The Crucible by Arthur Miller

The girls involved in this were Abigail Williams, Betty Parris, Mary Warren, Ruth Putnam, and a few others. Tituba, Reverend Parris’s slave from Barbados was also with them. All of the girls involved were caught by Reverend Samuel Parris, the minister of Salem. When Reverend Parris catches the girls dancing in the woods, his daughter Betty Parris becomes ill. Abigail Williams, Parris’s niece, is questioned by Parris on what they were doing in the woods. Abigail eventually admits that they were only dancing in the woods.

Parris believes that is daughters illness is from supernatural causes, so he sends for Reverend Hale. Betty first start to look ill after her father discovered her dancing in the woods with Abigail and his Negro slave, Tituba along with several other local girls. There are rumors going around that Betty's sickness is due to witchcraft. Parris doesn't want to admit to seeing his daughter and niece dancing in the woods, but Abigail says that she will admit to dancing and accept the punishment. At this time, Thomas and Ann Putnam come into the story and talk to Parris saying that their daughter Ruth has become sick too.

Reverend Parris caught them in act. Shortly after, his daughter, Betty, who was part of the ritual, became ill. The town heard about it assume that witchcraft have something to do with it. Abigail, the leader of the group were being questioned about what was happening the forest and does it have something to do with witchcraft. She denied it and it was only dancing for fun.

In the play The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, a gruesome true story is told of witchcraft, abundant with self-preservation, a need to justify one’s fears, and the inconceivable power of a simple lie told by a teenage girl. This story commences with Reverend Parris interrogating his niece Abigail concerning her and a group of girls dancing and chanting in the woods naked around a large pot, with a slave named Tituba. Nearing the end of the dancing, when the girls were discovered, his

The townspeople spread rumors that there are witches lurking throughout the the town that have put the girls under their spells. This causes Reverend Parris to send for Reverend Hale, an expert in witchcraft and the devil's work, who hopes to rid the town of all witchcraft. John Proctor, a local farmer, asks Abigail to stop accusing innocent people and start telling the truth about what happened in the forest. Elizabeth Proctor, John Proctor's wife, excused Abigail from their house because she found out about an affair between Abigail and John. She lies to the court when she is asked about John’s affair to save him from any punishment.

The girls are seen by Parris dancing and conjuring evil spirits in the woods. “Witches” are what the girls are called by the people of the town. After they were caught, Parris goes upstairs to call Betty, his daughter, and Abagail, his niece, but Betty will not wake. This is when the Christie 2 townspeople cry witch against her (Betty). Abagail says to her Uncle Parris, “The rumor of witchcraft is all about.” They think the devil has taken over the mind and soul of Betty and that is the reason she sleeps so soundly.

Abigail’s goal was to place a spell on Elizabeth, wife of John Proctor, and Abigail and John Proctor recently had an affair. Now, Salem is spreading the rumor of witchcraft, Abigail takes the opportunity to accuse Elizabeth of witchcraft so she and John can be together. Abigail has a perfect opening to implement her plan when she saw Mary Warren, one of the girls in the woods dancing, making a doll and stabbing the needle in the doll’s stomach two inches deep; therefore, Abigail employs this exact same thing. “She sat to dinner in Reverend Parris’s house tonight, and without wor... ... middle of paper ... ...urt system and the judges into believe that everything can be witchcraft, as long as the girls pretend it. Ultimately, in the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller, hysteria brought terror to the people of Salem because due to people’s curiosity they needed an explanation to the rumors spreading around in Salem about witchcraft and the result was townspeople accusing others for personal benefits and placing fear to the people of Salem.

Witches sent out their specters and harmed others. Puritans believed by putting heavy chains on a witch, that it would hold down their specter. Puritans also believed that by hanging a witch, all the people the witch cast a spell on would be healed. Hysteria took over the town and caused them to believe that their neighbors were practicing witchcraft. If there was a wind storm and a fence was knocked down, people believed that their neighbors used witchcraft to do it.

An example of such a witch trial in the book “The Crucible”, goes like this. Let 's say that people around the area having been getting sick or strange things have been happening like some people are seeing dancing in the woods. The people go into a panic when something really bad happens to a group of girls, that claim to see spirits of witches tormenting them. People around the area also claim that they are seeing “witch like things” like for example, a woman reading many books, that the person claims that might be the devil bible or spell books. The people of the town then begin put all their faith into those eye witnesses and spectral evidence from the girls.

In addition, friends whose friendship had ended also accused their former friends of witchcraft. An example is Abigail who persecutes not just her enemies but her friends and family too. She accuses Mary Warren of bewitching her when she admitted her lies to the other girls. In the Crucible, the accused were unfairly tried and convicted on limited evidence or even word of mouth from the girls.