The Crucible - Struggles in the Play The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, is a story that contains many struggles. These struggles are the result of the strict Puritan society in which the story takes place. There are two main struggles in the book. The first never takes place in the story, but is described several times in the first act and forms the basis for the trials. It's Abigail and all the other girls' need to be free and act like teenagers. The second is the result of process corruption. It is John Proctor's struggle to convince the townspeople that the accused women are not witches (especially his wife) and that it is instead Abigail who should be killed. In Puritan society, the role of the child is to remain silent and stand aside. When Abigail is considered a witch early in the story, Rev. Paris is very concerned about how it will affect her image, and not Abigail's fate. It is this society where Abigail feels the need to break free and act as a teenager should: freely. This is why he goes dancing in the forest. He is expressing his need to act his age and break out of the restrictions of Puritan law. Her struggle is to do what she wants in a society that believes in giving her orders. Soon after the trials began it became obvious that many people would be falsely accused by their neighbors as a method of revenge and as an outlet for their malice. When Abigail uses this case to attack Rebecca Nurse, one of Salem's top Puritans, John Proctor begins his efforts to stop the injustice. This increases when Elizabeth Proctor is tried and sentenced to death. This is John Proctor's fight. He must fight to save his wife, his community and ultimately himself. Additionally, he must also convince Salem's leaders that they are wrong to believe in Abigail. Although Abigail and Proctor are mortal enemies, their fights can be seen as almost identical. Both must change the way Salem's top architect does things. Furthermore, they both just want to live a normal life (however, when Abigail realizes she can't have that, she goes crazy blaming everyone). This is shown when John Proctor breaks some of the harsher norms of Puritan rule and that he doesn't like all the speeches about damnation given by Rev. Paris. Unfortunately, Abigail's fight goes awry and results in the deaths of many people, while John Proctor's courageous efforts are unable to save Salem from one of the greatest tragedies in American history..