How Is Salem Justified In The Crucible

Puritanism Paper

“I'll tell you what's walking Salem—vengeance is walking Salem. 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!” (Miller’s The Crucible Act II, Pg. 77). The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a play that revolves around the Salem witch hunts, which occurred during the late 17th century. The play opens in Salem, Massachusetts during 1692 with a group of girls who are ill, with the symptoms of hallucinations and seizures. These sicknesses were attributed to the devil or his servants in the heavily populated Puritan town. Talk of witchcraft was brought on by this sickness. It did not take long before the people of Salem began to accuse
The theocratic society was justified under the tenet, Perseverance of the Saints—which states “those elected by God have full power to interpret the will of God” (Basic Puritan Beliefs Handout). In Miller’s The Crucible, when the rumors of witchcraft began, Tituba was the first accused and she is given the option to confess to her crimes and be forgiven. Hale states that she should have no fear telling them the names of the other witches and that she is “…God’s instrument put in our hands to discover the Devil’s agents among us. You are selected, Tituba, you are chosen to help us cleanse our village…face God—face God, Tituba, and God will protect you.” (Miller’s The Crucible Act I, Pg. 46). Hale, a religious leader believes that Tituba was sent from God to aid the search for witches. Whatever the religious leaders said, the Puritans listened, as the leaders had ultimate authority in the village, with the exception of God himself, and the full power to interpret God’s will. This way of thinking gave a significant amount of power to the religious leaders, powers such as to speak for God himself. This is shown when Hale forgives Tituba in God’s name saying “God will bless you for your help” (Miller’s The Crucible Act I, Pg.
The Puritans used Total Depravity to justify putting Rebecca Nurse in jail for witchcraft, even though she was a pious woman all her life because the Puritans believed that no one is safe from the wiliness of the Devil. The Perseverance of the Saints was used to justify naming Tituba as a gift from God and forgiving her in God’s name. The tenet of Unconditional Election was used to encourage the Puritans to live noble and honest lives. Finally, the tenet of Irresistible Grace was used to find more witches, as the currently accused would free themselves from sins by confessing and naming someone else as a