The Crucible

In the town of Salem a group of girls are caught dancing in the woods by Reverend Parris, which under Salem’s own rules and laws is forbidden. One of the girls, Betty, falls into a comma like state soon after the dancing and rumours start to escalate that there is witchcraft going on in the town. The group of girls, lead by Abigail Williams, are frightened that they will all be accused of being witches so Abigail soon begins making accusations: “I saw Sarah good with the devil! I saw Goody Osborne with the devil! I saw Bridget Bishop with the devil!” Betty then continues with the accusations and more and more innocent people are now under suspicion of witchcraft. The girls appear to have a great sense of power in the

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The central character, John Proctor, is also accused and he confesses to having an affair with Abigail who then accuses John’s wife, Elizabeth Proctor of witchcraft. John Proctor refused to sign his name to witchcraft, even though it would give him another chance with his wife and his family he doesn’t want to blacken his name in the town, “Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies! Because I am not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang! How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name!” therefore Proctor chooses to die with his goodness intact and become a tragic hero. Their acts of evil go unpunished when ironically all the good people die for their cause and refuse to admit to acts they did not commit simply because it is the correct thing to do. The hysteria became an opportunity for everyone who wanted to publicly express his or her guilt and sins to do so under the cover of accusations against the victims and long held hatred between neighbours could now be acted upon without feelings of guilt.

In Salem there were strict religions and moral codes and each and ever member of the community was an avid follower of god and the minister was the head of society.

In addition, it becomes clear that Abigail’s envy towards Elizabeth is the only reason she accused her.

Moreover, Thomas Putnam, who is the wealthiest man in Salem has an immense greed for land and money. I am waiting since November for a stick, and even in November I had to show my frostbitten hands like some London beggar!”. She desires a large family more than anything and is extremely envious toward Rebecca Nurse’s large family. The town’s tight laws condemned the enjoyment of novels, theatre and any time off work had to be spent praying. However greed and envy goes unpunished.

However, although Ann Putnam is partly responsible for the conviction of others we can feel sympathetic towards her. Everyone became suspicious of one and other, unaware of who was responsible and whether or not they were going to be accused next. Thomas Putnam’s greed has caused disputes and unhappiness in the community by cheating people out of land and money and even pressurising a man to death as he feared giving up his land to Putnam more than dying.

Common topics in this essay:
Reverend Parris, John Proctor, Massachusetts Based, Reverent Parris, Ann Putnam, Elizabeth Proctor, Giles Corey, People Salem, Bridget Bishop, Parris Salems, reverend parris, ann putnam, abigail williams, thomas ann putnam, accusations witchcraft, soon begins, giles corey, john proctor, thomas ann, greed envy, downfall society,

Approximate Word count = 1079
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

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