The events in Salem can be attributed to many people, as the town became a hysteric place, with no room for judgement or reason. The people who were at the center of the blame are fairly obvious. The lust and jealousy that filled A. Williams made her a main instigator of the salem events, along with J. Proctor, as he was the one to cheat on his wife with her, starting this whole situation. The other main instigators are the Putnams, who quickly escalated the hysteria by having their daughter testify against people of the town and pushing others into accusations. After her affair with J. Proctor, A. Williams quickly became obsessed with him, making plans to take E. Proctor’s place. A. Williams goes as far as to attempt to curse E. Proctor with a spell while her and the other girls are dancing in the forest. It was after they were caught that she devised a plan to cause a hysteria and use its cover to accuse E. Proctor without suspicion, causing her death. It was A. Williams who was the first to accuse someone of witchcraft. In order to sustain the hysteria and not bring accusation upon herself, A. Williams got the other town girls involved. Most understood what A. Williams was doing was wrong, ex: M. Warren, but after being coldly threatened by A. Williams, continued anyways, …show more content…
Proctor himself. He may have turned out to be the protagonist at the end, but most of the Salem occurrences were, in part, his blame. His main fault was to give in to A. Williams. If he hadn't slept with A. Williams, the entire situation could have been avoided and many lives could have been saved. This lapse in judgement was one of many that plagued this character throughout the play. His lack of judgement is also shown when he fails to confess and tell the truth about his and A. Williams's relations before the hysteria had reached critical levels. This also shows his lack of ability to communicate, especially to his wife and the