The Crucible: The Deterioration of Salem During the Witch Trials
John Hudson
Mrs. Phillips
The deterioration of Salem's social structure precipitated the murders
of many innocent people. Arthur Miller's depiction of the Salem witch trials,
The Crucible, deals with a community that starts out looking like it is tightly
knit and church loving. It turns out that once Tituba starts pointing her
finger at the witches, the community starts pointing their fingers at each
other. Hysteria and hidden agendas break down the social structure and then
everyone must protect themselves from the people that they thought were their
friends. The church, legal system and the togetherness of the community died so
that children could protect their families' social status.
Being isolated from any other group of people with different beliefs
created a church led Puritan society that was not able to accept a lot of
change. The church was against the devil, at the same time it was against such
things as dancing and other premature acts. The reputation of the family was
very important to the members of the community. When the girls were caught
dancing in the woods, they lied to protect not just themselves but the
reputation of their families. They claimed that the devil took them over and
influenced them to dance. The girls also said that they saw members of the town
standing with the devil. A community living in a puritan society like Salem
could easily go into a chaotic state and have a difficult time dealing with
what they consider to be the largest form of evil.
Salem's hysteria made the community lose faith in the spiritual beliefs
that they were trying to strictly enforce. The church lost many of its
parishioners because the interest of the town was now on Abigail because people
wanted to know who was going to be named next. When the church was trying to
excommunicate John Proctor, there were not enough people at church to do it.
The people were getting misled... [continues]
John Hudson
Mrs. Phillips
The deterioration of Salem's social structure precipitated the murders
of many innocent people. Arthur Miller's depiction of the Salem witch trials,
The Crucible, deals with a community that starts out looking like it is tightly
knit and church loving. It turns out that once Tituba starts pointing her
finger at the witches, the community starts pointing their fingers at each
other. Hysteria and hidden agendas break down the social structure and then
everyone must protect themselves from the people that they thought were their
friends. The church, legal system and the togetherness of the community died so
that children could protect their families' social status.
Being isolated from any other group of people with different beliefs
created a church led Puritan society that was not able to accept a lot of
change. The church was against the devil, at the same time it was against such
things as dancing and other premature acts. The reputation of the family was
very important to the members of the community. When the girls were caught
dancing in the woods, they lied to protect not just themselves but the
reputation of their families. They claimed that the devil took them over and
influenced them to dance. The girls also said that they saw members of the town
standing with the devil. A community living in a puritan society like Salem
could easily go into a chaotic state and have a difficult time dealing with
what they consider to be the largest form of evil.
Salem's hysteria made the community lose faith in the spiritual beliefs
that they were trying to strictly enforce. The church lost many of its
parishioners because the interest of the town was now on Abigail because people
wanted to know who was going to be named next. When the church was trying to
excommunicate John Proctor, there were not enough people at church to do it.
The people were getting misled... [continues]
Cite This Essay
- APA
-
(1999, 10). The Crucible: the Deterioration of Salem During the Witch Trials. StudyMode.com. Retrieved 10, 1999, from http://www.studymode.com/essays/Crucible-Deterioration-Salem-During-Witch-Trials-4686.html
- MLA
-
"The Crucible: the Deterioration of Salem During the Witch Trials" StudyMode.com. 10 1999. 10 1999 <http://www.studymode.com/essays/Crucible-Deterioration-Salem-During-Witch-Trials-4686.html>.
- CHICAGO
-
"The Crucible: the Deterioration of Salem During the Witch Trials." StudyMode.com. 10, 1999. Accessed 10, 1999. http://www.studymode.com/essays/Crucible-Deterioration-Salem-During-Witch-Trials-4686.html.
