The Crucible Many years ago, the culture and atmosphere was amazingly different. The expectations of people and communities are extremely high. During the Puritan times, many laws and regulations existed pertaining to government, religion, and witchcraft. In the play, The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, the one word that best describes the Puritan beliefs and the community structure is strict. The Puritan government during the time of this play is a theocracy—a government of God, …showed first 75 words of 601 total…

…showed last 75 words of 601 total…town and the church rules the town as the government. Witchcraft is an act that should not even be thought of in Salem. The religion of the town is so strict that one may not even laugh in church. During the Puritan times, if the rules and regulations are broken, the punishment is made so severe that the other people in the town will be intimidated so that they will not commit the same crime.