Abuse Of Authority In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

Arthur Miller’s tragedy The Crucible, published in 1953, takes place in Salem Massachusetts around 1692 during the Salem witch trials. The Puritan society's government and laws are controlled by the church. The play follows a group of teenage girls led by Abigail Williams who cause mania by accusing citizens of the town of witchcraft. John Proctor, a farmer who had an affair with Abigail, tries to stand up against the girls and the tyrannical government but falls victim to Abigail’s rampage and is hung as a witch. Throughout The Crucible, hysteria and the abuse of authority are the two most important subjects explored because they are primarily used to manipulate fear while simultaneously promoting excessive avarice that ultimately leads to

At the beginning of the play, the girls get caught dancing in the woods which is against Puritan law. Knowing they will be whipped for dancing and being questioned by Reverend Hale for speaking with the Devil, Abigail decides to conjure a lie stating “I never called him! Tituba, Tituba…She makes me drink blood…She sends her spirit on me in church; she makes me laugh at prayer!” (Miller 57). She continues stating “Sometimes I wake and find myself standing in the open doorway and not a stitch on my body! I always hear her laughing in my sleep. I hear her singing her Barbados songs and tempting me with—” (Miller 58). Abigail uses the Puritan's extremism and manipulates their fear of the devil to accuse Tituba of witchcraft. She uses the suspicions of witchcraft combined with the prejudice of Tituba being a slave to exploit the people of Salem's fear so she and her friends will not get into

This is especially evident in the Putnam family, specifically Thomas Putnam. Throughout the play, Thomas is the epitome of greed. He is known around Salem as a wealthy and greedy landowner. He has a daughter and a servant that are part of the accusers, which he uses to his advantage to try and secure more wealth. Giles Corey states that “If Jacobs hangs for a witch he forfeit up his property—that’s the law! And there is none but Putnam with the coin to buy so great a piece. This man is killing his neighbors for their land!”(Miller 93). Jacobs is just one of the people that were accused of the direct benefit of Putnam. Giles even has a witness against Putnam but must keep him anonymous to protect him because Putnam's daughter is one of the accusers. Giles states “I have it from an honest man who heard Putnam say it! The day his daughter cried out on Jacobs, he said she’d given him a fair gift of land” (Miller 93). Putnam is using his power within the girls to manipulate who is accused for his benefit. The manipulation of hysteria to cause fear in the community and to fuel greed through the accumulation of wealth are major themes in The Crucible which influence the actions of many characters, but ultimately lead to the death of many people in the