Vengeful motivations of many characters instigated the Salem Witch Hunt. A prime example character is Abigail Williams, a seventeen-year-old girl who was out for revenge against Elizabeth Proctor. Elizabeth Proctor was the wife of John Proctor, a man Abigail was madly in love with. Abigail did everything she could to get her revenge.

On waking up, Betty accuses Abigail of drinking blood the previous night in a ritual to kill Elizabeth Proctor. Abigail intimates that she has terrible powers and threatens all the girls with punishment if they speak of the night's events. If questioned, they ar

In its exploration of the struggle between good and evil, The Crucible depicts a society in which shifting power roles and an increasing lack of faith in the social order make the handling of inexplicable events impossible. To a society caught in the grips of an insanity dictated by the absence of knowledge and the pressure of power, practical and balanced advice will appear outdated and hopelessly naive, if not dangerous. The Crucible, therefore, suggests that progress can never be made without error. What takes place in the context of the larger struggle of good versus evil are the issues of making the right moral choice and the necessity of sacrifice as a means of redemption.

This demonstrates part of Miller's good vs. evil theme and that is the ability of persons to choose whichever position suits their self-interest. Abigail Williams shows the ability to affirm or deny any charge against her based entirely on whether it serves her needs. At this point, Abigail is in the full manipulation process of the entire system, starting the blame on Tituba and eventually shifting it to Elizabeth. The shift of blame from one character to another will be a recurring plot point, as few characters will accept the consequences of their actions or directly confront the charges leveled against them.

Now the theme of good and evil proposes a question. Is it worse sin to lie to save oneself or to make a decision that directly leads to one's death? This is the fulfillment of self-preservation that has recurred throughout the novel as part of the theme. While Hale suggests that "God damns a liar less than a person who throws one's life away," Elizabeth suggests that this is the devil's argument. Miller seems to support Elizabeth's position, for it is by giving self-preserving lies that Tituba and Sarah Good perpetuated the witch hunts. The rising action also moves the focus onto the central character of the play, John Proctor, who has the power to take action, but is prevented from doing so by his guilt over committing adultery and fear of exposure as a sinner.

e to say that they had merely danced and that it was only Tituba who had practiced witchcraft as she tried to conjure Goody Putnam's dead children. Betty collapses once again on hearing Abigail's dreadful threats. Abigail admits that Tituba had called the Devil the previous night, but claims that neither she nor Betty had participated in any rituals. Tituba is summoned, and Abigail accuses her of making her drink blood. Tituba denies this; she is still is threatened with being whipped to death or hanged. Being cornered, she admits that the Devil comes to her. When asked by Hale whether the Devil is accompanied by anyone from the village, she names Sarah Good and Goody Osburn under Putnam's prompting.

The theme good versus evil now focuses on the fact that honesty (good) is not trusted in the midst of a deliberately constructed hysteria (bad). Miller is clearly beginning to show how easy it is for justice to fail in the face of social pressure. The Salem witch-hunting process, thus, shifts from looking for witches to making

Proctor questions Abigail about the previous night. She attempts to seduce him, rem

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2145
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)