Procter than tears the paper and knows he basically has crumbled his life. Hale puts his word in “Man,you cannot! you will hang!” (Line 293). Proctor fights the argument and says he can as his name will not be ruined due to the horrible job done by the court. As Hale deals with demonic arts and works with exorcisms he knows that these trials are false and that the village will deny to avoid hanging there is a lot of lives that are depending on Hales investigation.
No individual, however, deserves the suffering these accused witches are forced to experience. Their society turned its back on them; they are beaten, tortured, humiliated, excommunicated. These previously God-loving citizens were warped for straying from their religion’s ideals. At one point, Reverend Hale approaches Proctor and his wife begging the question, “. .
When Hale attends court with Mary and Proctor, so they can tell Danforth that all of the accusations are false, Hale starts to believe that the girls are all a fraud. Abigail and the girls begin in frenzy when they are accused of lying in the court and about all of the convicted they believe were partaking in witchcraft. At that point Hale becomes annoyed at the pity and belief that Danforth is giving them that he quits the court. Hale proclaims as he leaves, “I denounce these proceedings, I quit this court!” (1213). Hale’s confusion gets the best of him, but shows that he does not agree with the girls’ beliefs anymore that the devil has scouted the accused.
Angered by this, Proctor physically attacks Abigail and denounces her as a whore, and has to back up what he says with evidence. Overcome with emotion, and distraught of how far he allowed the court’s corruption to continue, he confesses to having an affair with Abigail and her plot to trying to rid of Elizabeth in hopes of replacing her. By telling the truth, John shows growth in his character, as he accepts that his good name must be ruined to protect innocent victims, ““I have made a bell in my honor! I have rung the doom of my good name – and you will believe me. Mr. Danforth” (page 116)!
Abigail uses the situation to her advantage to rid herself of Elizabeth so that she can finally be with John, despite the him telling Abigail that they will no longer have anything together. As the trials go on, John sees with increasing horror how the citizens’ and judges’ blind faith are bringing ruin to the town in their complete belief that the girls are telling the truth, despite lack of proof. Throughout the play, the character of different citizens are put to the test as the girls increasingly accuse more and more of the townies of being in league with the devil. The Crucible explores themes of envy, infidelity, greed, resolve, and fanaticism, among others. The tale of Reverend John Hale’s actions in Salem is a clear testament to why The Crucible, the test, is an appropriate title for the play.
By spilling all these accusations, Abigail turned Salem into a boiling pot of rumor and hatred. Even more so, it’s sad to think that Abigail did all of it simply because she wanted John back, and was angry at Elizabeth for being kicked out. On page 1157, Abigail's accusations are put on display, “I saw Goody Sibber with the Devil… I saw Goody Hawkins with the Devil… I saw Goody Booth with the Devil!”. Abigail couldn’t control her mouth, and ran around town accusing and denying to her content. Alan Kazdin talks about lying, “It is unlikely that lying will be completely eliminated, but with the right encouragement, it can be dramatically lessened”.
During both Salem and McCarthy eras, their moral codes were not exactly used the right way. Long term relationships would come to an end, friends would turn against each other, or others would simply point fingers without having actual evidence. Usually the persecutors would be easily persuaded one was either a witch or a communist member. The search of any suspicion of either being a witch or communist would eventually lead to “ a hunt not just for subversive people, but for ideas and even a suspect language.” (Miller 2). The people’s moral instincts were damaged because of the chaos created from the situation.
As the disasters that befell Salem were caused by the young girls ' hysteria of witchcraft, some of Miller 's critics perceived Abigail and her squad of followers as maleficent and vindictive driven by anger, cruelty and personal interests. Elizabeth Frayn interprets the hostility of the girls as a natural reaction to the negative view they receive in their society. For instance, Abigail is always regarded as a malicious girl who seeks to supplant Elizabeth as Proctor 's wife, and she is further motivated by Proctor 's threat to expose their affair if she does not clear his wife 's name ( Frayn 95). The girls are controlled by a fanatic society. Like Abigail, each of those girls has her own cause to be angry and simulate to kill her victims.
The Crucible still remains in society today because of the hysteria of Salem witch trials.The main character in this play is Abigail Williams, Abigail is very manipulative and wants everything to go her way. She is the main character and causes trouble everywhere she goes. The Salem Witch Trials is about hearings and prosecutions of people who were accused of witchcraft. In The Crucible Abigail is a no good villain. Abigail first commits adultery with Elizabeth Proctor’s husband John Proctor.
The girls blamed many people of the town of being witches and caused conflict all over the village. People in the village had power by influencing others to lie in order not to receive the consequences of witchcraft. Abigail shows power in the play by influencing the girls and what to say and do. She threatened all the girls she will hurt them if they open their mouth and say the truth. Abigail threatens, “Let either one of you breathe a word, or the edge of the other thing and I will come to you in the black of some terrible night and I will being a pointy reckoning that will shutter you.”(Act 1).