When Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible, it was during the era of McCarthyism in postwar America. Artists, creators, and people from all walks of life were being accused of conspiring with Soviet Russia and spreading Communism throughout the United States. These citizens often lost their jobs and had their lives destroyed because of the aggressive accusations coming from the US Government and those who thought its cause just. Similarly, during the Salem Witch Trials of 1692, many innocent civilians were hanged because of their suspected connection to Satan. During both of these eras, people rightfully feared that even their closest friends and neighbors would turn them in due to pressure from authority. Arthur Miller wrote the Crucible to shed light on how even good people can commit heinous actions when under pressure from authority.
This pressure can cause a minor incident to spiral out of control. In the beginning of the play, Abigail, who committed a heathen act by dancing in the woods, is pressured by the dominant male characters to confess that she compacted with Satan. Because the consequence for witchcraft was death, it is only natural that Abigail would divert the blame onto another, stating that Tituba “made [her]
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In response to his wife being accused of witchcraft, John Proctor embarks on a mission to save his wife’s life from the church and prove that the girls “never saw no spirits” (Miller 81). Even he tries to do what he thinks is morally right, John Proctor is slowly beaten down throughout the trial, eventually folding, liying out of anger and desperation that he conspired with Satan and that “God is dead!” (Miller 111). Even John Proctor, with a strong will make things morally right even when the church is not, eventually succumbs to the pressure of