Salem, Massachusetts, 1692. A village of the Puritans where religion ran every aspect of society, also the place where the historic Salem Witch Trials occurred. The Salem Witch Trials were a mass hysteria where the villagers wildly accused their neighbors of conspiring with the Devil and casting spells to ruin daily life. The Crucible was written by Arthur Miller because of his personal experience. Earlier in his life, Miller was being trialed by a court for being a communist put through his own personal crucible about his beliefs which inspired him to write this play. Abigail and John both counter their religious expectations through their individualism due to Abby’s desire of vengeance and power and John’s contradicting actions in society.
In the Puritan religion, males are seen as the role models of society that both women and children are supposed to follow and respect. However, John did not uphold this image. The religious expectation of males as described by source C is that they (the male) are to honor the Lord’s day and attend church, be a good role model to their family, and respect the court. In the play, John doesn’t attend church very often and lies and argues profusely with the court about the witch proceedings. In an
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Abigail and John are both contrasting figures to these views because they commit sins, lie, and create the image not of what is expected in the Puritan religion. The purpose of these characters created by Miller was to show the restrictions of the Puritan society and how people sought out power because of grudges they held. The four sources given, explain that many but not all people have trouble upholding the expectations put upon them. In the end, John’s individualism cost him his life, and Abigail's forced her to flee Salem Village. BUt, if both characters had upheld their religious expectations, would the Salem Witch Trials have even