Theme Of Punishment In The Crucible

The town of Salem, Massachusetts was run by a strict theocracy. The Puritan theocracy looked down upon activities that would be considered “fun,” an example being dancing. If people were caught doing a sinful activity such as this, they could, and most often would, be punished. The punishment for dancing would usually involve being struck by a whip. This way of life was especially difficult for young children who had more energy to use than their lifestyle would allow. This was a cause that lead up to the events of the witch accusations. In The Crucible, Abigail and some of the other children sneak out of their homes and go into the woods. They play around, dance, and do other activities that they are generally barred from doing. The children are caught in the middle of their escapades and

If the accused were hanged for the dishonorable sin of witchcraft, their land would be auctioned off to those who had money, instead of the family of the accused keeping ownership over the land. This is why Giles Corey did not say he had done any witchcraft. He would be pressed to death instead, and his land would stay with his family. The dark force of greed is what lead the townspeople to accuse each other. Most of the accused confessed to the crime of witchcraft out of the fear of being hanged. It is also because of this fear that they accused others in order to cement their “innocence.” The dark force of fear is what caused most of the “snowballing” effect from the accusations. Some townspeople accused others of “sending their spirit out to murder or harm them or their family.” An example of this is Mrs. Putnam accusing Rebecca Nurse of bewitching and later killing all but one of her newborn children. This was the dark force of misinformation and lack of information. People back then had little to no idea about the many different kinds of illnesses that would have been afflicting them during those simple