Envy is one vice that launches a conflict between Abigail and Goody Proctor that draws many other characters in. (add quotes of people accusing Proctor and quotes from Abigail)
Abby isn’t the only girl who lies, Betty, after suddenly waking up, shouts out, “I saw George Jacobs with the Devil! I saw Goody Howe with the Devil!” From there on, both girls began naming random people out of shear hate and jealousy just so they blame wouldn’t be placed on them. Also Marry Warren, another one of the girls, decided it was her turn to get some of her hatred out by saying, “I never knew it before. I never knew anything before. When she come into the room (Goody Osburn) I say to myself, I must not accuse her …then I feel a misty coldness climbin’ up my back, and the skin on my skull began to creep, and I feel a clamp around my neck and I cannot breath air; and then I hear a screaming voice, my voice, and all at once I remember everything she done to me!” All of these accusations came out of fear and hatred of other people. Nobody liked Goody Osburn because of her begging and constant mumbling.(add more)
It’s not only the girls lying, Mr. Putnam, a wealthy land owner, signed many accusations out of greed so he can get more land. By now nearly the entire town is at ends and everyone is making false accusations over irrelevant things. Greed seems to be a very powerful emotion that drives Abigail to want John Proctor all to herself. (Add More)
The entire situation occurred because a group of girls made a wrong decision and had to lie there way out of it. First off they got away with blaming Tituba because she is a slave who was known to practice voodoo. Secondly, the accusations began to mound because a group of girls followed one’s poor choice thinking it was the easy way out. Another reason it got so far is that people of that time didn’t openly express their thoughts because of how religious they were, and when the opportunity arose, the community let their irreconcilable differences be exposed. Also the teachings of their religion didn’t allow the people to be greedy or envious, but when those emotions became too unbearable, the community reacted in a very harsh and drastic way. The elements were there and people easily went along with it because they had no other choice.
A situation like this can happen again and has. Take the Holocaust for example; one person’s actions were taken out on a group of people that could easily be blamed. Greed, hatred, and envy are powerful feelings that everyone experiences in their lives, and at times those emotions can overwhelm and control how people think, so it is very possible and likely that something like this can happen again. Events like this can occur at any time and in any society. It normally occurs during a time of need or a time that is very strenuous or hard on a community. When people are stuck in these hard times for a while they tend to look toward anything that can make things better; however, some measures maybe more extreme and damaging than others. Also when a radical idea begins to gain support, people like to jump on the bandwagon because nobody likes to be singled out. Being human you learn from your mistakes, so it’s interesting that throughout history events like this can keep occurring.
In the end, “The Crucible,” serves as an example of how human emotions can become so strong that they change the way a group of people think. Envy, greed, and hatred can all combine to tear apart communities at anytime and in any place. Something as simple as dancing in the woods escalated into a series of accusations of witchcraft, which landed people in jail and when it was all done with, killed 35 innocent victims. Examples like this would seem to be enough to make people change their ways, but time and time again we let our emotions get the best of us.