Fullmer 1
Undoubtedly children in The Crucible have a very defining aspect of one of the major themes in the novel, innocence vs guilt. In Salem, everything and anything either belongs to God or the Devil and who is more innocent in the eyes of God than a child? Childlike behavior is associated with innocence and this apparent innocence is what kept many of the children in Salem protected during the witch trials. The symbolism of innocence relating to the children, the voice that children are given in The Crucible compared to the other people who lack the ability to defend themselves because they are considered to be less credible, and why children are represented the way they are and how their representation contrasts other characters in the novel are all important elements to the novel as a whole.
In The Crucible many seemingly innocent objects and actions are construed as witchcraft or guilty behavior, a good example of this is the poppet made by Mary Warren. The poppet is a symbol of the innocent lives that were lost due to manipulative, selfish acts of self-preservation and attention seeking behaviors. A seemingly innocent child’s doll was used as evidence of witchcraft against Elizabeth Proctor out of jealousy and revenge in the hands of Abigail Williams for her own personal gain. Dancing may also seem like a random or irrelevant subject of interest in any other context, however it is directly associated with the Devil in The Crucible when a group of young girls,