain something (Abigail and the land owners).
DeleteI believe that Abigail was the cause of the whole downfall of Salem. Based of the foundations of Salem, the community ran on a self-imposed and enforced moral code. Their foundation had a specific guideline of right and wrong. Abigail was the furthest away from that guideline. She crossed the boundary of what is acceptable. She was practically an anti-Puritan. She was a liar, a murder and a adulteress. Salem did not know how to deal with someone so far away from their standards, so the system failed. The system failure lead to the people who would normally be protected getting hurt. Abigail started started the domino effect starting with her and lead to the trials and the political distrust.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your opinion that Abigail was the main cause of Salem's destruction. She was clearly a person that their system of order just simply wasn't prepared for. While Salem was well prepared to deal with someone they know was a lair, an adulteress, or a murderer, they were clearly unable to foresee someone who was so far beyond their comprehension of an evil person. The fact that Abigail was able to use her skills to murder other people using their own justice system proves this.
DeleteI do agree that Abigail deserved some of the blame, but the blame should be laid on the entire town of Salem. They believed this young girl so quickly that they didn't even bother to question if they should or not. As the saying goes "you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink." Abigail had her say, but the townspeople willingly believed it and believed in her.
DeleteTo be frank, the downfall of the community cannot be blammed on the citizens, but rather it should be blammed on the overly strict rules of society the townspeople live by. While Abigail's entire reason for her actions in the woods with Tituba at the beginning of the play were not morally correct under any standards, it is not irrational for a young girl to have feelings towards a man that she looks up to in society. Do not take this the wrong way, I do not think that a society should allow young girls to be having relations with older and married men, but the entire issue with the play stems from the fact that dancing and other sins are thought of as so awful that young girls would lie to the point of risking the lives of others. Abigail's entire reasoning behind lying about her actions in the woods was to protect herself from essentially the same punishment she bestows upon others with her accusation. All in all, Abigail is to blame for the trials, but at some point it could be seen that Abigail initially acted as a scared girls afraid of the consequences for her actions in the woods. Honestly who can say that they have never lied about something they did wrong?
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your unique response! I agree with you completely the the standards that were present in Salem were obnoxiously unrealistic. They were doomed for someone to break their code of standards from the start. I early said I believed Abigail was the cause, but I think you hit the nail on the head with this post. It wasn't Abigail's fault for their standards, and someone was doomed to break them eventually, she just happened to be the first to do so.
DeleteI agree. I understand that when these people were living the type of lifestyle under these rules then they would think extremely different then we would if this were to happen in a town like Metamora. Anyone could see that with such strict rules they were bound to be broken sooner or later. In the end it is easy to blame Abigail for the trials, although Salem can be blamed as a whole as well.
DeleteIf blame is to be placed upon one person, then it would fall mostly on Abigail and the other girls. Abigail was able to manipulate the entire town and court proceedings of the accused witches. However, although it is highly suspected that she was pretending, there was never any true confession from Abigail or the other girls. But the blame should not solely fall on the children. The entire town of Salem is to blame in actuality. The citizens and court officials all became wrapped up in the frenzy of witch fever. They became so obsessed in the frenzy that they never really stopped to consider the fact that this entire event could be a hoax. The word of young girls was taken as gospel and motives were never questioned. There truly is no single person to blame.
ReplyDeleteI feel like Abigail was the one to stir up the most trouble. From the very beginning when asked whether or not she was doing something wrong in the forest, she lied. She lied multiple times throughout the book. If she were to tell the truth from the very beginning maybe things would have turned out better. She accused innocent people of being witches. Her accusations caused the witch trials in Salem to begin. Abigail is depicted to be cruel as she is the one to cause panic and continues to lie about what had happened in the woods. She even gets the other girls to lie along with her. She gets the people of Salem to believe her and hysteria breaks out throughout the entire town.
ReplyDelete