The Crucible

The Crucible

In Arthur Millers "The Crucible" citizens of a town called Salem are overtaken with panic due to several girls accusing people of witchcraft. That's how it started and it ended with innocent peoples deaths. Many were to blame for the witch trials, but Abigail Williams, Reverend Parris, and Judge Danforth contributed to the hysterics the most.

Abigail Williams was one of the original dancers, and was the girl who took it the farthest by asking Tituba to kill John Proctor's wife, Elizabeth. When the girls were discovered dancing in the woods, instead of admitting that it was harmless dancing, she accused Tituba of possessing her with spirits. Not only did she blame Tituba, but many others in the town. During the trials Abigail lied and was responsible for many deaths. Almost the entire Salem Witch Trials was because a seventeen year old girl was afraid of responsibility so she pointed her finger elsewhere, and everyone believed her.

Secondly, Reverend Parris, Abigail's uncle, was a major contributor to the trials. The only concern of Parris was his name, so at any cost he would lie and accuse just to clear himself and his family. There were those in the town that he had a grudge against, mainly because members in the town didn't like him. Parris had his own agenda of who he wanted accused and it was usually those who caused him the most trouble or got in his way. Also, when he first spied the girls in the forest dancing, instead of not saying anything and asking them about it later he jumped in their and scared them all. Which caused his youngest daughter to pretend to be ill, and instead of keeping that a secret or just saying that she had a cold, Parris sent for Reverend Hale to inspect the town. The girls may have been the ones dancing, but Reverend Parris was the one who made it public.

Lastly, Judge Danforth was main judge to preside over the trials.