In the play, The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, many unprecedented events occur in the period of The Salem Witch Trials, one of the most unprecedented being the countless accusations of villagers being accused of witchcraft. However, the fact of the matter is that not many individuals really thought about what drove society to do the unthinkable, or the influence that could have caused many other individuals to take decisive actions to no prevail. In a couple of ways, society unknowingly used the means of peer pressure and life threats to ultimately cause an individual to take decisive action.
One way society unintentionally influenced the action of many individuals was through the excessive use of peer pressure. For instance,
…show more content…
To demonstrate, in Act One of The Crucible, Tituba, a Barbados slave to Reverend Parris, was falsely accused of leading the girls of the play in witchcraft, but deliberately defended herself by stating that “I do believe somebody else be witchin these children”(Pg. 42, Miller). In other words, because Tituba was under the false accusations of witchcraft, she was forced to blame other people of the village as well in order to save her own life. Therefore, because all the villagers, especially Mr. Hale, another important character of the play, accused Tituba in a forceful manner, she was forced to take decisive action due to her society’s daunting influence in order to save her own life.
The society of the Puritans had a strong influence on the actions of numerous individuals due to two key components. It used peer pressure as a means to pressure an individual to take decisive action, and also used life or death threats as a means to force an individual to take decisive action as well. It is undeniable how influence can cause an individual to do the unthinkable, and with that comes the most unanticipated action. Overall, due to the power of peer pressure and the fear of losing one’s life, influence can most definitely cause an individual to take decisive