Puritans. The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices; they argued that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and needed to become more Protestant. In opposition to the way the Church of England had governed itself, the Puritans emigrated to New England in the hope of being able to conduct their practices in peace. The Crucible is set approximately 100 years later. The Crucible is set in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692, during the Salem witch trials. The play is a fictionalized version of the trials and tells the story of a group of young Salem women who falsely accuse other villagers of witchcraft. The interesting part of this whole story is that if you confessed to witchcraft, you would be saved. So many deaths could have been avoided. Why were these innocent people sentenced to death, all because that group of women accused them? Why did so many people refuse to confess, even if it meant saving their lives? The Puritans were a very religious society. This means that if someone were accused of witchcraft, they would be tried and possibly sentenced to death. Could it be that the culture of their society was the main cause of the Salem tragedy? If so, what part of their culture destroyed them? There were many factors that contributed to this, be it religion, traditions or just… the emotions of the people that prevailed. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The people of Salem were greatly influenced by their belief in their religion. They were so afraid of upsetting their God because if they did, they would go to Hell instead of going to Heaven. When someone was accused of witchcraft, it meant they had sold their soul to the Devil. When this happens, they no longer possess the soul needed to enter Heaven or Hell. Of course, if someone were to be called a witch, the person in question would be terrified and would immediately say that they were not a witch. "But that's exactly something a witch would say." This very saying is what has killed so many people. Something about the witch trials is that the court accepted ghostly evidence. This means that they would accept supernatural events as evidence. In The Crucible, there is a scene where a woman, named Elizabeth Proctor, had been accused of witchcraft because her puppet had a needle that pierced her navel. A couple of hours earlier, Abigail Williams, a young woman leading the prosecution team, had a 2-inch needle protruding from her stomach. With the “evidence” Elizabeth Proctor was taken away and held in prison until her trial. John Proctor had said that this was all unsubstantiated evidence, in response to that statement, a man named Cheever had said: “That's solid evidence! I find here a doll holding Goody Proctor. I found it, sir... There's a needle stuck in the doll's belly!”. Spiritual events were considered trials. And as such, religion posed a problem for these people. Or perhaps, it is not the religion itself, but the people who lead the religious group. Reverend Parris was a Puritan priest who once lived in an urban area and brought with him his daughter Betty Parris and his granddaughter, Abigail Williams. John Proctor, a respected farmer, did not approve of the reverend living in Salem and becoming the new priest. Of course the reverend wasn't particularly fond of John either. Before their arrival in Salem, the town was known as peaceful. And in the loop.