The Role of Fear in The Crucible Essay Example

In the play The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, Miller has created a society in which fear has taken over. During this period, the Salem witch trials led to hysteria caused by the fear that tore the community apart. It revealed how many of the main characters involved were willing to turn on members of their community for their own personal benefit. Salem had set the expectations high for how one was perceived by society. Due to the intense religious ideals and morals that the Salem community was expected to follow, it set the bar high for how one wanted to be viewed. The idea of God sending sinners to hell or not entering heaven meant portraying the best reputation possible so one was not shamed by their community for their actions. Protecting oneself meant sacrificing others, despite it being morally wrong. Many of Miller’s characters embody this idea; however, one character who strongly embodies this throughout the book is Abagail Williams. Abigail showed her true colors throughout each act, as she went to extreme lengths to keep her name clean, knowing she was hurting others in the process. She showed us that in order to maintain a good reputation to present to society, it comes with sacrificing others for the sake of yourself. 

From the very beginning of the play, it is clear Abigail cares solely about herself and will do nearly anything to protect her reputation and keep herself out of trouble. As the witchcraft speculations continue to travel throughout the town, Abigail begins to fear for her reputation since she knows she has sinned. Not only had she had an affair with John Proctor, but she also danced in the woods with the other girls. This information getting out would get Abigail in serious trouble, so she takes matters into her own hands to keep her community from learning about the things she has done. Abigail admits to her uncle, Reverend Parris that she and the other girls “did dance; let you tell them I confessed it – and I’ll be whipped if I must be. But they’re speaking of witchcraft,” (9) which she only confessed to because she knows there is more to the story. The other girls know what Abigail has done, and had they been the ones to confess, they could have shared more than what Abigail had said, exposing her sins and secrets. By throwing all the girls under the bus as well, it takes the spotlight away from the one who has sinned the most and would suffer the most consequences. At this point, Abigail’s name is still good in her community. In her fight to keep it that way, she continues to refuse to let anyone speak poorly about her and the things she has done. She claims Goody Proctor is out to get her, after being discharged from Goody Proctor’s service, as her “name is good in the village! I will not have it said my name is soiled,” (12) which shows her determination to keep it from becoming anything other than nearly perfect. She went as far as calling Goody Proctor a liar, as being discharged from her service is something that could hurt the way she is viewed. The first act is when we start to learn about the lengths Abigail will go to find a way to blame others for things she should be taking accountability for instead. 

As Abigail fights to keep her reputation from being destroyed, the trials begin to take place. As they intensify, her worst nightmare, John Proctor admitting to having an affair with her and calling her a whore to Danforth, has come true. After everything she had done to prevent this from happening, her efforts were not enough. On top of that, Mary Warren also accuses her of lying, and claims she and the other girls are acting in order to avoid getting caught. As Abigail is defending herself against Danforth and his questions she begins to look up while “a wind, a cold wind, has come,” (101) pretending Mary’s spirits have arrived. This moment only progresses, as she and the other girls begin to act as though they have no control over what is happening and that they are seeing a bird flying near the ceiling, that represents Mary’s spirit. Abigail is using her power over the other girls to make them act this way. The power she has over them forced them into acting along with her which in the end, helped to get Abigail out of the situation was in. She was not shamed the way she would have been had the girls taken Mary Warren’s side and admitted that they were lying. Abigail using the girls to protect herself from Mary’s accusations against her shows her true character, as she was willing to use her power over them to put them all into a position in order to keep her from getting caught. Now that John has revealed what they did, her reputation is no longer clean, which puts her in a difficult place where she is forced to make big decisions in the next and final act. 

After the trials have ended, there is little hope for those who were guilty. Abigail realized what was in store for her, and did what she thought was best to save herself and her reputation. She fled Salem. She and Mercy Lewis hopped on a ship and left Salem in secret, and it was not until a few days later that Parris had realized she had left. They broke into Parris’ lockbox and robbed him of all he had. He realized “thirty-one pound is gone. I am penniless,” (117) as she used his money in order to save herself. She was willing to leave him with nothing for the sake of protecting herself and being able to get out of Salem. This is the true definition of sacrificing others for the sake of yourself, as she was willing to leave Parris with nothing in order to save herself along with Mercy Lewis. On top of fleeing with the money she stole from Parris, she also left the man she loved behind, knowing what would eventually happen to him. After John had exposed what they had done together to the court, she fled to avoid the consequences. She knew what would happen to him, but was willing to leave him there and save herself instead. Staying in Salem where the man she loved stayed was not enough to keep her there where she would eventually have to confess to the court, or be hanged for her sins. 

Maintaining a good reputation in Salem is what many of the characters strive for, however, it comes at the cost of sacrificing others. In a small, religious community like Salem, self-image is extremely important due to the standards they are expected to meet to satisfy God and the church. As we watch Abigail and her actions throughout each act, we gain a better understanding of why she goes to extreme lengths to protect how she is viewed as a person. Her actions relate back to this book being written during the McCarthyism era, a time when innocent people were accused of being part of the communist party by members of their community, and would then be “blacklisted”. This correlates with the fact that those who were accused of witchcraft had to admit to a false accusation or were han

ged. Miller’s underlying message reveals that the fear surrounding the need to have a superior reputation led to the destruction of others in the community. The hysteria caused by fear within the community caused people to turn on each other in order to save themselves. As we watch the Salem community turn against one another, we can relate Salem as a whole to a crucible, as it melts the community within. More specifically, Abigail can be tied back to a crucible, as she essentially “melts” others despite the fact that it will hurt them. It does no damage to herself, however, it does damage to others along with their reputations, leaving Abigail with a superior reputation regardless of how it has affected others.