Beginning of Essay
The people of Salem can hardly be condemned for their actions during the witch hunts of 1692, as described in the play The Crucible, for they were merely products of their time. This is shown through an examination of the theocratic society in which they lived, ....

Middle of Essay
.... 7). While espousing purity and godliness, the Puritans of Salem were a political group with leanings toward power and weakness. They were unable to keep these two characteristics in check at the time of the witch hunt. This resulted in the witch hunts becoming "a perverse manifestation of the panic which set in among all classes when the balance began to turn toward greater individual freedom"(Miller 7). Their theocracy allowed for no expression of individuality, lest the individual, in short, ask for public condemnation. The theocracy of the Salem society at the time was an enormous factor to the conditions surrounding t ....