Beatrice Whiting claims that all societies need some type of social control. In the movie, The Crucible, we see how fast people are to blame odd happenings on something completely bizarre like witchcraft and sorcery. Puritans in the The Crucible use this as their social control mechanism in order to feel safe from the horrors of the devil’s witchcraft. The society depicted in this movie is so religiously devoted that it was hard for them and the judges to see any realistic cause of the crimes leading them to believe everything that went against their religion was the devil. Another example of social control is Abigail Williams stretching the truth about the spirits she is saying, her way of controlling the situation was to make sure those around her knew she was being taken over by devil. This led those around her to feel sympathy and clear her of any accusations having to do with witchcraft. Therefore The Crucible shows support of how societies need some sort of social control.