The Guilty Characters in Miller's The Crucible

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The Salem Witch Trials, Who is Really Guilty

After all of the witch trials in 1692 concluded a total of 20 people were hanged all because of people craving attention and personal gain. There are three people depicted in Arthur Miller's The Crucible that are most responsible for this and they are, Abigail Williams, Judge Danforth, and Thomas Putnam. Abigail Williams is mostly responsible for the Salem witch trials because she was the first person to start accusing innocent people of witchcraft. Judge Danforth is responsible because he is not concerned about justice, all he cares about is being correct about the witch trials. Lastly Thomas Putnam is guilty of causing the witch trials because he was able to have people accuse other people so he could claim their land for himself. The witch trials were a senseless massacre and all because Abigail Williams, Judge Danforth, and Thomas Putnam were only concerned about them selves, not the innocent ones around them.

Abigail Williams started the witch trials in Salem all because she and a group of her friends wanted some attention from their town. Abigail thinks she is superior to some people, specifically Tituba and has no problem accusing people she feels superior to. "They want slaves, not such as I. Let them send to Barbados for any of them!"(24). Abigail's first victim in her accusation spree was Tituba. Tituba was easy first target because she is a slave and practices voodoo, both things combined make her the easiest target in Salem. "Sometimes I wake and find myself standing in the open doorway and not a stitch on my body! I always hear her laughing in my sleep. I hear her singing her Barbados songs and tempting me with-"(27). Abigail targets Tituba first so she can gain so...

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...Putnam all played a major role in Salem witch trials, while none of their roles were positive ones they all did what they did for themselves. Abigail Williams did what she did so her and her friends could harvest attention from the people of Salem. Judge Danforth was ignorant to fact that verbal evidence is very unreliable just because he wanted to be correct about every decision in the trials. Thomas Putnam accuses several people in Salem all for personal gain of land and money. Many people were charged as guilty but in reality they were innocent, the only people who were actually guilty are Abigail Williams, Judge Danforth, and Thomas Putnam. The Crucible shows how honesty may not seem like the popular choice to make but will always be the right one.

Work Cited

Miller, Arthur. The Crucible (Penguin Classics). New York: Penguin Classics, 2003.

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