Good And Evil In The Crucible

A question that’s been asked throughout the ages; are people good, evil or are they just misguided. The play “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller, is about the Salem Witch Trials in the late 1600’s, early 1700’s, where countless innocent people lost their lives due to false accusations of being a witch. During this time in the provincial town of Salem, Massachusetts, the mass hysteria over witchcraft had everyone in the small puritan town turning on one another. Their religious beliefs and intolerance during this time lead the puritans to extreme decisions about their neighbors. If one were to give into desires of any kind that did not follow the strict limitations of their religious faith, they were considered to be “evil”; they were doing the Devil’s work. Were the “good” characters the ones that try to stop the witch-hunts, and the “evil” characters are the ones that falsely accuse innocent people of being witches? Were the accusers just trying to gain what they truly desire, be it power, money, or land? Does the characters “good” intentions to stop the “evils” of witch-craft makes them “good”? Are the characters trying to stop the

As well as clearly drawing a line between the dichotomy of good and evil. But the question is, are these characters good, evil or did something or someone influence their actions? We find out that Elizabeth Proctor can be put into the category of “good”, because everything she did was for the good of others. While Abigail Williams, can be put into the category of “evil”, because everything that she did was to get what she desired. John Proctor can be considered a good character, even though the first glimpse of him was not a favorable one, he realized his mistake and tried to rectify that mistake. In the world there is good and evil, but the majority of the population, are like John Proctor; good but sometimes