Power can be seen in several different forms within the Puritan community. Power, viewed to be possessed by the one of the highest status, due to their wealth (or land), gender, or age, is commonly being mistaken, to who holds the optimum power, in religious Salem, Massachusetts. The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, is a play based in the extreme Puritan society of the 1600s, in which the majority of their life decisions and actions are dictated to their religious affiliation. The Puritan people present terror toward the presence of the Devil, sparking the major conflict of the Salem Witch Trials. In spite of the common belief that the most powerful beings are characters such as the wealthy landowners, the overarching most forceful figure, who persuades and influences all the …show more content…
Moreover, Reverend Parris, panicked because his daughter, Betty, is being convicted of witchcraft, says, “In my house? In my house, Thomas? They will topple me with this! They will make of it a--” (16). Reverend Parris only considers the consequences on his name, nevertheless the health of his own child. The presence of the Devil causes a sort of fear about the future for him, and what will happen to his life if he is convicted of witchcraft in his household. The fear of people rising the Devil, in their religious society, causes people in act in outrageous ways to cleanse the society. Throughout the act, people have taken interest in Betty, and Ruth (The Putnam’s child) as they are seen to be witches. The popular interest in the children is caused by the fear of the power of the Devil. If one is touched with the Devil, they are extremely sick, and cannot be bared; “I’d not call it sick; the Devil’s touch is heavier than sick. It’s death, y’know, it’s death drivin’ into them, forked and hoofed.” (13). All of the concerns revolved around the hatred and fear of the Devil. Being Puritans means the people cannot have a