The Crucible: A Film Review Who'd have thought that simple dancing could cause so much chaos in a This is precisely what happens in the film The Crucible (NicholasHytner, 1996), which was originally written as a play by Arthur Miller. This storyis based on actual events, which helps in showing the accuracy of the events. Thestory takes place in Salem in 1692, during the Salem witch trials. The story startswhen a group of young girls, particularly one named Abigail, are caught dancingaround a fire in the woods by the town preacher, Samuel Parris. In an effort toavoid getting in trouble, the girls begin to make accusations against thetownspeople, saying that these people are witches who forced them to dance. Asthe hysteria grows in Salem, people begin to question their own neighbors, simplyout of spite and vengeance, among other things. The Crucible is certainlyhistorically accurate in it's portrayal of the townspeople's beliefs and attitudes. Itis a film that should be seen to view the way people were in the seventeenthcentury.Fear was probably the biggest reason for all of the happenings. Fearis what got the girls started on their accusations, as they were afraid to get introuble. They knew that if they were thought to be conjuring spirits, they wouldbe hung. The townspeople were also afraid, especially of those who weredifferent. They felt that they must be rid of anyone who disagreed with their Spielmannpg 2beliefs. Just look at how the Puritans treated the Indians. They feared the NativeAmericans because their beliefs were different than their own. Also, the mainreason that people were accused in the first place, is because when Tituba wasbeing questioned, they were asking if she saw Sara Good and Sara Osborne withthe Devil. Of course she said yes, they were threatening to kill her. Anotherexample of fear in the village, is the fear of accepting your own actions and taking responsibility. The Puritans believed in ...
