Title: The Setting og Arthur Miller's The Crucible
             The Crucible, Arthur Miller's sixth play, is a study in moral values and honesty. The author puts in the spotlight John Proctor and examines his motives and explores his personal moral standards. Proctor's struggle to find his inner goodness is made much more difficult by the atmosphere in which he must live. Late
             Seventeenth century Salem, Massachusetts is no place for a man of
             Proctor's high moral fiber. It is a hostile social environment where the people are ruled by a crumbling theocracy. The
             Separatist Puritans, who had come to America aboard the Mayflower in 1620 to find a safe haven from the Church of England, which
             they believed had not carried out the full process of the
             Reformation, developed, over time, a powerful theocracy where the
             exact word of the Bible was law. This government by the Church
             was dangerous, as is clearly demonstrated in MillerÕs play. The
             Puritan society was austere, restrictive, and fanatical. The
             Pilgrims believed in hard work, a stern, unforgiving God, and the
             immorality of all entertainment. There was only one
             interpretation of the Bible, not open to outside argument. "For
             all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23)
             is an example of the Bible stating that "nobody is perfectÑwe are
             just human." The Puritans do not accept this argument, and
             believe that major sins (such as John ProctorÕs adultery with
             Abigail) are unpardonable. There were very stringent laws in the
             Puritan colonies. Outrageously strict laws governing dancing,
             drinking, dress, art, and even hair length hemmed the people in
             on all sides. Towards the end of the sixteen hundreds, This
             theocracy began to falter and shake. The events in The Crucible
             show the boiling-over of the peopleÕs dissatisfaction and the
             eventual fall of the ChurchÕs rule over the people. In fact, the
             ChurchÕs strict doc...