On one level, The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a play about the damaging effects of fear. The setting takes place in Salem during the colonial era of America, a time when the punishment for being a witch is death. One night, a group of Salem girls decided to go out into the forest to perform some witchcraft. They are caught by the town reverend, Mr. Parris, right in the middle of their devious actions. Fortunately for the girls, Reverend Parris' niece was one of the girls in the group that night. Thus lying and deception begins to set into everyone and masks over the truth about the events that aspired that night to prevent their executions. Fear is the force that motivates Abby, Mary Waren, and Reverend Parris to make statements, take actions, and fuel the witchcraft hysteria in Salem.
             Abby is the niece of Reverend Parris and is the person who is responsible for starting the witchcraft that took place that night. She takes part in the worst of the rituals performed by the girls even going as far as to drink blood to curse John Proctor's wife. Abby's afraid of the consequences for her actions and immediately begins controlling all the girls as soon as the event was over by pounding threats and fear into them. With the girls under Abby's control they follow and do whatever she tells them to do in court and in front of the rest of the town to keep up the act that Abby was trying to portray of their innocence. In the end of the play Abby even robs her uncle penniless and runs away to Barbados just to escape the fear of any punishment. Because of her decision to protect herself against the fear of being executed, no matter what the cost to those around her, many of the townsfolk end up being falsely accused of witchcraft and hang for it.
             Marry Warren is innocent as can be, having only witnessed the girls' witchcraft and not actually participated. Yet she has much to be fearful of because of her position, the...