The crucible

Many of the former dangers that united the community in its early years have lessened, while interpersonal feuds and grudges over property, religious offices, and sexual behavior have begun to simmer beneath the theocratic surface.

Religion pervades every aspect of life, but it is a religion that lacks a ritual outlet to manage emotions such as anger, jealousy, or resentment.

These tensions, combined with the paranoia about supernatural forces, pervade the town’s religious sensibility and provide the raw materials for the hysteria of the witch trials.

he Crucible introduces a community full of underlying personal grudges.

Even before the play begins, Abigail’s increasingly questionable reputation, in light of her unexplained firing by the upright Elizabeth Proctor, threatens her uncle Parris’s tenuous hold on power and authority in the community.

he Crucible introduces a community full of underlying personal grudges.

His wife feels similarly wronged—like many Puritans, she is all too willing to blame the tragic deaths of her children on supernatural causes—and seeks similar retribution for what she perceives as the malevolent doings of others.

Even before the play begins, Abigail’s increasingly questionable reputation, in light of her unexplained firing by the upright Elizabeth Proctor, threatens her uncle Parris’s tenuous hold on power and authority in the community.

It is possible—and likely, from his point of view—that members in the community would make use of a moral transgression to ruin him.

These tensions, combined with the paranoia about supernatural forces, pervade the town’s religious sensibility and provide the raw materials for the hysteria of the witch trials.

Yet he has been thwarted, both in his efforts to make his brother-in-law minister, and in his family life, where his children have all died in infancy.

An individual must fear that the sins of his or her friends and associates will taint his or her own name.

His wife feels similarly wronged—like many Puritans, she is all too willing to blame the tragic deaths of her children on supernatural causes—and seeks similar retribution for what she perceives as the malevolent doings of others.

Many of the former dangers that united the community in its early years have lessened, while interpersonal feuds and grudges over property, religious offices, and sexual behavior have begun to simmer beneath the theocratic surface.

Not even those individuals who society believes are invested with God’s will can control the whim of the populace.

Religion pervades every aspect of life, but it is a religion that lacks a ritual outlet to manage emotions such as anger, jealousy, or resentment.

he Crucible introduces a community full of underlying personal grudges.

The idea of guilt by association is central to the events in The Crucible, as it is one of the many ways in which the private, moral behavior of citizens can be regulated.

Yet he has been thwarted, both in his efforts to make his brother-in-law minister, and in his family life, where his children have all died in infancy.

Religion pervades every aspect of life, but it is a religion that lacks a ritual outlet to manage emotions such as anger, jealousy, or resentment.

Therefore, the individual is pressured to govern his or her private relationships according to public opinion and public law.

By 1692, Salem has become a fairly established community, removed from its days as an outpost on a hostile frontier.

It is possible—and likely, from his point of view—that members in the community would make use of a moral transgression to ruin him.

These tensions, combined with the paranoia about supernatural forces, pervade the town’s religious sensibility and provide the raw materials for the hysteria of the witch trials.

Putnam is well positioned to use the witch trials to express his feelings of persecution and undeserved failure, and to satisfy his need for revenge.

On the surface, Parris appears to be an anxious, worried father.

Yet he has been thwarted, both in his efforts to make his brother-in-law minister, and in his family life, where his children have all died in infancy.