Rennik M.

McCaig
1/21/2022

Crucible Essay

Blame is something everyone gives but never takes. People throughout much of

literature try hiding their blame and consequentially cause the problems of their stories. The

Crucible is an amazing example of this. The Crucible, created by Arthur Miller, was an allegory

for America’s Red Scare of the 1950’s. It was set in Salem during America’s colonial period; The

Crucible is a tragedy play that reflects 1950’s America by instead being about the Salem witch

trails. Though there could be many reasons the witch trails happened in that play, many argue

that the character responsible was Governor Danforth. Evidence for it that Danforth took

control of the trails and enacted the executions, but there seems to be another certain

character that moves these events along and makes them worse and worse. Abigail Williams is

the main cause for the witch trail hangings in The Crucible. Causing it by threatening others,

rejecting her blame, making herself seem blameless.

Firstly, Abigail is able to start the witch trials by gaining support. She does this by using

threats. An example of this is in Act 1 where she tells her cousin Betty Parris and Friend Mary

Warren to keep quiet about their witch craft activities in the woods. Abigail tells them, “Let

either of you breathe a word, or the edge of a word, about the other things, and I will come to

you in the black of some terrible night and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you.”

This shows that Abigail wasn’t willing to get caught, and wanted to make sure no one would

turn her in. This threat later makes Betty and Mary, Abigail’s in Act 2 where they are revealed to

have started witch trails in Salem.

 Rennik M. McCaig
1/21/2022

Secondly Abigail causes the witch trails by rejecting the blame she has for the witch craft

in the woods. She begins to shift the blame to others who were at the scene. Abigail does this

by blaming the Parrisis’ house slave, Tituba, that helped conduct the witchcraft. Also in Act 1

she points at Tituba and claims, “She made me do it! She made Betty do it!”. Tituba tries to

avoid the blame by accusing others of causing the witch craft. She then begins to accuse other

housewives of Salem of having been involved with the Devil. This explains how the accusations

started in Salem. The accusations that eventually became trails that ended in imprisonments

and executions that occurred in Act 3 and Act 4.

Thirdly, Abigail is able to continue the witch trials by making herself seem blameless.

Reason being that later in the play she oversees the witch trials, and pretends to blame the

accused for doing witchcraft during the trials. This is supported in Act 3 when there is a trial of

Mary Warren. During the trial Abigail pretends that Mary has sent out a shapeshifting spirit to

kill her. Abigail states, “Oh, Mary, this is a black art to change your shape. No, I cannot, I cannot

stop my mouth; it’s God’s work I do.” This example proves how Abigail tries to make herself

seem holy and blameless. She wants to seem like the victim, so that she will not be accused.

This essay has given many reasons why Abigail is the main cause of the witch trials and

hangings in The Crucible, however, some argue another claim. That The Crucible’s character

that is the main cause of the witch trial hangings was Deputy Governor Danforth, due to the
 Rennik M. McCaig
1/21/2022

strict and cruel punishments he gives to the accused in Act 4. There is a quote in Act 4 that

depicts his harsh punishments, “Now hear me, and beguile yourselves no more. I will not

receive a single plea for pardon or postponement. Them that will not confess will hang.” It is

true that Danforth enacted the witch trial hangings, but Abigail was the cause of the trails

starting and continuing up to that point. Abigail could have admitted her sins to the town, but

didn’t. Instead letting others suffer up to the point when they had to be executed by the law.

Arthur Miller’s The Crucible is a tragedy play inspired by the 1950’s Red Scare. It is about

the people of Salem hiding their shame and blaming others through accusations. Accusations

that spiral out of control and cause witch trials, which end in horrible exactions. While most

believe that it was Governor Danforth who was the one to enact the hangings. These terrible

events were caused by the character Abigail Williams. Abigail was the one who worsened the

trials up to the point of executing people. She was the one who gained support through threats,

refused blame, and tried to appear blameless. By trying to hide her own blame she

consequently caused many of the problems in her story. Including the witch trial hangings.

Abigail always gave blame, but never took it.