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Salem Witch Trials In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

853 Words4 Pages

Although Salem, Massachusetts was founded on religiously centered morals, nevertheless it turned to sinful behaviors because Arthur Miller wants to demonstrate that community can be shaped by social pressures.
Arthur Miller portrays the detriments of a close-knit community and illustrates how small Salem truly is through everyone knew each other's business. One night, John and Elizabeth Proctor had an argument over Abigail Williams. Elizabeth accused John of cheating with Abigail and told him “if it were not Abigail that you must go to hurt, would you falter now? I think not” (Miller 52) Elizabeth Proctor supports her accusation of adultery with this statement. This statement reveals how people within the community of Salem were constantly …show more content…

Their argument symbolizes the damage that stems from living in a very small community since it is easier for people to know everyone’s business. Similar to Elizabeth Proctor being aware of her husband’s personal business, Giles Corey also reveals some information about a fellow townsmen that could only be known from living in a small town. While discussing with Reverend Hale about Martha Corey being accused of witchcraft, Giles Corey explained “That bloody mongrel Walcott charge her. Y’see he buy a pig of my wife four or five year ago, and the pig died soon after.” (68) This is a perfect representation of how everyone knew each other’s business in Salem Massachusetts. Giles remembers this information from so long ago. The downside of living in a community like Salem is evident here: a person may not do something in fear that others will know about it and would be forced to conform to social pressures. Through revealing how characters, …show more content…

John Proctor is an example of a person who was a moral man, however due to the social pressures within Salem, he turned sinful. John tells Abigail “you’ll put it out of mind. I’ll not be comin’ for you more.” (21) John’s admittance to cheating with Abigail to the readers reveals how even in a town centered around religion and having good morals, a person is still able to commit immoral actions. His affair with Abigail shows that despite Salem’s attempt to be indifferent to social pressures, even John could succumb to sin. Another way the community is sinning is shown through how John Proctor initially tried to cover up his affair by lying. When John reveals to the court that he had cheated on his wife with Abigail Williams, with the words “I have known her, sir. I have known her.” (102), he signifies how Salem became a town that once was focused on behaving morally, yet because of social pressures was shaped into a community that committed sins. Now John is not only revealing his sins to the readers, but also to his town, showing them that their community has truly

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