Abigail Williams of the Salem Witch Trials

Abigail Williams of the Salem Witch Trials Abigail Williams (estimated to be age 11 or 12 at the time), along with  Elizabeth (Betty) Parris, daughter of Rev. Parris and his wife Elizabeth, were the first two girls in Salem Village to be accused of witchcraft during the infamous ​Salem Witch Trials. They began exhibiting odd behaviors in mid-January of 1692, which were soon identified as being caused by witchcraft by a local doctor (presumably William Griggs) called in by Rev. Parris. Family Background Abigail Williams, who lived in the home of the Rev. Samuel Parris, has often been called a niece or kinfolk of Rev. Parris. At the time, niece may have been a general term for a younger female relative. Who her parents were, and what her relationship was to Rev. Parris, is unknown, but she may have been a household servant. Abigail and Betty were joined by Ann Putnam Jr. (daughter of a neighbor) and Elizabeth Hubbard (a niece of William Griggs who lived in the Griggs home with the doctor and his wife) in their afflictions and, then, in accusations against individuals identified as causing the afflictions. The Rev. Parris called in Rev. John Hale of Beverley and Rev. Nicholas Noyes of Salem, and several neighbors, to observe the behavior of Abigail and the others, and to question Tituba, a household slave. Abigail was a key witness against many of the early accused witches, including the first ones identified, Tituba, Sarah Osborne, and Sarah Good, and later Bridget Bishop, George Burroughs, Sarah Cloyce, Martha Corey, Mary Easty, Rebecca Nurse, Elizabeth Proctor,  John Proctor, John Willard and Mary Witheridge. Abigails and Bettys accusations, especially those on February 26 after the making of a witchs cake  the day before, resulted in the arrest on February 29 of Tituba, Sarah Good, and Sarah Osborne. Thomas Putnam, Ann Putnam Jr.s father, signed the complaints as the girls were minors. On March 19, with the Rev. Deodat Lawson visiting, Abigail accused the respected Rebecca Nurse of trying to force her to sign the devils book. The next day, in the middle of the service at Salem Village Church, Abigail interrupted Rev. Lawson, claiming she saw Martha Coreys spirit separate from her body. Martha Corey was arrested and examined the next day. A warrant for the arrest of  Rebecca Nurse  was issued March 23. On March 29, Abigail Williams and Mercy Lewis accused Elizabeth Proctor of afflicting them through her specter; Abigail claimed to see John Proctors specter as well. Abigail testified that she had seen some 40 witches outside the Parris house in a ritual of drinking blood. She named Elizabeth Proctors specter as being present and named Sarah Good and Sarah Cloyce as being deacons at the ceremony. Of the legal complaints filed, Abigail Williams made 41 of them. She testified in seven of the cases. Her last testimony was June 3, a week before the first execution. Joseph Hutchinson, in trying to discredit her testimony, testified that she had said to him that she could converse with the devil as easily as she could converse with him. Abigail Williams After the Trials After her last testimony in the court records on June 3, 1692, the day that John Willard and Rebecca Nurse were indicted for witchcraft by a grand jury, Abigail Williams disappears from the historical record. Motives Speculation about Abigail Williams motives in testifying usually suggest that she wanted some attention: that as a poor relation with no real prospects in marriage (as she would have no dowry), she gained much more influence and power through her accusations of witchcraft that she would be able to do any other way. Linda R. Caporael suggested in 1976 that fungus-infected rye may have caused ergotism and hallucinations in Abigail Williams and the others. Abigail Williams in The Crucible In Arthur Millers play, The Crucible, Miller depicts Williams as a 17-year-old servant in the Proctor house who tried to save John Proctor even while denouncing her mistress, Elizabeth. At the end of the play, she steals her uncles money (money which the real Rev. Parris probably did not have). Arthur Miller relied on a source that claimed that Abigail Williams became a prostitute after the period of the trials.

