Crucible Essay, Research Paper

The CrucibleIn Salem during the time of the witch trials everyone is eitherpolitically motivated to believe the girls wild antics are the work of thedevil, or they are so gullible that they think no child could ever impishlyscorn the holiness of the church. Those are the two main reasons the girlsget away with accusing people of witchcraft at first, later new reasons areintroduced. After the first victims of the girls malignant joke are hung two newreasons to continue accusing people arrive. The new reason that most ofthe girls continue to accuse people is because if they don’t then it wouldbe the girls’ fault, not Satan’s that the “witches” died. One girl doesn’tfit the mold of just trying to save herself, and that girl is Abigail.Abigail doesn’t want to be blamed for the deaths of innocent people, butshe also has her own twisted agenda of vengeance and greed that forces herto continue accusing people. For one thing she lusts after John Proctor,

and she thinks that if Elisabeth is dead he will love her. Also she wassomewhat of a henchman to Mrs. Putnam, and Dr. Parris, for she iseliminating Parris’s enemies, and she accuses Rebecca Nurse for Mrs. Putnam. Of course Parris doesn’t know her murder of innocent people is forhim, but she does it out of a somewhat obsessive sense of faith to him. Of course the other girls aren’t totally innocent, but they don’t havemuch of a choice. If they were to speak out like Mary Williams, the otherswould accuse them of witchcraft, just like they did to Mary. In my eyes themain reasons for the continued accusations were fear for their own life,and in Abigail a need to have John Proctor love her, and to serve Parris.When the girls involved in that madness grow up I believe that most ofthem will be normal if somewhat less naive about children than the averagehousewife. As for Abigail I see her as committing suicide, when someoneelse catches her at her little games.