Question

PLEASE HELP I HAVE TO WRITE A PARAGRAPH
Based on Act 1 Scene 1 from the play The Crucible, why do people in Salem want to identify witchcraft as the source of their problems?

Answer 1

Answer:

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Explanation:

Miller sets the stage for The Crucible by introducing the four most important themes: deception, possession, greed, and the quest for power.

The "unseen" scene in the woods, which takes place before the action of the play, figuratively sets the stage. This scene serves as a catalyst for the remaining action of the play. Parris informs Abigail that he saw girls dancing, Tituba conjuring spells over the fire, and a naked girl running through the woods. This "unseen" scene symbolizes the suppression of desire, which is paramount in Salem. Desire, of course, has many different interpretations for both the characters within the play, and for the audience. For Abigail, desire refers to her sexual longing for Proctor. According to the other characters, and the audience, desire may mean many other things besides sexual longing. For example, Putnam desires land and Parris desires control and authority. The audience, inevitably, will have other interpretations of this concept.

Because the girls cannot dance within Salem, they must retreat into the woods outside of Salem in order to indulge in physical pleasure. In addition, the naked girl running through the woods symbolizes the sexual desire present in all of the inhabitants of Salem, a desire that society forces them to suppress and negate. In order to express their innate desires (whether innocent or not), the girls must go outside of the community into the wilderness. Religion has not tamed the forests or the heathen Indians that inhabit them, so the Puritans view the woods as the Devil's stronghold. The wilderness outside of Salem is comparable to the wilderness in which Satan tempted Jesus. Although Jesus did not succumb to temptation, Satan led him into the wilderness to entice him to sin. The girls actively seek the wilderness because it provides them with a place where they can exercise desires that society considers unacceptable.