The Crucible
The Crucible
The witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts in the early
sixteen hundreds was a time of uneasiness and suspicion.
Anyone could easily turn in his or her neighbor on the
ground of witchcraft. Someone could merely say their
neighbors spirit had attacked them during the night, which
no man can prove. Nevertheless, as a God-fearing community,
they could not think of denying the evidence, because to
deny the existence of Evil is to deny the existence of
Goodness, which is God.
The most important scene in the play was act two, scene
three, where John Proctor is able to talk with his wife,
Elizabeth, one last time. He decides that he will “confess”
to the crime of witchcraft, thereby avoiding being hung.
However, to accept what he said, the judge also requires him
to sign a written confession which states that he confessed
to the crime of witchcraft. Judge Danforth would post it on
the church door, to use Proctor as an example to get other
people to confess. That upset Proctor greatly, because
people would look down on him with disdain, and it would
blacken forever
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