The Crucible takes place during the times of the Salem witch trials in
Massachusetts. This was a time of much hypocrisy in the people of the town of
Salem. Many people believed anything they heard or saw. Although The Crucible is
fictitious, the story depicts the historical information of the Salem witch
trials, and blends them with fictitious characters with minds of their own to
create a very realistic plot and conflict in this story. This story has a few
themes that are shown through the actions and the thoughts of the characters.
One theme that I felt had an impact on the outcome of the story is Fear and
suspicion can produce hysteria which results in the destruction and breakdown of
the people. The thesis of the story is shown by people’s actions people can
become suspicious of one thing and this leads to an uprising in the town and the
people. The story begins with the dancing of the girls in the forest. When the
girls are seen they become scared and run off. This is what leads to the
uprising in the town. The Puritans are viewed as being very religious they
believe in God and everything he did for them. They believe in an unconditional
election in which God has no obligation to save anyone, no matter how little the
problem is. The Puritans use this during the witch trials in which they hanged
many people that were innocent of witchcraft. These hangings happened because
everyone believed everything the girls said and showed. People in the crowd
seemed awe struck by the girls and their ability to view people as witches or
not. These hangings produced hysteria in the townspeople. In the story because
of the dancing of the girls the priests of the town, Hale and Parris believed
that the girls called the devil upon their town. Many people are accused of
witch craft because of the girls. Puritans also believe in The Supremacy of
Divine Will in which god is absolute. When the girls supposedly brought Satan
upon their town the people got frightened and the only way to get rid of the
demons in the town is through several hangings. The girls was the link between
the people they could see Satan and the people that followed his work. Through
the stories the girls lied about what they saw this should not have happened.
The girls took their fear out on the people of the town and they did not even
realize it. The thesis of this story has a large impact on the people and the
conflict of the story. The other side of my thesis would have explained that if
nobody in the town got suspicious or involved in the witch trials there would
not have been hysteria in the people. If this was true there may have been many
lives saved including John Proctor and Rebecca Nurse. The other side of the
thesis was not used because the opposite of the thesis does not explain the way
the outcome of the story was. If nobody got involved in the trials the
conflict/outcome would have been different. In conclusion peoples actions and
suspicions of one thing can lead to and uprising in the town. Throughout the
story the people turned to the girls to rely on who was a witch. The girls were
led by Abigail she stunned everyone with her attitude and her ability to see the
Devil. Because of what the girls said there was a disturbance in the town. The
Crucible is a great example of fictional/history. It also shows that you can not
always believe what you hear because it may not be true.