The Crucible society Essays

The Crucible society Essays The Crucible society Essay The Crucible society Essay Mrs Putnam was jealous of Rebecca Nurse. This was because Rebecca had a large healthy family with all living children whereas all but one of Mrs Putnams children had died. Mrs. Putnam had seven babies that each died within a day of its birth. You think it Gods work you should never lose a child, nor grandchild either, and I bury all but one? said Mrs Putnam who channelled her anger into blaming Rebecca for their deaths as she was convinced that Rebecca used witchcraft to murder them. This eventually lead to Rebeccas death because as Rebecca was Mrs Putnams midwife and seven of Mrs Putnams babies died, Rebecca was wrongly charged with being a witch and that accusation was believed. Abigail wanted Elizabeth Proctor dead. This was because following her and Proctors affair, all she wanted was to be with John Proctor. She hoped that if his wife was out of the way she could have John. Betty accused Abigail saying: You did, you did! You drank a charm to kill John Proctors wife! You drank a charm to kill Goody Proctor! Abigails vanity also led her to believe that John Proctor would want her to be his wife rather than Elizabeth. This makes her think that if Elizabeth was out of the way she could have Proctor. She thinks to dance with me on my wifes grave. Also Abigail was found with a needle stuck in her stomach. She accused Elizabeth of using a poppet as a sort of voodoo doll to stick the needle in her. Cheever told Proctor, when Elizabeth showed him the poppet that Mary had made for her earlier that day stuck two inches in the flesh of her belly, he draw a needle out. And demandin of her how she come to be so stabbed, she testify it were your wifes familiar spirit pushed it in. Cheever wouldnt have thought that Abigail would stab herself and that made him believe Abigails untrue story that Elizabeths spirit pushed the needle in and therefore was a witch. Dancing was entirely forbidden and was linked with the Devil. When the girls were caught casting spells whilst dancing they blamed others so they wouldnt be punished. In one scene, all the girls screamed that they had seen other women from the village with the Devil as a diversion that sought to draw the attention away from the girls themselves, I saw Sarah Good with the Devil! I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil! I saw Bridget with the Devil! People were more that willing to accept witchcraft so were easily able to believe stories told to them. Parris was willing to accept that his daughter Bettys illness was unnatural rather that risk his reputation. The unknown illness was considered linked to the Devil as there was no cure and it followed the night of dancing and casting spells. Pride in his scholarship and his belief in witchcraft makes Hale willing to accept the girls accusations (of innocent women) as genuine. Even though he quite likes the Proctors, the girls have accused Elizabeth of witchcraft, which makes him question the Proctors faith, I thought, sir, to put some questions as to the Christian character of this house, if youll permit me. But in the end Hale does come to question the girls accusations following his interrogations of Abigail and later he returns to the town to try and stop the trials because he becomes deeply troubled, claiming that if Rebecca Nurse is tainted, there is nothing to stop the whole world from burning. The two judges Danforth and Hathorne had so much pride that they couldnt accept that the girls had manipulated them with false accusations. They were too interested in being strict in court and asking question after question until the accused person broke down and confessed to save their own life (or deny and be killed). Even after Abigail had vanished, Danforth and Hathorne found it very difficult to believe that the girls had been lying and they still hung John Proctor and Rebecca Nurse. Danforth cried Hang them high over the town! Instead of believing what Proctor says about the girls being fakes, the judges condemn him to death. However, the judges did begin to doubt the truthfulness of the girls stories when Abigail takes all of Parris money and runs away with Mercy but their doubt came too late to save the life of Rebecca Nurse and John Proctor. Proctors pride also leads to his death as he would not falsely confess to witchcraft to save his own life. Once the girls denounced the women it was very difficult to retract their accusations. This was because so many villagers believed the accusations and the girls were frightened of what the court might do when they were discovered to be liars. When one of the girls, Mary, confessed none of the other girls support her and it back fired because the other girls accused her of witchcraft. In the end the easiest way out for Mary was to withdraw her confession. (Pointing at Proctor): Youre the Devils man! The girls accusations were believed because circumstances in Salem allowed people to have revenge upon others to hide their own wrongdoings, for example, when Abigail shouted I saw Sarah Good with the Devil! This took the focus away from her. Conclusion All these factors in Salem society allowed the girls stories to be believed and taken so seriously that innocent lives were taken. After John Proctor had been imprisoned, Abigail found that it was all too much. She couldnt retract her accusations and she could continue with them so she fled. Parris said My niece, sir, my niece- I believe she has vanished. Once the girls had accused other women in the village of witchcraft and the executions had begun, it was very difficult for those involved to admit that dreadful mistakes had been made. But there are three main reasons why the girls stories were readily believed. One is the fact that there wasnt a really strong leader in the town although Parris was supposed to be a leader. Two, Salems court system seems faulty especially as there was no hearing for the victim, even if they were really innocent they had two choices of either confessing or being put into jail or denial which got them executed. Once they were accused they couldnt win. Land and cattle also became available when people were hung after being accused of witchcraft too. Three, people were not allowed to have beliefs and views that were different. When the girls lied about dancing in the woods, they did it to protect themselves and their families. The girls said that they saw members of the town standing with the devil as they believed they could put the blame on to others and not be held responsible for their own sins. Although Abigail and the other girls started the accusations, the responsibility for the deaths of many innocent people lies with the whole community which broke down.