In Salem, the government system is theocracy. In a theocracy, the church makes and enforces laws, which were created through divine guidance. In this case, church officials occupy a high place in society. In Arthur Miller's The Crucible, it is this government that helps push the action forward. The problem that exists within theocracy is that it is partial and fails in the aspect of checks and balances. This means that the government is based on religious ideologies, so if one were to disobey the church, they would disobey the law and face severe punishment due to the overlap between church and state. A great example of this is the girls dancing in the woods. Since dancing is against their religion, the law also punishes the girls. And by disobeying their religion like that, there is enough evidence that they are dealing with witches. Another example is the Proctors. Although Elizabeth is deeply devoted to religion, John does not always go to church on Sundays, has not baptized his third child, and cannot remember all ten of the Ten Commandments. As a result, accusations of witchcraft against the Proctor family are inevitable. Reverend Hale wants to prevent this and says to the overseers: “God protect you both; baptize your third child immediately and go to Saturday prayers every Sunday; and maintain a solemn and silent attitude among yourselves" (70). If the Proctors hide their sins in their religious duties, the accusations will not fall on them. Because church and state are so closely linked in Salem, to waver in the church is to waver against the law.7. In Arthur Miller's The Crucible, the plot is filled with copious amounts of grudges between characters. It is these enmities that cause... middle of paper... Danforth as if she has a God-given omniscient power. The witch trials provide previously powerless people with an abundance of power that is unfortunately used to impose harm. Witch trials allow characters, other than girls, to gain the power to kill people by calling them witches, thus allowing herself to win land disputes, much in her favor. For example, in the ongoing altercation between Mr. Putnam, Proctor, and Giles Corey, one of them might benefit from accusing the others of witchcraft to finally resolve land disputes in his favor. The trials create the perfect backdrop to gain power for those who have never dealt with it before the trials. This unfortunate supply of power ends up in the wrong hands following the witch trials. And when power and jealousy mix, unfortunately those who hold power use it in myriad harmful ways.