Crucible Summary

Hypocrisy plays a big part in the crucible. Right from the start you find out that Goody Putnam is using Tituba to talk to her dead babes but all through the rest of the play there is no more mention of Goody Putnam’s dealings although her husband goes around accusing other people in the village but not his wife who had actually been practicing witchcraft. The other people who had been playing at witchcraft were the girls who are believed to be the victims and then turn in to the main accusers but even when it comes to light that they were dancing in the woods around a fire they are never accused of any thing.

This is strange, as the girls had done more wrong than most of the accused put together. The hypocrisy is not only in the witch-hunt but they go against their own religion as well. The people of Salem and especially Rev. Parris are supposed to be Christians but if they were true to this then they would believe it wrong to have slaves but Rev.

Parris has Tituba who he brought with him from Barbados, and he beats her, which must go against what he himself is preaching in church. On Sunday there is a two-man patrol that goes around the village to make sure that the people are in church and not working.

The Crucible Short Summary

This seems to be wrong because if these people were firmly devoted to their religion then they would be in church and they would not have to be forced to go.

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The men who are on patrol are also not in church but that does not seem to be the same even though it could be seen as work. The people in Salem have a surpassing lack of reason and logic they go along with any thing. Proctor shows a lot of deductive logic when he asks for the proof of witchcraft when nearly everyone is being accused.

When proctor asks for the proof Danforth gives him a long speech about how he sees the situation and how it is best to take action this goes on to eventually say ‘ In an ordinary crime, how does one defend the accused? One calls up witnesses to prove his innocence. But witchcraft is ipso facto, on it’s face an invisible crime, is it not? ‘ By this he means that no one can see the crime to defend the accused. He then goes on to say ‘ Therefore, who may possibly be witness to it? The witch and the victim none other. Now we cannot hope that the witch will accuse herself; granted?

Therefore, we must rely upon her victims – and they do testify, the children certainly do testify’ so he is saying that as no has seen anything the girls must be telling the truth because they are the victims. Hale is the only other man in the village who is looking for the reason and the truth. So when hale can find no reason in what the court is doing he denounces the proceedings and will no longer have anything to do with the judges. By the time hale quits the court there is no stopping them they just keep convicting people until they even arrest Proctor.

When you read the play or watch it being performed you never see any one actually being hanged but at the end of the play there is a drum beat as they prepare to hang Proctor and the others on trial. Abby speaks of some bloody goings on when she speaks of how her parents heads were smashed by Indians while she was in the same bed as them. Abby uses these images to scare and threaten the other girls but it also gives you a window into her past to see why she is the way she is. Abby also drinks a charm of chicken blood to kill Goody Proctor so that she can have her husband.

Abby is the center of most of the bloods goings on and she causes the bloodthirsty attitude of the people in Salem to escalate to the extent where if anything happens then the person who is nearest at the time would be accused of witchcraft. This happens even if it is something that could easily happen like some fire wood falling over or a fire burning too brightly. All through the play the people are looking for a scapegoat to blame everything on and that is what they do. My conclusion of the play is that through the crucible Miller can put forth his views about religion and the communist hunt that was going on.

Miller also can make people start to agree with the way he is thinking but he does it subtlety so that you don’t notice that you are starting to think slightly differently. The practice of turning people in to scapegoats is used throughout the play and what Miller does is to bring out the worst in people but to also to have some people who rise to the occasion and perform brilliantly even under great pressure. There are also the people like Giles Corey who through their actions remain the heroes until the end.