The Crucible

A witch was regarded as a person, who had made a deliberate and formal pact with Satan and would do everything possible to aid him in his rebellion against God. The Puritans believed that they were living in a world of chaos and crime, and directed their efforts to constantly guard against sin (Levin 27). Life in Salem Village was not easy at the best of times. Cheerfulness and merrymaking were regarded as irreligious, and the people of the village were somber and relentless. Their lives were spent in hard work and religious observance.
             Even their relaxation was associated with the meeting house. On the Sabbath, there was a long service in the morning and another in the afternoon. Village residents who came from outlying farms were not able to get home before the services, and it gradually became a regular practice for the time before the services to be spent in visiting and conversation (28). This was the time when gossip and news were spread from one to another. The Puritans lived with the fear of their neighbors and their gossip. The Crucible describes the witch hunts through the story of John Proctor, a man who became victim to the cruel justice system of Salem. .
             John Proctor was a farmer in his middle thirties. He did not have to be a partisan of any faction in the town, but there was evidence in the books that he could not tolerate hypocrites. This is perhaps the one thing that Proctor was afraid of becoming. He was a kind man who could not refuse support to partisans without drawing their deepest anger. "In his presence, a fool felt his foolishness instantly; consequently, a Proctor is always marked for slander and defamation" (Miller 20). Although he may come across as a steady mannered individual, Proctor is not an untroubled man. His was a sinner against his wife, a sinner against his community, a sinner against his own morals, and a sinner against his Puritanical society.