Many pivotal events lead up to the Salem Witch Trials. The trials ended horribly and conflicts were the cause. The Salem witch trials were the result of illogical mass hysteria and were caused by people with grudges who used the trials to harm their enemies. The play opened with the girls doing something that was considered taboo in Puritan society, dancing in the woods. The girls involved in this case were Abigail Williams, Betty Parris, Mary Warren, Ruth Putnam and a few others. Tituba, the slave of Reverend Parris of Barbados, was also with them. All the girls involved were arrested by Reverend Samuel Parris, the Salem minister. When Reverend Parris catches the girls dancing in the woods, his daughter Betty Parris becomes ill. Abigail Williams, Parris' niece, is questioned by Parris about what they were doing in the woods. Abigail finally admits that they were just dancing in the woods. Abigail reveals that there are rumors in the village that witchcraft is the cause of Betty's illness, and Parris becomes nervous. Parris calls on Reverend Hale, a witchcraft expert, to find out what's wrong with Betty. Later, Parris asks Abigail if they were summoning spirits in the woods and she denies it. He said he saw Tituba singing and saw someone naked. Abigail once again denies that there was anything other than dancing in the woods. Parris then asks why Elizabeth Proctor, wife of John Proctor, fired her from her job as a maid. Abigail says she was fired because she didn't want to be Elizabeth's slave and she calls Elizabeth a liar. Moments later, Mrs. Putnam enters and says that she sent Ruth Putnam to Tituba and told her to conjure dead babies in order to find out why Mrs. Putnam's baby...... middle of paper... ... current minister, Parris. During trials, Putnam always likes to remind others that Parris saw the girls in the woods, trying to associate him with their actions. As the trials continue, he accuses Rebecca Nurse of being the person who harmed Ann Putnam's dead babies. He also asked his daughter Ruth to accuse a landowner of witchcraft so that he could obtain her land. When all the major landowners were executed, Putnam received their lands. The Salem Witch Trials began as a small grudge on the part of a young girl and eventually grew into something much bigger. They gave other characters the ability to harm others, and also gave characters a chance to put aside their enemies for good. The Salem Witch Trials demonstrate the competitive nature of residents of a small village who want an advantage over each other and will instigate heinous acts to achieve this..