Causes Of The Salem Witch Trials In The Crucible

The Crucible, by Arthur Miller is a play accounting for the tragic events of 1692 in Salem Village. Most people were Puritans, who believed it was against the law not to attend church. The devastating events which took place in Salem Village are known as “The Salem Witch Trials”. These Witch Trials caused many people to be accused of witchcraft and well over a dozen to be executed. The source of all this social disruption, was when many girls and Reverend Parris's slave Tituba were caught dancing in the woods. The girls blamed their strange actions on witchcraft. This one incident, along with two of the girls having had fallen ill, was the trigger for the deadly witch hunt. The chaos of frantic accusations caused the community to lose
These characters were victims of the turmoil however, their sacrifices and courage were necessary because the society needed integrity, honesty and loyalty to restore social order. John Proctor was the husband of Elizabeth (Goody) Proctor in the play. John Proctor was not an extremely loyal husband due to his relationship with Abigail Williams. Abigail was one of the girls in the woods and worked for John and his wife in their home as a servant when Elizabeth was sick. Abigail later became an accuser of witchcraft in order to avoid herself being accused of witchcraft, due to having danced in the woods. Abigail also seeked revenge for both John and Elizabeth Proctor. John Proctor’s decision to reveal his adulterous
Especially for those who were hanged and lost their lives. These sacrifices helped restore social order because those who remained loyal to their beliefs were regarded as good citizens, as well as respectable members within the community. If the accusations had continued, more people would have been killed, therefore these sacrifices were necessary. John Proctor’s truthfulness, even though it meant he would die, showed sincerity and honesty helped restore the society. Rebecca Nurse and Elizabeth Proctor could have testified they had seen witchcraft, which would have freed them from jail. Social order was restored because they did not continue the repetition in accusing innocent people of false witchcraft. Unfortunately, these people were victims of a make believe witchcraft and a witch hunt however, they stuck to their morals and told the truth, so others could live. Their courage and perseverance allowed society to get back to where it