Hassan 1

Safia Hassan

Period 2

Mrs. Alvarez

October 5, 2017

End of unit: The Crucible

Fear drives some people to behave in ways they never would. Our personal fears

motivate us, such as some of the characters in “The Crucible”. Abigail is afraid of losing John

Proctor and having her named ruined, Reverend Parris is afraid of losing the respect he worked

hard to earn, and Tituba is afraid of being physically punished. These personal fears of the

characters caused them to blame innocent people of something they didn’t do to protect yourself,

lie without hesitation, blackmailing people and so on.

In “The Crucible” the girls were afraid of getting punished. The fear of the town

knowing what they did caused Abigail to threaten her friends. In act 1 Abigail says to the other

girls, “oh we’ll be whipped … let either of you breathe a word, or the edge of a word, about the

other things, and I will come to you to you in the black of some terrible night and I will bring a

pointy reckoning that will shudder you”. If the town knew she drank blood, danced in the woods,

or had an affair with John Proctor her name would be ruined. Abigail is also afraid of losing John

Proctor which is one of the reasons she accuses Elizabeth of witchcraft.

Another character’s fear that impacted the society was Reverend Parris. Reverend Parris

is afraid of losing the respect of the towns people. He’s also afraid that the people will find out

what his niece and daughter did which will also ruin his reputation. In act 1 he states “I have

fought 3 long years to bend these stiff-necked people to me, and now, just now when some good
 Hassan 2

respect is for me in the parish you compromise my very character. I have given you a home,

child. I have put clothes upon your back- now give me an upright answer”
 Hassan 3

Works Cited

AuthorLastName, FirstName. Title of the Book Being Referenced. City Name: Name of

Publisher, Year. Type of Medium (e.g., Print).

LastName, First, Middle. “Article Title.” Journal Title (Year): Pages From - To. Print.