Listening Essay Example

Listening Essay Example Listening Essay Listening Essay Listening BY BasedG0d66 Speech 20 October 23, 2013 Listening Behavior Listening examples: Person My friend Circumstance We were playing disc golf. My friend was telling me about his Job sending him to Japan for 3 months. Listening Behavior We were playing a game so we were not continuously looking at each other, I would occasionally input my feedback and opinion on the matters he spoke of. Our conversation on this topic lasted a good 20 minutes. Additional Comments My friend was worried about leaving to a foreign country or three months, he was afraid that he would not enjoy living outside his comfort zone and away from his friends and family. made it known that he appreciated our conversation and my input and advice. It seemed that he Just needed someone to express his feelings to and I was glad to be able to provide that for him. Circumstance We are lifelong friends and he was calling me Just to catch up and fill each other in on what we have been up to recently. nd I grew up together but at the age of 13 our parents had a falling out, so we see each other much less, specially now that he goes to school in Boulder Colorado. We regularly call each other to catch up and tend to have long, meaningful conversations about our recent activities. This time that he called me I was preoccupied with playing video games. Listening Behavior I was more preoccupied with my games than I was with my phone conversation. I exhibited signs of mindless listening and maybe a bit of pseudolistening because I would respond every now and again with an uh huh or yeah to make it seem like I was paying attention, when in reality I was completely bsorbed in my game. Additional Comments My friend knows me too well to not get the feeling of me being distracted. He quickly called me out on not listening to him and he told me to call back when I was free. Luckily and I are great friends and he didnt take my lack of attention offensively. I called him back 20 minutes later and we had a perfectly good, supportive and reciprocal conversation. Person My friends and dive leader Circumstance This past weekend I went on a scuba diving trip to Monterey with a few of my friends as part of furthering our diving abilities. Before the entering the he expected from us on this dive and the rules we had to follow. Listening Behavior Although my friends and I already have our scuba license and know how to safely dive, this lesson was meant to prepare us for the next tier of scuba diving and it is essential for our safety to mindfully listen to the instructor. During our lesson my friends and I were very conscious of our teacher and what he was saying, we never started side conversation or lost interest. The only input we made was a question here and there to clarify a misunderstanding. Additional Comments This circumstance required a great deal of attentive listening and I believe it was made easier by our love for the topic and the importance it held in regards to our safety and the safety of our buddies. Not only did we have to listen to our above water instructions but while underwater it is important to be aware of any sounds that might suggest a problem with the dive or your buddies. While doing this exercise I noticed that I am a more mindful listener than I had originally thought. When listening to my superiors such as instructors or elders I tend o talk less and give less personal feedback. Instead of listening to them and occasionally giving my opinions throughout the conversation, I like to listen thoroughly and then give my feedback if needed. During this time I do not always have the appearance of an attentive listener, sometimes my line of vision wanders from the speaker and I often do things with my hands or shake my leg, giving the appearance of insensitive or mindless listening, when in reality doing these things helps me absorb the information from the speaker. I found that different ircumstances require different types of listening, and usually I am able to provide this for the speaker. It is easy for me to keep my attention when the dialog is about something I have a person liking for, such as my dive instructor as mentioned earlier. It becomes harder for me to listen appropriately when it is regarding something I dont have an interest in, such as during a long lecture or something that I know I wont be able to impact or change. Although it may be more difficult for me to listen thoroughly, I have always been taught to be respectful and a large part of that is istening when someone is talking to me, so although at times I have trouble doing so, I rarely find myself completely unable to listen and understand. I learned that one thing that really gets in my way of listening well is watching T. V, playing video games or reading. When I am doing these things it is usually because I am trying to relax, and I tend to be in a relatively relaxed state of mind. My buddy called me the other day while I was playing video games, he is one of my few lifelong friends and he was Just calling to see how I was doing. I tried to talk with him while till playing games and he was quickly aware of the fact that I was distracted. He told me to call back when I was available and he understood my lack of attention. Before starting this assignment I had thought that I might not be the greatest listener because I tend to get distracted easily and I am usually fiddling with something while I listen to the speaker. After examining myself and my listening habits I learned that these actions actually help me to retain information. When I focus on preventing myself from doing these things it actually subtracts from my mage of a mindful listener, I have different techniques that allow me to be a strong listener. One specific idea from the book that I have been trying to apply to my listening technique is that of talking less. I noticed that while communicating with my friends we tend to constantly vocalize our opinions and ideas when listening to each other. While we are listening to what each of us is saying, it tends to seem more like a contest rather than a respectful, sincere case of listening. This habit tends to carry on to my other conversation with less familiar peers and sometimes my superiors. It is not always a negative thing, but I have learned that more times than not I am able to take a better understanding of the dialog if I hold my input in until the speaker has fully expressed their points. Through this exercise I learned that listening is easily taken for granted, it takes more effort than most initially believe to mindfully listen to others. By observing yourself as a listener, one is able to identify factors that either contribute to, or subtract from, productive listening. Without self-observance these factors are easily overlooked or disregarded as insignificant.