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Crucible, The - Analysis Of The Witch Trials

    In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, the madness of the Salem witch
trials is explored in great detail. There are many theories as to why
the witch trials came about, the most popular of which is the girls'
suppressed childhoods. However, there were other factors as well, such
as Abigail Williams' affair with John Proctor, the secret grudges that
neighbors held against each other, and the physical and economic
differences between the citizens of Salem Village. From a historical
viewpoint, it is known that young girls in colonial Massachusetts were
given little or no freedom to act like children. They were expected to
walk straight, arms by their sides, eyes slightly downcast, and their
mouths were to be shut unless otherwise asked to speak. It is not
surprising that the girls would find this type of lifestyle very
constricting. To rebel against it, they played pranks, such as dancing
in the woods, listening to slaves' magic stories and pretending that
other villagers were bewitching them. The Crucible starts after the
girls in the village have been caught dancing in the woods. As one of
them falls sick, rumors start to fly that there is witchcraft going on
in the woods, and that the sick girl is bewitched. Once the girls talk
to each other, they become more and more frightened of being accused
as witches, so Abigail starts accusing others of practicing
witchcraft. The other girls all join in so that the blame will not be
placed on them. In The Crucible, Abigail starts the accusations by
saying, "I go back to Jesus; I kiss his hand. I saw Sarah Good with
the Devil! I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil! I saw Bridget Bishop
with the Devil!" Another girl, Betty, continues the cry with, "I saw
George Jacobs with the Devil! I saw Goody Howe with the Devil!" >From
here on, the accusations grow and grow until the jails overflow with
accused witches. It must have given them an incredible sense of power
when the whole town...