When present, fear can often be exploited for one’s personal gain. The Crucible, a play written by Arthur Miller, which exemplifies the power of fear due to the imaginary idea of witchcraft in the small village of Salem. During the time this play was written, the United States was overcome by the fear of communism, which had led to the government accusing many innocent people for ridiculous reasons. Miller uses The Crucible to show how many of the accusations in the Salem Witch Trials, a similar event, often had underlying, selfish, and personal reasons behind them. In the play Abigail Williams, and Thomas Putnam’s take advantage of the pervasive fear in the village, allowing them to fulfill their selfish and exploitative motives which are what truly fuel the Salem Witch Trials.
To begin with, Abigail Williams starts the accusations of witchcraft in order to fulfill her ulterior motives. We first see hints of her motives when Abigail tells John Proctor, a married man under whom she had worked that, “I am waiting’ for you every night”(1099). While Abigail worked under John and Elizabeth Proctor, she had developed feelings for John. Elizabeth removes her which angers Abigail deeply. Proctor and Abigail see each other again when John goes to retrieve his maid Mary Warren. We can infer that John and Abigail had a mutual affair as Abigail
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In conclusion, the characters of Thomas Putnam and Abigail Williams influenced and shaped the Salem Witch Trials. Abigail Williams and Putnam started the first accusations which led to widespread fear of witchcraft in the village. This same fear was exploited by Williams and Putnam in order to achieve their selfish motives. Without these characters, the Salem Witch Trials might have never occured which brings us to realize how much damage vengeance and wealth can cause. All in all, Abigail Williams and Thomas Putnam’s grudges and selfish intentions were what caused Salem Witch Trials and the destruction of several innocent