The Crucible by Arthur Miller is based on the tragic Salem witch trials of 1692. Salem was a Puritan village, where children worked all day and were never allowed to play, and everyone was expected to make an appearance at the church service on Sundays. The Salem witch trials followed the witch hunts which spread across Europe during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, where thousands of people were executed. Many of those who were executed were practicing folk customs, as Tituba was (historically) in Massachusetts. The Crucible, while not historically accurate, helps readers understand the fear the villagers felt, and better understand the workings of the minds of all those involved. Throughout Act I of The Crucible, readers
