The play, The Crucible, by Arthur Miller depicts actual events that occurred in 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts. The Salem witch trials were a very important part of American history. This play is a great example of how powerful lies are and how fast they can multiply. In the play there are many contributing forces to the witch trials, but none more prominent then Abigail Williams, John Proctor, and Reverend Hale.
Arguably the most influential person involved in causing the Salem witch trials was Abigail Williams. In her attempt to win over John Proctor she became power hungry and cost many people their lives. “Now look you. All of you. We danced. And Tituba conjured Ruth Putnam’s dead sisters. Let you breathe a word, or the edge of a word, and I will come to you in the black of some terrible night and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shutter you,” (Miller 20). Without Abigail holding the rains the other girls would have confessed immediately and the entire ordeal could have been avoided. Abigail knew that there was no witchcraft going on in Salem, but she confessed to a massive lie to save herself and in doing so she condemned many other citizens of Salem. She was blinded by her affection towards John Proctor and that in turn made her determined to get Elizabeth Proctor out of the way so that she could have John. At one point Abigail stabs herself and then frames Elizabeth proving that she is willing to do just about anything to get Elizabeth out of the picture.
Without realizing it John Proctor gave Abigail the hope of being with him. “She thinks to dance with me on my wife's grave! And well she might, for I thought of her softly. God help me, I lusted, and there is a promise in such sweat,” (110). The fact that Proctor was sending Abigail mixed signals was all she needed to be convinced that he wanted to be with her. John Proctor was Abigail’s main motivation for lying and for accusing Elizabeth Proctor of witchcraft. The affair did not mean much to John, but to Abigail it meant that John loved her and no longer wanted to be with his wife. Although he tried to set Abigail straight she was already in too deep. In their second encounter that we saw Proctor made it clear to Abigail that he never loved her and never wanted to be with her again. At this point even if she had wanted to, Abigail would not have been able to walk away scot-free.
“Reverend Hale of Berkley”, as he was known, was a prominent member of society. His word held a lot of weight and when he thought that there was witchcraft afoot in Salem it convinced many other people as well. He was viewed as an expert on the subject and the town valued his opinion. Hale says, “‘We cannot look to superstition in this. The Devil is precise; the marks of his presence are definite as stone, and I must tell you all that I shall not proceed unless you are prepared to believe me if I should find no bruise of Hell upon her,’” (38). It is made clear that he did genuinely believe that what he was doing was just. However, he put people on the spot and tested them with things like; did they know all on their commandments? This seemed, both to Hale and the rest of the town, like a reasonable test to see if one was a good Christian. However, the results of this test and others like it were used as proof when these people went on trial. They became the only proof that was needed to seal the fates of all of those accused.
The actions of Abigail Williams, John Proctor, and Reverend Hale all greatly contributed to the start and the continuation of the Salem witch trials. Abigail Williams started the lie by confessing to something that she had not done in order to have power. Had John Proctor not had an affair with Abigail she would not have had the same motivation to carry on lying. Lastly if Reverend Hale had not come into Salem and provided “proof” for people’s guilt, not nearly as many people would have suffered such an awful fate. Ultimately the Salem witch trials occurred due to lies and misconceptions.
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