The play "The Crucible", written by Arthur Miller, used the Salem witch hunt trials as an allegory for the McCarthy hearings and of the true horrors behind how America dealt with attempted communism. The tension is evident throughout the play, and each character participates in its escalation which draws them into the extreme consequences of the tension they helped to circulate. The importance of Salem is that the tension can come from within each character as they are immersed in feuds hidden and known to the audience. Tension must be created, but the audience must determine who is responsible. Some extracts are more explosive than others in the tension they channel and the hysteria they circulate; so I'm going to explore these excerpts in depth to show how tension is a key aspect of this piece. An interesting bit of dramatic tension is found in the first act of the play and sees Miller amplify the tension by using Abigail's struggle to escape the consequences of her actions and her frantic attempts to shift blame from herself onto the others. She hesitates several times as her answers differ and contradict each other in response to her uncle admitting that Abigail was involved with the sinners. Abigail betrays Tituba and thus increases the tension on stage, as a confused Tituba is whipped and punished after Abigail accuses her of witchcraft. Abigail stammers that it was "Tituba, Tituba..." and pauses nervously to see if the men believe her accusations of witchcraft. The tension in this excerpt comes to a head when we see Tituba violently interrogated with questions such as "Woman, are you conscripted." these children for the devil? This is a key episode in the play as it is the first accusation of witchcraft, ...... middle of paper ...... hysteria that arises when John dies. Hidden sins and family secrets provide a good basis for tension in Salem, supplemented by bickering and bitterness in situations that escalate it to substantial levels. Tension can be seen to be created by the themes of betrayal, self-importance, and reputation in Salem, as they are the root of the feuds and friction in the town. The tension may not be created by hysteria, but hysteria can be seen as a great fuel for it, because in scenes where tension reaches a fever pitch, hysteria is evident with people screaming , fight and scream and this is demonstrated by Miller's use of caesuras which emphasize the hysteria. the screams and abrupt sentences that accompany hysteria. However, tensions are eventually resolved with the death of John Proctor which takes away not only Salem's sins, but also the feuds and tensions that culminated around his death..