At the time of 1692 when the Puritans came to this country for religious liberty, they had a strict moral code that everyone in the village respected. Religion was particularly important. The state was founded on religion, built on religion, thrived on politics, which turned out to be a very social life. Witchcraft was looked down upon by religious groups, who believed that witches could cast spells on people. They had a great fear of defying God and also believed that they should do everything in their power to punish people who would do just that. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller is a great example of how all of these morals and beliefs are dismantled simply by emotion, revenge, and the misunderstandings that come with it. of five seemingly ordinary girls. Each of the characters plays an important role in creating this hysteria known as the Salem Witch Trials. From the beginning, when the girls were caught dancing in the woods by Reverend Parris, to the very end, when John Proctor is accused of being a wizard himself, false beliefs prevent this great misunderstanding to end. With these thoughts in mind, one might believe that this whole witchcraft story was completely fabricated. The evidence supporting this conclusion can easily be found by looking a little deeper into the literature. Abigail Williams, who was caught dancing in the woods by Reverend Parris, was a very manipulative person. Portrayed as the leader of the girls who started this epidemic of witchcraft accusations. She inspires fear in the other girls by convincing them to do what she says. Obviously, the suspicions of witchcraft prove nothing since she threatens the girls not to tell the truth about the dance in the woods. Abigail inspires fear in the other girls by using past experiences from her own difficult life to threaten them. Abigail threatens Betty and Mary Warren: “And write this down. Let one of you say a word, or the shadow of a word, about the rest of things, and I will come to you in the dark of a terrible night and bring you a sharp calculation that will make you shudder. And you know I can do it; I have seen Indians smash my dear parents' heads on the pillow next to mine, and I have seen reddish work done at night, and I can make you wish you hadn't done it. I never saw the sun go down!" (Miller 132). Simple threats like these contribute to witchcraft hysteria. This last quote from Abigail may suggest that she knew what she She had found a way to use this to her advantage; get revenge on the people who had wronged her. Abigail secretly had an affair with John Proctor while she was working at his house. have nothing to do with Abigail, but she is still in love with him Elizabeth, John's wife, disgraced her because of this. Abigail had a constant grudge against Elizabeth. Abigail wanted Elizabeth to die so that she and John could "dance on her grave". Soon she realizes the power of accusation against ordinary people. Many other locals soon fall victim to their scandalous plot. expressed his belief that girls were not witches solely because of his fear of losing his reputation. He claimed they were just sick. GOODsure, that's exactly how they seemed to be. The girls' actions and allusions to witchcraft surrounding his daughter Betty's coma will threaten his reputation and force him to leave the church. This put more tension between him and John Proctor. John had stopped going to church because Parris only preached hellfire and damnation. Alongside his lectures, witchcraft fit in perfectly. John and Parris disagreed on how religion should be preached or on the whole issue of witchcraft. John knew of Abigail's manipulative personality. She had also met with him and told him about the fraud of their accusations. He had the information, but he couldn't directly tell everyone that she was lying about the relationship they had earlier. If he came forward and said Abigail was a fraud, then she would tell the court that John is a debauch. The fact that he committed adultery with her isn't going to go away just because they're in the middle of a witchcraft trial. Proctor makes the decision to remain silent about the matter and attempts to stay out of the trials by refusing to go to court and testify. Mary Warren, who works at the Proctors' home, participates in the trials. She returned home with the news that Elizabeth's name had been mentioned in court. Reverend Hale, who is helping to interrogate the accused, soon arrives at the supervisors with the news that Rebecca Nurse, a well-respected citizen of Salem, has also been indicted. He questions them about their faith. They were very sincere about their belief in God, but when Hale asked John to recite the 10 commandments, he stuttered, ironically omitting the all-important "thou shalt not commit adultery." Soon they learn that several other charges have been brought against particularly respected citizens. The girls had been shouting names in court, which is undoubtedly an irrational thing to do. Clearly, these girls didn't have solid evidence against the women they accused, or perhaps they simply held a grudge against them, like Abigail did against Elizabeth Proctor. John Proctor quickly understands the unfolding events in Salem. Following his wife's accusation, he appears to have reached his boiling point and can no longer stay out of the trial. He sees the truth in these trials, the driving force behind them: “I’ll tell you what works in Salem – revenge works in Salem. We are what we always were in Salem, but now the crazy little children jingle the keys of the kingdom, and common vengeance writes the law! This mandate of vengeance, I will not deliver my wife to vengeance! (73).In an attempt to free his wife, John Proctor went to court with Mary Warren who had confessed to him that she had not seen any spirits and that the other girls were lying. Parris, who is present in court, shouts that Proctor is trying to overthrow the court. Yet, fearing for his own reputation, Parris tries to portray Abigail as an angel and John as a crazy fool who has nothing better to show up in court and distract the trial by simply trying to free his wife, as Parris keeps to repeat it. Mary, who appears extremely shaken, does not want to speak in court, so John makes her sign a paper saying the whole witchcraft incident is a hoax. Judge Danforth calls the other girls into the room. The girls turn on Mary and accuse her of being attacked by her spirit in the room. Mary cries and begs them to stop. Knowing that Abigail is lying, John accuses her of being a whore and, in doing so, admits to committing adultery. Once again, the dilemma takes an unexpected turn and Abigail accuses John of being a liar..