Uncontrollable Madness in a Small town.
Throughout The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, it is evident that fear and suspicion of witchcraft rapidly spread producing chaos and hysteria and destroying basic organization in the town of Salem. The severity and high value of the Salem witch trials created complex situations in which stir up problems in Salem. The townsfolk accept and become active in the chaotic incident not only out of genuine religious piety but also because it gives them a chance to express withdrawn sentiments and to act on personal grudges. In the crucible, Abigail Williams, Francis Parris, and Thomas Putnam help populate hysteria throughout Salem by continuously making false accusations and hiding under righteousness.
Abigail Williams, Rev. Parris" deceitful young niece, tells lies, manipulates her friends and the entire town, and eventually sends nineteen innocent people to their deaths. Throughout the hysteria, Abigail's motivations never seem more complex than simple jealousy and a desire to have revenge on Elizabeth Proctor. Apparently she would stop at nothing to demolish and make a mockery of the proctor reputation, by making false accusations of Elizabeth's involvement in devil worship and poppet possession. Abigail was the cause of most of the confusion in Salem and some individual actions pertaining to the issue convinced the court judge that there was some sort of witchcraft spreading throughout the town of Salem. For example, Elizabeth in trying to save her husbands name lied about the real reason for firing Abigail, which was because of the affair she had with John proctor. Engaging in a lie reflected a bad credibility of Elizabeth and John Proctors reputation, which led the judges to believe that they were ungodly.
Along with Abigail, Reverend Francis Parris is also quick to point a finger when it comes to protecting his own reputation. Reverend Parris is paranoid, power-hungry, yet oddly self-pitying man, who values others perception of him.
