Fear is one of the most powerful emotions that controls the way human beings act in certain circumstances. In The Crucible a lot of fear is displayed which basically caused the problem. Abigail is afraid to for Reverend Hale to find out what she did in the forest and because of this she almost destroys the village. Also John Proctor of everyone finding out about the affair with Abigail and speaks up too late.
In the Crucible no one wants to gets blamed for anything so everyone just past the blame onto someone else to avoid ruining their reputation. Their foolish fears cause them into believing whatever they are told. For example, not once did anyone ever stop to ask why Rebecca wanted to harm Mrs. Putnam’s babies. In the trials everyone could escape punishment if they told on others. Only the strongest stood up to their judges. In the Crucible characters confess to practicing witchcraft and accuse others of doing the same which leads to the second type of accusation.
The first person to be interrogated was Tituba. Mr. Putnam’s threat to hang causes a lot of fear to the characters. Tituba therefore repeats any names suggested to her. Tituba represents all that were horrified into naming the witches. The pressure of fear affects Mary Warren. Mary is scared from the time she steps inside the court but she ends up doing well under cross-examination. She refused to remove her claim that the girls are very deceitful. She begins to tear up inside though as Abigail set the girls loose on her. Mary is caught up in this madness and she breaks down. She is frightened