The Crucible Themes

 Reputation:
Reputation is tremendously important in Salem, where public
and private moralities are one and the same. In an environment
where reputation plays such an important role, the fear of guilt
by association becomes particularly malicious. Focused on
maintaining public reputation, the townsfolk of Salem must
fear that the sins of their friends and associates will taint their
names. Various characters base their actions on the desire to
protect their respective reputations.
Examples from the play:
Act 1: Parris fears that Abigail’s increasingly questionable
actions, and the hints of witchcraft surrounding his daughter’s
coma, will threaten his reputation and force him from the
pulpit. So, he questions Abigail aggressively because he’s
worried his enemies will learn the full story of what happened
in the woods first and use it to discredit him. Parris is very
quick to position himself on the side of the accusers as soon as
Abigail throws the first punch, and he immediately threatens
violence on Tituba if she doesn't confess. Abigail also shows
concern for her reputation. She is enraged when Parris questions
her suspicious dismissal from the Proctor household. Abigail
insists that she did nothing to deserve it and tries to put all the
blame on Elizabeth Proctor. She says, "My name is good in the
village! I will not have it said my name is soiled! Goody Proctor
is a gossiping liar!” The first act of The Crucible clearly
establishes the fact that a bad reputation can damage a person’s
position in this society severely and irreparably.
Act 4: Proctor’s desire to keep his good name leads him to make
the heroic choice not to make a false confession and to go to his
death without signing his name to an untrue statement. “I have
given you my soul; leave me my name!” he cries to Danforth. By
refusing to turn down his name, he redeems himself for his
earlier failure and dies with integrity.

 Hysteria(mob mentality):
Another critical theme in The Crucible is the role that hysteria
can play in tearing apart a community. Hysteria supplants logic
and enables people to believe that their neighbors, whom they
have always considered upstanding people, are committing
unbelievable crimes: communing with the devil, killing babies,
and so on. In The Crucible, the residents accept and become
active in the hysterical climate not only out of genuine religious
piety but also because it gives them a chance to express inhibited
feelings and to act on long-held bitterness. In the end, hysteria
can thrive only because people benefit from it. It suspends the
rules of daily life and allows the acting out of every dark desire
and hateful urge under the cover of righteousness.
Examples from the play:
Act 1: The wealthy, ambitious Thomas Putnam gains revenge
on Francis Nurse by getting Rebecca, Francis’s virtuous wife,
convicted of the supernatural murders of Ann Putnam’s babies.
Act 2: Abigail uses the situation to accuse Elizabeth Proctor of
witchcraft and have her sent to jail. Abigail stamps herself with
a needle, and because she knows that Marry Warren, the
servant, is making a doll and putting the needle in it, Abigail
knows the accusation will fit Elizabeth.
Act 3: Reverend Parris strengthens his position within the
village, though temporarily, by accusing people like Proctor who
question his authority. Like what happened in the court, Parris
asked Proctor to say the 10 commandments.

 Power and Authority:

The desire to preserve and gain power pervades The Crucible as
the witch trials lead to dramatic changes in which characters
hold the greatest control over the course of events. Abigail’s
power increases as the hysteria grows more severe. Although she
is the heart of the trials, she becomes the main witness to the
inner workings of a satanic plot. She has the power to utterly
destroy people’s lives with a single accusation because she is
seen as a victim and a savior. The main pillars of traditional
power are represented by the law and the church. These two
institutions fuse together in The Crucible to actively encourage
accusers and discourage rational explanations of events. The
girls are essentially given permission by authority figures to
continue their act because they are made to feel special and
important for their participation. The people in charge are so
eager to hold onto their power that if anyone disagrees with
them in the way the trials are conducted, it is taken as a
personal affront and challenge to their authority. Danforth,
Hathorne, and Parris become even more rigid in their views
when they feel they are under attack.
Examples from the play:
Act 1: Religion holds significant power over the people of
Salem. Reverend Parris is in a position of power as the town's
spiritual leader, but he is unconfident about his authority. He
believes there is a group of people in town insists to remove him
from this position, and he will say and do whatever it takes to
retain control. This causes problems down the line as Parris
allows his paranoia about losing his position to translate into
enthusiasm for the witch hunt. Abigail faces an uphill battle
towards more power over her situation. She is clearly outspoken
and dominant, but her initial position in society is one of very
little influence and authority. One path to higher standing and
greater control would be in becoming John Proctor’s
wife. When she can’t get John to abandon Elizabeth for her,
she decides to take matters into her own hands and gain control
through manipulating the fears of others.
Act 2: Mary Warren’s sense of self-importance has increased as
a result of the perceived value of her participation in
court. Elizabeth notes that Mary's behave is now like that of
“the daughter of a prince”. This new power is exciting and very
dangerous because it encourages the girls to make additional
accusations in order to preserve their value in the eyes of the
court. Abigail, in particular, has quickly risen from nothing to
one of the most influential people in Salem. In one of the most
well-known quotes in the play, John Proctor angrily insists that
“the little crazy children are jangling the keys of the kingdom”,
meaning the girls are testing out the extent of the chaos they
can create with their newfound power.
Act 3: Abigail’s power in the courthouse is on display. She
openly threatens Danforth for even entertaining Mary and
John's accusations of fraud against her. Though Danforth is the
most powerful official figure in court, Abigail manipulates him
easily with her performance as a victim of witchcraft. He's
already accepted her testimony as evidence, so he is happy for
any excuse to believe her over John and Mary. John finally
comes to the realization that Mary's truthful testimony cannot
compete with the hysteria that has taken hold of the court. The
petition he presents to Danforth is used as a weapon against
the signers rather than a proof of the innocence of Elizabeth,
Martha, and Rebecca. Abigail's version of events is held to be
true even after John confesses to their affair in a final effort to
discredit her. John Proctor surrenders his agency at the end of
Act 3 in despair at the determination of the court to pursue the
accusations of witchcraft and ignore all evidence of their
falsehood.