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Salem Witch Trials In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

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The town of Salem is known for its infamous witch trials that took place in 1692. The gruesome trials resulted in the hanging of nineteen people and the imprisonment of hundreds. The nineteen that hanged were put to death for refusing to admit to witchcraft. In the trials, the only evidence proving the accused to be witches is the actions of a dozen teenage girls. The girls claim to be possessed by the people they are accusing as witches. They act out in court and convince the judges that the people they are accusing are witches by screaming, fainting, claiming to see the devil with the accused and acting terrified of the ‘witches’. This results in speculation and resistance against the courts. The story of the Salem witch trials is told in …show more content…

When Reverend Hale arrives in Salem to investigate the witch problem, he believes the girls are really possessed and the events of the trials begin. As Hale sees multiple people hanged for claiming innocence of witchcraft, he regrets believing that those accused were actually witches. Hale blames himself for the hangings and attempts to save the accused by getting them to confess to witchcraft. After learning Proctor has been sentenced to hang, Hale goes to his wife Elizabeth so that she may get him to confess: “I would save your husband's life, for if he is taken I count myself his murderer” (1224). Hale knows that Proctor is a proud man who will not be easily convinced to lie and admit to witchcraft. He turns to Elizabeth to convince Proctor to confess: he wants Proctor to live so that he may not feel guilty for such an influential death. However Proctor refuses to sign his name to the confession and accepts his death sentence. As Proctor goes to the rope, Hale pleads with him: “Man, you will hang! You cannot!” (1232). Hale genuinely wants Proctor to live and begs him until the very end to save his life with a confession. While Parris and Danforth want a confession to preserve the courts reputation, Hale wants Proctor to confess because he does not want to see him

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