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The Sins Of Salem In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

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The Sins of Salem In society, people quickly jump on the bandwagon with little to no hesitation; the villagers involved in the Salem Witch Trials were no different. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller effectively portrays the pandemonium that the villagers dealt with as the witch hunt went on. Salem harbored a mess of lies and deceit in order for many of the characters to get what they wished. The battle between integrity and dishonesty plagued the villagers. Even though they lived in a holy community, the acts committed were the work of the Devil. While some of the characters maintained their sanctity, many turned on their old ways. Abigail Williams becomes afflicted with the Devil and lies to cover up her own wrongdoings. But her lies end up costing …show more content…

This is what ultimately gets the girls to stand behind her as the trials progress, and the lies continue to pile on top of each other. Abigail is the ultimate example of chaos weighing on the people of Salem. The madness of the villagers turning on each other drives a wedge between relationships that had previously been strong. Abigail and John Proctor have committed the act of adultery, besides the fact that Proctor is married with children, and continue to lie about it. Proctor’s wife, Elizabeth, finds out what he has done and confronts him. Proctor cries that Elizabeth’s “spirit twists around the single error” of his life, which shows how guilty he feels about his actions Gallus 2 (Miller 167). Although Proctor lies, this demonstrates that he wants to be trusted. He believes himself to be an honest man since he sees it to be the only time he’s made a mistake. Towards the end of the plot, the villagers begin to suspect that there could be a fault in some of the accusations. Mary Warren is one of the girls that were previously threatened by Abigail Williams, but once Elizabeth Proctor is arrested, she comes forward to the court.

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