Examples Of Revenge In The Crucible

In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible is a portrayal of how revenge runs in among people to discrete them and ruin each other’s image. Leading accusation after accusation, they end up with personal gain of some sort. Jealousy possesses the habitants in Salem to turn on each other in order to achieve their own intentions.
Young Abigail Williams secretly had an affair with her former boss, John Proctor; however he is married to Elizabeth Proctor. Once Elizabeth discovers the affair, she forces Abigail out of their house and fires her. Because of her termination, in anger Abigail believes that Elizabeth is “telling lies about {her}” and that Proctor is still in love with her. Abigail claims to him that Elizabeth is a “cold, sniveling woman”, he then tells Elizabeth of what she told him. Prior to this, Abigail’s uncle Reverend Parris had discovered her and other girls dancing

in the woods. As Puritans, any dancing is associated with ritual and the Devil’s work. Word got around town and there is “talk of witchcraft”. This leads Elizabeth to believe that Abigail “thinks to kill {her}, then take {her} place” once she is falsely accused for witchcraft by Abigail.
A local landowner and business by the name of Thomas Putnam, is very invested in keeping himself at good standard in the town.

However, he very much open to the idea of ruining lives of those who have ‘wronged’ him, in order to prove his own excellency. Once Salem cried of witchcraft, his daughter falsely accuses their neighbor, then Mr. “Jacobs hangs for a witch”, so he is forced to “forfeit up his property” or land . Putnam then buys it to expand his farm. This gives Putnam an idea to accuse other neighbors for land as well, including the Nurse and Corey family. Goody Putnam does envy Rebecca Nurse for the many offspring that Rebecca has had, Putnam herself miscarrying about 8 children and so blames Rebecca of the “superior murder of Goody Putnam’s babies”, also arresting her. Thomas Putnam then tell the court of Martha Corey would warn about maintaining the pigs she sold and claims if not, “[people couldn’t] keep the pigs alive for weeks” and she “bewitched them”. To both women’s defense, their husbands Giles Corey and Francis Nurse try to clear their names, just to be challenged by

Putnam.
Salem’s witch hunts get out of control when about dozens of people are charged for witchcraft, including John Proctor. “Abigail Williams charged [Elizabeth]” of stabbing her with her evil spirit and, in danger of losing Elizabeth, John attempts to reason with the court, among bring Mary Warren and both claim that Abigail is pretending. Through efforts and explanations, he claims Abigail “thinks to dance with [him] on [his] wife’s grave”. To prove himself and the possibility of ruining his reputation, he states “it’s a whore’s vengeance”, he then confesses to his adultery affair with Abigail. Upon asking her for the truth, and being “struck..false”, she threatens to “leave and…not come back again”. The final straw occurs when Mary Warren unexpectedly turns on John saying that he “forced [her] to write [her] name in The Devil’s Book”, and John loses hope and exclaims that “God is dead”, getting arrested and tried for a witch.
The town as whole does into a state of hysteria with the mention of witchcraft on those seen as corrupt. This leads to an opportunity to accuse people who have wronged others, and use a religious standard to arrest them. Vengeance influences the people of Salem to wrongly and falsely implicate others for personal gains.