Examples Of The Salem Witch Trials In The Crucible

The play “ The Crucible”, by Arthur Miller ,is about the Salem witch trials in 1692. Throughout the play the characters used witch trials in order to get revenge. Many innocent people got killed because of this. The characters John Proctor ,Abigail, and Reverend Paris are the main characters and they all cared about their reputation. Reverend Paris was the minister of the town and was disliked by many people. He was a cruel man that only cared about his reputation, Miller states, “ he cut a villainous path, and there is very little good to be said for him”(Miller 1).Miller shows the audience; from the beginning, who the villain is in the story .Paris was afraid that people in the village would find out that his own family was doing witchcraft. He says, “ in the midst of such disruption, my own household is discovered to be the very center of some obscene practice” (Miller

She blamed anyone that was in her way and accused them of witchcraft . She was afraid people would find out that she had an affair with John Proctor and ruin her name in the village. She said to John Proctor that his wife was , “ blackening my name in the village! She is telling lies about me! (Miller202). Here she is showing that she cares what people say about her and tries to hide the truth. In the beginning of the play , Abigail and a few girls were caught dancing naked in the woods . She gets all the girls to lie for her by threatening them saying, “ And mark this . Let either of you breathe a word, or the edge of a word , about the other things , and I will come to you in the black of the terrible night and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you...” (Miller19). She will do anything just to keep her good name and hide the fact that she did witchcraft. These quotes show how Abigail cared about saving her name; she was willing to lie and threatened to murder in order to hide the