The deterioration of the social structure of Salem precipitated the murders of many innocent people. Arthur Miller's depiction of the Salem witch trials, The Crucible, deals with a community that, at first, appears to be close-knit and church-loving. It turns out that once Tituba starts pointing the finger at the witches, the community starts pointing the finger at each other. Hysteria and hidden agendas break down the social structure and everyone must protect themselves from the people they thought were their friends. The unity of the community, the Church and the legal system died so that children could protect the social status of their families. Being isolated from any other group of people with different beliefs created a puritanical, church-led society that was unable to accept much change. The Church was against the devil, but at the same time it was against such things as dancing and other premature acts. The family's reputation was very important to members of the community. When the girls were caught dancing in the woods, they lied to protect not only themselves, but also their family's reputation. They claimed that the devil had invaded them and made them dance. The girls also reported seeing townspeople standing with the devil. A community living in a puritanical society like Salem could easily descend into a chaotic state and struggle to deal with what they view as the greatest form of evil. The Salem hysteria caused the community to lose faith in the spiritual beliefs they were trying to promote. apply strictly. The church lost many of its parishioners because the town's interest was now turning to Abigail because people wanted to know who was going to be named next. When the Church was trying to excommunicate John Proctor, there weren't enough people to do it. People were so wrong as to leave a dagger stuck in the door of their minister's house: "this evening, when I opened my door to leave my house, a dagger fell to the ground... There is a danger for me” (128). ), these were Parris' exact words. With God's transmitter in fear for her life, there was no one left but Abigail to lead the community. The justice system is designed to protect the people it serves, but during the trials, the accused witch had two choices: death or imprisonment..