In 1692, the people of a small, religious village, Salem, Massachusetts, fell victim to an outbreak of mass hysteria caused by a fear of witchcraft. This fear of witchcraft was caused by a small group of girls who accused innocent people of the village of being under the influence of the devil and harming them with spells of witchcraft. How would a town so concerned with religion react to such outlandish accusations? Arthur Miller explores such questions in The Crucible. In this play Miller describes how different people with different perspectives on the events handle this type of hysteria. Some people join the afflicted girls and participate in the hysteria out of fear for their lives, while others grow suspicious and try to find an explanation for how these honest girls, or "victims", are accusing those otherwise innocent people, of witchcraft. Arthur Miller writes the play to demonstrate that human nature is actually good, regardless of how easily humans can be influenced by the spread of evil. He illustrates how pressure created by fear, intolerance, and frustration can cause people to accept their personal responsibilities.

Not only does the author show how can fear dri

In 1692, an outbreak of mass hysteria, which struck the village of Salem, Massachusetts, brought the people of the town to realize and accept their personal responsibilities. Through the development of fear, intolerance, and frustration within John Proctor and Reverend Hale, Miller portrays the central theme that human nature is actually good, although it can easily be influenced by the spread of evil. This time of hiatus lead Proctor to protest against the trials in an effort to save his wife, and Reverend Hale to look inside himself to save the victims from the chaos that spread through the town. This hysteria illustrates how a person's insight into the witchcraft trials can reveal one's own duties and responsibilities to themselves. And although a small, religious town can fall victim to an outbreak of mass hysteria, Arthur Miller displays how humans can find their mistakes and learn from them, thus revealing the overall goodness of humankind.

ve people away from their responsibilities in the play, but also that a person's fear can push one to realize and accept their purposes and responsibilities. John Proctor, realizes how dangerous the witchcraft accusations are when the court officials arrest his wife, Elizabeth, for witchcraft and attempted murder: "'...The little crazy children are jangling the keys of the kingdom, and common vengeance writes the law!...I'll not give my wife to vengeance!''' (77). Before his wife was arrested, John was really unaware of the extent of danger behind the accusations of witchcraft in the village. At first, he is suspicious about the hysterical girls' behavior, but the fact that the trials did not directly affect his family makes him take the events less seriously. Elizabeth's arrest was a wake up call for John because now he is alert and aware that the witchcraft accusations must be stopped because innocent people are being put to death. He makes a very important decision, realizi

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Approximate Word count = 1303
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)