The Crucible

In the play The Crucible the structure of power goes through many different changes, different character groups such as farmers, slaves, preachers, judges, the girls and the wealthy landowners start to see their influence get strong or weaker as the play progresses.

In the beginning of the story the preachers were looked at as one of the bigger powers in the community, because they were the ones who decided if someone was with God or with the Devil and they could either have you confess and turn back to God or send you the courts, which would hang you if you were convicted.

The only time a slave ever had any kind of influential power in this story was when Tituba told Reverend Hale that the girls led by Abigail made her do what she did in the woods. For a second they actually believed her and turned the heat on to Abigail and the other girls, but then her power was quickly snatch when Abigail and the other girls started making claims that Tituba was in deed the one at fault and she forced them to dance in the woods.

The farmers such as the Proctors and Goody Nurse, were always the ones being accused of some kind of wrong doing and being put to death. They were walked all over all through the story. Even in the beginning stages of the story they struggled for some sort of power and a voice in the community.

The wealthy landowners had a very big influence of power in the community; because they were rich and owned land, and no one ever question what ever they said. Another reason they had so much power is, because some of the wealthy landowners would use their daughters as tools to get what they want. Telling them to make up stories about witch about certain enemies they wanted to take out, because they knew that people believed what ever the girls had to say.

In the opening stages of the story the girls didn't have much power, in fact they were under heat them selves, until they started to accuse other people of witchcraft. They knew they could maintain there influential power if they stuck together and kept the same story. As the story progressed the girls knew that the could use their new found power to take out anyone, because it seemed like everyone they accused was being put in trouble, and the people and the court were believing everything they said. One of the girls named Abigail tried to use her power to get with John Proctor. She falsely accused john's wife Elizabeth Proctor of witchcraft,