The Crucible Summary
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Ian Tveit
Period 3 Modern Literature
Professor Darrough
28 November 2010
The Sad Story of Salem
Have you ever been in a situation where you have been fearful for the life of a friend in an extreme and deadly situation? Times like those can be very hectic, but have you ever been scared for your own life? The fear of losing your one and only life is, in many minds, the most fear that you will ever experience. The people of Salem, Massachusetts lived their lives in a state of constant fear throughout the year of 1692. In this year, Salem held what is now called the Salem Witch Trials. During these witch trials, many innocent people were tried and killed for completely and utterly ridiculous reasons. They were accused with false and non-provable evidence such as the accused person or persons sending spirits out to haunt them. These accusations were never able to be proven, but the court back in 1692 was ruled by the theme of “guilty unless proven innocent” unlike today which is “innocent unless proven guilty”. The hysteria of witches being all over the town played a big role in the trials and it brought some to unreasonable states of mind where they would almost begin to see things that were not actually real, like Mary Warren. Also, that fear for their own lives caused people to lie and look for scapegoats like Abigail and Putnam. Then there was the hysteria of those who just wanted to blame everything on witches even if they did not exist, like Judge Danforth and Reverend Parris. The hysteria during the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 was caused by the selfishness and greed of John Proctor, Abigail, Danforth, Reverend Parris, and Mary Warren all whose actions led to the unnecessary deaths of many.
Act one of The Crucible by Arthur Miller, the jealousy of Abigail towards John Proctor’s wife, Elizabeth Proctor, is established and the whole idea of witchcraft in Salem are established. Abigail takes Tituba and some girls out to the forest to drink blood...
Period 3 Modern Literature
Professor Darrough
28 November 2010
The Sad Story of Salem
Have you ever been in a situation where you have been fearful for the life of a friend in an extreme and deadly situation? Times like those can be very hectic, but have you ever been scared for your own life? The fear of losing your one and only life is, in many minds, the most fear that you will ever experience. The people of Salem, Massachusetts lived their lives in a state of constant fear throughout the year of 1692. In this year, Salem held what is now called the Salem Witch Trials. During these witch trials, many innocent people were tried and killed for completely and utterly ridiculous reasons. They were accused with false and non-provable evidence such as the accused person or persons sending spirits out to haunt them. These accusations were never able to be proven, but the court back in 1692 was ruled by the theme of “guilty unless proven innocent” unlike today which is “innocent unless proven guilty”. The hysteria of witches being all over the town played a big role in the trials and it brought some to unreasonable states of mind where they would almost begin to see things that were not actually real, like Mary Warren. Also, that fear for their own lives caused people to lie and look for scapegoats like Abigail and Putnam. Then there was the hysteria of those who just wanted to blame everything on witches even if they did not exist, like Judge Danforth and Reverend Parris. The hysteria during the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 was caused by the selfishness and greed of John Proctor, Abigail, Danforth, Reverend Parris, and Mary Warren all whose actions led to the unnecessary deaths of many.
Act one of The Crucible by Arthur Miller, the jealousy of Abigail towards John Proctor’s wife, Elizabeth Proctor, is established and the whole idea of witchcraft in Salem are established. Abigail takes Tituba and some girls out to the forest to drink blood...