Abuse of Power in the Crucible

Everyone in their lives abuses their power at some point, but in The Crucible, there are a few people who used their power to have people put to death. In the play The Crucible, Abigail Williams, Ann Putnam, and Thomas Putnam used their power in the town to have their enemies put to death. A simple act such as dancing led to the death of many innocent people and Abigail and the Putnam’s ending their grudges for good.

Being caught doing something you’re not supposed to be doing can lead people to do crazy things. Abigail Williams was found dancing in the woods with a group of girls which was illegal in the town of Salem. Abigail decided the only way out of it was to lie. She and the other girls began to “name names” of others in the town. In a short time, she had everyone in the palm of her hand. Everyone in town began to believe her lies and that the girls’ dancing was a sign of witchcraft. Now Abigail, who loved John Proctor, saw the perfect opportunity to put her newly obtained power to use. She accused John’s wife, Elizabeth, of witchcraft. Abigail stuck a needle in her stomach. The needle was placed in the same place as the sewing needle in the poppet Mary Warren gave Elizabeth. Elizabeth was now convicted of witchcraft. With Elizabeth out of the way, she believed that John would be all hers. This is a perfect example of how Abigail used her manipulation to make people believe that Elizabeth was actually a witch.

However, it was not only Elizabeth. Many other innocent people were convicted during this time. The reason was because Abigail lied and lied, but then she had no other way to get out of it but to continue lying. As people believed her, they began convicting others leading to twelve deaths in a short time. Abigail’s power led to horrible things and the eventual killing of her love, John Proctor.

Not only was the witch trials a time to gain lost loves, but it was also a time