to the people of Salem. The comparison between the two time periods led to the writing of The Crucible. The destruction of human lives is a very evident theme in The Crucible because throughout the entire work almost everyone who was accused of practicing witchcraft was accused of whose lives were ruined. Even people deemed innocent and good citizens by the Salem community were falsely accused. Rebecca Nurse is a great example of someone who was considered very respectable and kind and who was falsely accused with little to no physical or practical evidence. Rebecca Nurse was accused by Mary Walcott, Mercy Lewis and Elizabeth Hubbard. While in court Rebecca Nurse tilted her head and the girls also followed the same motion as Rebecca Nurse and the people in court then indicted her for witchcraft. This is just one of many examples of the destruction of human lives; even the people who tried to defend Rebecca were found guilty. Martha Corey's life was also ruined by prosecutors' unfounded claims. In Act 1 Scene 2 Martha Corey is accused of witchcraft because she reads strange books and sells pigs that will later die and is accused of bewitching the pigs. Martha Corey's life has been ruined because of all the false claims that have been made here and this is a common theme because each character has their own crucible which usually leads to the destruction of their life. Another character whose life is ruined is John Proctor. John Proctor is sent to prison on charges of witchcraft. He is so angry that everyone is so blind to what the girls are doing and that the judges allow them to control the fate and destruction of so many lives. He is also believed to practice... middle of paper... the Devil and his followers and now he finally sees that there are none. Hope also plays a role in Reverend Paris' crucible when he asks Judge Danforth to postpone the executions. He fears that if Salem sees respectable people like John Proctor and Rebecca Nurse hanged, they will riot. He understands that they are innocent and although he wants to let them go for personal reasons, he still represents the hope in the Crucible. From the beginning all Reverend Paris cared about was his reputation and he knew that the witch trials were a big mistake and he shows his guilt in Act 4. Although these characters hope does not result in the their fate, it is good that in their destruction they still had something to cling to. Almost all the characters in The Crucible try to correct their mistakes at the end of the work, but by then it's all over.