The play focuses on the inconsistencies of the salem witch trials and the behavior that can result from dark desires and agendas. Miller bases the historical accounts of the salem witch trials. He focuses on several girls and a slave dancing in the woods. They were conjuring or attempting to conjure spirits from the dead. The girls danced in the woods and named names of the men they wanted to love them.
Later in the story Tituba under the pressure of the court confest which ignited a hunt for witches. in both the salem witch trials and the red scare people where both paranoid of something. At the time of the witch trials the people were afraid of evil spirits, and the devil if you were accused of being a witch you would lose almost everything you owned. With the power of the church the people of Salem where easy overpowered by Propaganda and hysteria, with this people started so claim any was a witches for power, land, and even political strength. “We are what we always were in Salem, but now the little crazy children are jangling the keys of the kingdom, and common vengeance writes the law!”( Arthur Miller.)
Power Fabricricating Fear Power, the ability to maintain control, command, or authority over others can often be determined by one’s reputation and their ability to persuade others. This principle is displayed within The Crucible, a play written by Arthur Miller, which follows the town of Salem, Massachusetts navigating through a “Witchcraft” outbreak supposedly lead by the Devil. Within such a theocratic society such as Salem, the Devil is often associated with death, fear, and uncertainty, with his name alone often believed to influence others into following through with certain actions. The Devil, as a key figure behind the immense “witchcraft” occurring in Salem, is crafted by Miller as the most influential “character” based off the fear derived from his infamous reputation and his ability to control characters’ actions.
Abigail first commits adultery with Elizabeth Proctor’s husband John Proctor. Later on, she accuses people of doing witchcraft which causes their life. Abigail Williams uses the Salem Witch Trials to put out all the resentment she has towards everyone. From this broad accusation, it shows how weak the human beings really are, and how greediness and to want for personal gaining. Many people die in the village after a series of lies and unjust practices.
Power in our society nowadays is very misgiven and abused. When people have power they tend to use it for their own benefit and to manipulate people into believing them. In the play, The Crucible, Arthur Miller dramatizes the Salem witch trials of 1692 in order to show his audience how easy it was to be accused and hung for witchcraft. In the Crucible a group of young girls were caught dancing in the woods and in order to not receive a punishment they lied saying they got witched. The girls blamed many people of the town of being witches and caused conflict all over the village.
Arthur Miller’s The Crucible is a play that takes place in the Puritan town of Salem, Massachusetts in the year 1692. The play begins with young girls performing a ritual in the woods to get the guys they like to fall in love with them. After they are caught, the situation spirals out of control as the presiding church officials begin trials to hang the alleged witches that plague Salem. Abigail Williams, one of the girls, accuses Elizabeth Proctor of being a witch in order to have her killed because she feels envy towards what Elizabeth has with her husband John Proctor, a farmer. Abigail uses the situation to her advantage to rid herself of Elizabeth so that she can finally be with John, despite the him telling Abigail that they will no longer have anything together.
It was believed that they danced a black magic dance in nearby woods, and some girls would fall on the floor and hysterically scream. Shortly after that, these actions started to allot all over Salem. Ministers came to Salem trying to find who is responsible for this crisis. The Puritans believed that to become bewitched, a witch must draw a person under a spell. The young girls of Salem could not have brought this situation onto themselves, so they were questioned and forced to name their torturers.
This play seems to have all these characteristics and many more. The Crucible took place in a small town called Salem. This small society went through a terrible time in history called the Salem Witch Trials. In these trials good men and women were persecuted and some even faced death for doing nothing wrong. These trials took people of great character and stature and deemed them to be witches which stripped them of everything their name meant and owned.
Abigail is most likely the epitome of crazy. In the beginning of the play, she commits actions in the woods that are beyond suspicious. She was kicked out of the Procor house by Elizabeth due to suspicion of Adultery, and she is constantly lying profusely to cover herself up. Abigail is to blame for Salem's problems because she’s the one who accused everyone of witchcraft, including Elizabeth. By spilling all these accusations, Abigail turned Salem into a boiling pot of rumor and hatred.
As Hale gets to know the people of Salem who are now accused he begins to question the trials and the presence of witchcraft itself. After Elizabeth Proctor, Rebecca Nurse and Martha Corey, all highly respected women of the village, are condemned Hale finally comes to his senses about the girls when he says: “I may shut my conscience to it no more-private vengeance is working through this testimony”(1208). Hale comes to the realization that the girls are using the cry of witchcraft to punish whoever they please in the town. He can no longer believe these honest Christian people are conjuring with the devil just based on the accusation of young girls and no real proof. Hale then goes against his practice to convince the accused to confess to save to their lives: Hale goes to Rebecca Nurse and Martha Corey and begs them to confess to witchcraft even though he knows they are not guilty of it.