The Crucible The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a play about the chaos and deceit that occurs under the pressure of a witch-hunt in Salem, Massachusetts. A crucible is an instrument found in science labs that is used to filter out solids from liquid compounds. The book was named after this object because the Salem witch trials were an attempt to filter out the truth in the chaos of the trials. After the discovery of several village girls, including Betty Parris, Ruth Putnam, and Abigail Williams, dancing and chanting in the woods, rumors of witchcraft sweep Salem Village and everybody gets caught up in them. Even the most respected villagers, such as Rebecca Nurse, are sentenced to