The Crucible “Piety and virtue are not only delightful for the present, but they leave peace and contentment behind them.”---- John Tillotson. Although it is usually perceived as a concomitant of religious goodness, piety at times is false. Like a beautiful plant which grows deformed and withers because of wicked roots, false piety bears the fruit of evil, which fulfills one’s selfish and malicious agenda by taking advantage of the trust of others. Such phenomenon is demonstrated most vividly through Arthur Miller’s skillful depiction of Abigail Williams and Reverend Parris’s manipulation of the people of Salem in the play The Crucible, where they use the townspeople’s desire for virtue and piety to achieve their personal gain. What distinguishes humans from animals is the sense of virtue and morality, yet some people …show more content…
Abigail Williams, an adolescent, is a central character that, in fact, causes the witch-hunt hysteria in Salem. The hysteria spreads through her manipulation of piety. In Act III, when Mary Warren is brought to confront Abigail Williams, Abigail’s pretentious bewitchment is on the verge of exposure. To rescue herself from the stalemate of losing trust, she pretends to feel a cold wind and claims that Mary Warren is conjuring her spirit on the beam of the roof. In fear with regard to the spirit, people start to shift their attention back to Mary Warren and interrogate her for sending out the spirit. In a village with strong Puritan belief, witchcraft is the paramount of all evil. By affirming that Mary Warren is conjuring a spirit, Abigail pushes her to the summit of accusation. It is through people’s piety and religious superstition that Abigail Williams manipulates people to advance her agenda, which in this case is to protect herself and incriminate Mary