Examples Of Conformity In The Crucible

“The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself.” Throughout his career, famed German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche criticized conformity; he viewed it as the regression of human society. It is not necessarily a negative trait, but like any dangerous virus, it remains dormant until a sickness exposes the host. This vulnerability allows the virus to sweep throughout the body and infect its entirety, dooming bystanders as it spreads. The Crucible written by Arthur Miller is a historical example of this sickness. Set during the year 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts, the book

It could arguably be a state of psychological anarchy, where emotions and fear take hold and swiftly subdues any rationality. When Salem displayed signs of this symptom, chaos ensued. The town’s authorities had suspected a West Indian woman, Tituba, and other girls of witchcraft for dancing during the night. She admits to the charge, but one of the girls, Abigail Williams, breaks and exclaims, “I want to open myself! I want the light of God, I want the sweet love of Jesus! I Danced for the Devil; I saw him; I wrote in his book; I go back to Jesus; I kiss His hand. I saw Sarah Good with the Devil! I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil! I saw Bridget Bishop with the Devil!” - Abigail Williams (48) Abigail folded under the pressure and hysterically accused others of the same crime she supposedly committed. This outburst of emotions results from a choice of honesty or dishonesty, and she chose what would salvage her reputation, deceit. As a result, accusations of witchcraft increase, and one of the supposed heroes in the story, John Proctor, brings his servant Mary Warren to testify in front of the town’s court and confess the lies Abigail and other girls were telling. However, Abigail Williams throws the hearing into a farce as she pretends Mary bewitched her. Similar to Abigail’s breakdown earlier, Mary becomes hysterical and tries to run away, saying this to John Proctor as he attempts to stop her, “Let me go, Mr. Proctor, I cannot, I cannot-”

Many of these accusations were for the selfish purpose of achieving the accuser’s goals. Abigail Williams was the most notorious of all these accusers. Her first accusation came when Reverend Parris caught her, Tituba, and the other girls dancing at night. As she was being questioned, Tituba entered the room and Abigail immediately blamed her, “She made me do it! She made Betty do it!” - Abigail (43) Abigail scapegoats Tituba to escape her dilemma and redirect any attention away from her. Furthermore, an important plot line in the story was Abigail’s relationship with John Proctor. The two had an affair and Abigail still wanted to be with him. However, John Proctor just happened to be married to Elizabeth Proctor and Abigail found that problematic, so she accuses Elizabeth of witchcraft (73). According to Abigail’s logic, if she removed Elizabeth from the picture, then it would open the way for a new relationship between her and John Proctor. Other accusations of witchcraft were revenge for past grudges or grievances. For example, the rivalry between the Nurses and Putnams that started with disagreements over land. Mrs. Putnam took this fact and used it as a way to fuel her jealousy for Rebecca Nurse, “But I must! You think it God’s work you should never lose a child, nor grandchild either, and bury all but one? There are wheels within wheels in this village! And fire within