Instant Access To 100,000+ Essays!

John Proctor and the Destruction of Salem In the seventeenth century, societies in North America were principally based on religious laws and morality. In fact, people were persecuted by their own religion. evilness and goodness were two important issues that often called for justice. Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, is a very powerful play about Puritan ethics and the madness of the Salem witch trials is explored in great details. The play takes place in the small village of Salem, in Massachusetts, where people lived in a theocracy, which means that the entire society was based on a single written book: the Bible. They literally interpreted every single world of the Holy Book. The Devil represents the perfect idea of insecurity and sadness, his function is to tempt people to sin. They think the Devil’s time is limited and that they have to win over this evil. Witches are considered as his agents on earth. Those facts influence the setting of the play since the standards of what is right or wrong in that society is clearly stated in the Bible. This little town is in absolute chaos when an outbreak of rumors claiming witchcraft contaminates the small village. This causes a total deterioration of Salem’s social structure