Final answer:
In 'The Crucible', Abigail Williams blames Tituba for the dancing and singing when Reverend Hale questions her. Prodded by societal pressures and fear of punishment, Abigail and the other Salem girls accuse Tituba of witchcraft, igniting the Salem witch trials hysteria.
Step-by-step explanation:
In the play 'The Crucible' by Arthur Miller, when Reverend Hale asks about the dancing and singing in the forest, Abigail Williams blames Tituba. The girls of Salem Village, including Abigail, confessed to studying the occult and claimed to be victims of witchcraft. Under pressure, they accused Tituba, along with others like Sarah Good and Sarah Osborne, to shift the blame away from themselves. This scapegoating of Tituba, a slave of Reverend Parris, was a pivotal moment in the hysteria that gripped Salem during the witch trials.
Tituba, after being whipped, named Sarah Good and Sarah Osborne as her accomplices. These accusations were based on the society's suspicions and intolerance of non-conformity. The actual cause of the girls' accusations, as seen in the play, often appears to be a combination of fear, desire for attention, and the societal pressures of Puritanical Salem.