The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, is a text that can definitively be defined as timeless, and therefore relevant to any audience in any society it is being read. Through a combination of black-and-white characters and timetested themes, Miller creates a play that can appeal to the imagination and conscience of any reader.
Throughout all of history, there has always been discord between the forces of "good" and "evil"; it is the most basic of conflicts. In The Crucible, Miller has submerged the characters in an atmosphere of "evil", such that their true personalities are revealed to the audience, and thus are subconsciously divided into "good" and "evil". As there is both of these sides in any society, this division by the audience imparts a sense of reality upon the play and thus a sense of relevance.
The people of Salem - from which the audience derive their "good" and "evil" characters - were superstitious and highly religious, and their Theocratic form of government offered them security and unity. However, this strong religious background also offered the option to use it misguidedly to promote the evil of false accusations. The excessive and blind religious fanaticism created an evil atmosphere, one that can be felt by the readers in both the dialogue and stage directions. .
The evil of the Salem tragedy recreated by Miller lies within the system and the people who promoted the system for their own evil purposes. It is evil human flaws within the flawed Theocratic system that bring about these tragic events. One such "flaw" is human guilt, which prompts the accusations of the girls in the court. The girls were feeling guilty about their unlawful witchery in the forest. Guilt also drives the characters we generally define as good, sometimes to evil consequences. Proctor's guilt about his shenanigans with Abigail makes him confess to adultery in the court, linking him in their eyes to the Devil.
