Salem, Massachusetts in the year sixteen ninety-two is remembered as a time of mass hysteria. The citizens of Salem were being “attacked” by an unseen force, of whom they perceived to be none other than Satan himself. The common belief was that the devil recruited witches to do his dirty work for him. They believed these witches were hidden right under their noses, members of their own town. The citizens felt it was their duty to destroy the witches for the good of the community. More than one hundred and fifty people were charged and jailed. Twenty were executed. However, most of the folks accused were sincerely innocent. The real causes of the Salem witch trials were quite the antithesis from the handiwork of Satan and his “employed witches.” Today, the origin of the calamity is believed to be a combination of a few different factors. …show more content…
It focuses on a young group of girls who are influenced by stories of witchcraft from an Indian slave woman, Tituba. The girls are caught doing strange rituals in the woods, such as dancing naked and drinking chicken blood. The leader of the girls is named Abigail, and is the niece of the town’s Reverend Samuel Parris. By doing these strange ceremonies, she is wishing death upon farmer John Proctor’s wife, Elizabeth, out of jealousy. Abigail wants Mr. Proctor all to herself on account of an affair that occurred between the two of them while the Proctors employed her. The charge of witchcraft is shifted from person to person throughout the play, much like it was in the real Salem witch trials. In the end, Proctor is not only charged with witchcraft, but is apprehended for adultery as