Summary Of The Crucible Act 1

In “The Crucible Act 1” the main setting is Salem Massachusetts in the year 1692. Religious bias is at an all time high. Salem is historically famous for the witch trials that they held and “The Crucible” is attempting to set the scene for. The significance of the setting is that there is major religious tension with two different religions. The setting is also a smaller village ruled with a very questionable justice system.
In the “Crucible Act 1” Salem is described as a small religious town where farmers weren’t as motivated as their ancestors off the Mayflower. As the reading suggests the Witch trials gave the people of Salem the ability to express how they have sinned by allowing them to blame a non-existent boogeyman, or in this case

the non-existent Witch. The relatively hard life that the Salem townspeople had allowed this to happen. In a life where “…the people were forced to fight the land like heroes for every grain of corn…” there was no room for expressing distaste with others. The Witch Trials gave them this ability.
Besides the location of the reading the time of the reading also deserves its credit for the setting. The reason the timeframe also becomes crucial is because of the standards of technology that has around in 1692. Modern medicine today still has failed pregnancies and one need not imagine how it would be with 1692 medicine. The reason I bring up medicine is because of one of the witnesses Parris Nurse. Her accusation is what allowed the witch trials to get so far. Her accusations of Mrs. Putnam casting a spell to curse all her infant children to death.
In “The Crucible” both the geological setting and the chronological setting made a difference. The Geological for to religious tension that was present in Salem at the time and chronologic setting for the technology and culture available at the time.