The Crucible by Arthur Miller is an interpretation of the 1692 Salem witch trials in Puritan Massachusetts in which religion, self-preservation, and self-dignity play roles vital. The three factors I listed played a huge role in the lives of John Proctor, Rebecca Nurse, Reverend Hale, Danforth, and many others. Many other characters such as Abigail Williams and her friends can be characterized as being greedy, bitter, and selfish. In the play, Miller reveals how people can go against their own morals and therefore protect themselves. In Arthur Miller's play, The Crucible, he reveals to readers how fear has increased in Salem due to people's desire for personal gain. Fear has increased to the point that it prevents people from doing what they know is right. The increase in the number of accused and the punishments inflicted on them also sows fear in the country, increasing silence and responsibility. Fear is taking over the city, with Abigail at the wheel helping to create a situation where the search for the truth will no longer be possible. Fear took over the city to such an extent that people would report their neighbors of misleading crimes, just to protect themselves. Fear is the key theme in The Crucible. The reason girls are able to make such accusations and convict innocent people of witchcraft is because they prey on the fear of citizens. The fear of being caught dancing in the woods leads the girls to begin telling their story of lies. The fear of disappointing God is why Reverend Hale begins his questions. The fear of being recognized as an adulterer silences John Proctor when he should have spoken out. The fear of what might happen if she confessed the truth prevents Mary from confessing. The fear of finding herself... in the middle of the paper... forced her to say all those things. The girls were just as guilty as the characters I listed above. They were seen only to protect themselves, not to take responsibility for their actions. All the characters I talked about in my essay have a common interest, which is self-preservation. All the characters believed in one concept: to protect myself and only myself. Many of them have thrown innocent people under the bus just to protect themselves from going under the bus. Tituba was helping the girls, she was not practicing the craft of witchcraft, she was simply expressing the rituals of her culture. When the girls learned that they might be in trouble for dancing in the woods, they immediately turned on Tituba. Fear made all the people living in Salem terrified of being accused of misguided crimes, so most people did what they could to protect themselves.