The whole event of the Salem Witch Trials is viewed as unjust because after the accusations spread, many townspeople simply accused their neighbors of being a witch to gain revenge, money, land, or something similar. In this way, the Salem Witch Trials exposed the sense of greed in humans. The Witch Trials showed that our resourcefulness includes using an event, no matter how bad, for personal gain. Also, the Salem Witch Trials showed how the innate sense of fear that humans have and how we react to that fear. Because of the fear of witches, people tried to protect themselves by sending anyone slightly untrustworthy to jail or to Gallows Hill.
Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible” depicts the Salem witchcraft trials of 1692, in these trials women were accused of being witches; they were sentenced to death, tortured, and their reputation would be forever tarnished. During this revival of religion era faith was central to the government of Salem. Miller makes references to how the events leading up to the trails were unjust, bias and resulted in harsh punishment. The McCarthy hearings were trials in which Senator Joe McCarthy accused government employees of being Communists. (Sowers, Campbell, and Key) He exaggerated and exploited the evidence and ruined many reputations.
The fear of getting punishment for the dancing that occurred in the woods was what prompted the girls to start accusing innocent people of witchery. The heart of this conflict that is driven by pure fear shows how the girls transform and go against their religious backgrounds to fuel these false accusations to save themselves from being punished and therefore creating the upsurge of conflicts in the town Salem. Abigail starts these false accusations by exaggerating the truth and putting the blame on Tituba "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-".
While these two events were decades apart they had many similarities. They both began from false accusations, both spread unnecessary panic, and both used fear to gain power. The Salem Witch Hunts were a cause of mass hysteria that came from accusations made by Abigail Williams, Betty Paris, Mercy Lewis, and Tituba. These girls were caught dancing in the woods and accused of being witches due to some of their peculiar behavior which included screaming, bending into awkward positions, and making strange sounds. To keep themselves out of trouble the girls said other women in the community were practicing witchcraft.
Moreover, when Reverend Parris confronts Abigail about being fired by Elizabeth Proctor, Abigail denies any wrongdoings. She accuses Elizabeth as “a lying, cold, sniveling women” who spreads rumor about to degrade her social status. Abigail’s motivation in the witchcraft is thus revealed, which is jealousy towards Elizabeth. As Abigail successfully frames other people for being responsible about the witchcraft, she further imposes her domination over the other girls. Her domination is demonstrated physically and verbally.
Abigail and Elizabeth stand out the most because of their role in the witch trails. Abigail Williams is the niece of Reverend Parris. She once was the servant for the Proctors but was fired by Elizabeth because she discovered that Abigail was having an affair with her husband, John Proctor. Abigail is a smart, wily, good liar, and vindictive when crossed. She is clearly the Villain of the play because she manipulated her friends and lied to the whole town.
Powerless to do anything, Abigail resented Elizabeth for that and her jealousy grew. After the dancing in the forest incident, realizing how people listened and believed in her stories, she abuses that power. She manipulated the entire town and even her friends. She tells lies about them, accusing them of witch craft. She took revenge on Elizabeth and accuses her of being a witch.
The play by Arthur Miller, The Crucible, is full of irony, false accusations and ignorance. The townspeople of Salem are so blind to the truth that they let a group of teenage girls destroy half their town simply by making up stories and accusing others of being witches. These puritan people were so obsessed with cleansing their town of evil that they let that fear of witchcraft run their lives, this also makes it very easy for people to get what they want very easily, whether it be land or revenge, these people were corrupted. There are many conflicts throughout this story Thomas Putnam is a wealthy farmer in Salem he is also greedy, and holds a grudge against Francis Nurse for preventing Putnam’s brother-in-law from being elected to the office of minister. He wants the riches without the work.
I noticed the greed of Mr. Putnam, the jealousy of Mrs. Putnam and the power hungry desire of the girls who are so used to being controlled in their lives. These unsavoury characteristics may have stayed hidden had the accusations never begun as a way for the girls to protect their reputations. As the conflicts festered, along with hidden resentment in conjunction with the hysteria of witchcraft, people began to attribute their losses and misfortune to the use of black magic by their neighbours. Once this started, the ripple effect, or guilt by association was dramatic. In the case of Salem, conflict did bring out the worst in people.
She is cast roughly aside, hits her head and passes out. In the meantime, Anys Gowdie, having heard news of what is happening, rushed to Mern’s aid. The crowd turns on Anys accusing her, in her turn, of being a witch and having consorted with George Vicars, now regarded as a male witch and an instrument of the devil. It is because Anna has betrayed Anys’ secret that they are privy to her connection with Viccars. Although Anna plans to run to Mompellion for help, she is struck to the ground and is powerless to stop the mob hanging Anys.