Revenge is a part of all of our lives. Someone hurts us some way, and we want them to be hurt back. Sometimes, however, our hurt is slight or non-existent, but our hurt back is permanent and harsh. The most obvious and prominent character in The Crucible with revenge as their primary motivation was Abigail Williams. Thomas and Ruth Putnam are also driven by the need for vengeance. Even Parris, for a time, needed a little payback.
No one can doubt that Abigail wanted revenge. She was angry at John Proctor. She decided a nice, simple way to hurt him was take his wife. Ms. Williams was the one who started the accusations. She saw Betty sick, and saw a chance. She was by no means a stupid woman. She most likely cooked up the poppet idea with Mary Warren. It was not just coincidence. She just overestimated Mary's resolve, which later caused a slight bit of trouble, but offered her the perfect opportunity to strike at Proctor. Abigail must have been quite the charismatic woman, able to pull together the other girls, even after they had realized their sins. With his star witness turned against him, he was vulnerable. Abigail showed no mercy. She was ruthless and cold. John Proctor hanged, not because he was guilty of witchcraft, but because he angered the wrong girl.
The Putnam's, though absent as characters through most of the play, were very central to the story. Family feuds and imagined slights had upset them for generations. The latest generation of Putnams had their own troubles, included a land dispute. How best to solve a land dispute? Kill the owner of the land. If the state will do it for you, cloaked in righteousness and religious fervor, so much the better. Saves you from having to hire Johnny Cochran. Putnam knew no one would be able to outbid him for the auctioned land. Little Ruthy was the perfect weapon against the Putnam neighbors. Being part of the circle of girls crying murder and foul made her testimony believable.
