The destruction lead by the witch trials in Salem formed conflicts between characters in existing relationships. The book is filled with accusations, twists, drama, and excitement as you watched the town of Salem twist itself into one complicated knot. The characters are interesting and complex, as the play goes on you really see them develop a whole different aspect of each other.
John Proctor and Elizabeth’s relationship was drastically changed after John’s commitment to adultery and both of their arrests. You can see them change from a happy and semi-normal family to a home of confusion, lies, and accusations.
As the play progresses you can really see how hard it is to lead the life you always have when something this conflicting happens between you and your loved one. As the adultery comes between Elizabeth and John, as well as the arrests in the town and the accusations made by the jury against John and Elizabeth, they become a lot more disagreeable and are more hostile to each other.
Abigail and Reverend Parris’s relationship was changed because of the way Abigail acted. She was accused of associating with the devil, committing adultery, performing witchcraft, and stealing money from her own uncle.
Abigail is ingested in her heart’s want for Proctor, she will do anything to be his wife, including get rid of his present one. Abigail is probably a shame for reverend Parris because she has done so much to bring a shadow to their family. Their relationship becomes so much foggier and Abigail really shows him that he shouldn’t have been so nice to her.
Elizabeth and John Proctor’s relationship not only changed with each other but also with their maid, Mary Warren. Mary Warren betrays Proctor’s trust by framing Elizabeth as a witch. When she plants the voodoo doll as evidence against Elizabeth which then puts Elizabeth in jail, you can see how much The Proctors must have been hurt by her actions. When someone you trust betrays you it makes you question other people in your life, this brought on many complications between the Proctors and their trust for others.
In conclusion, The Crucible was a wondrous book filled with complex character development and interesting relationships. As the story fills your head you learn about each relationship between the characters. The time this book was written has many similarities to the time it was written in, the McCarthy era.
The McCarthy era was a time when people were so mixed up in accusations and finding “the bad guy” that they didn’t even know what they were searching for anymore. This is exactly the situation in The Crucible and it has a huge effect on the characters’ lives. The way your environment is has a huge effect on the way you are and that has a huge effect on the people in your life. The way Salem was being lead was making so many people different because when your actions are being compared to the devil, everyone gets a little touchy.
