It has been argued that Act three is the dramatic climax of The Crucible(TM). Discuss how far you agree with this argument.(TM)

In Act two we now move on to the rising action. The basic conflict of the false accusations in Proctors eyes, between him and Abigail becomes complicated as secondary conflicts interfere, including obstacles which frustrate Proctor's attempt to reach his goal of proving Abigail wrong about the witch hunt. One of these secondary conflicts are, Proctor's troubles with Elizabeth, when she is taken away as she has been accused of witchcraft by Abigail. There is lots of suspicion at the beginning of the act as there is a sense tat Abigail is in the room. Elizabeth begins to get suspicious, she cant take her eyes off of John. 'She sits and watches him taste it' this shows Elizabeth is questioning her trust for Proctor as once again we are told 'He eats. She watches him.' This is immediately after the first time, and then finally once again we are told 'She is watching him from the table' all this watching is within the first section of the first scene in Act two, the beginning is extremely calm, but all of Elizabeth's suspicion through watching him erupts soon after. This sense of suspicion suggests that their relationship is not as strong as it is made out to be. Since the confessions of Abigail and her troop began they have achieved an extremely unusual level of power and authority for young, unmarried girls in a Puritan community. They can destroy the lives of others with a mere accusation, and even the wealthy and influential are not safe. Mary Warren is so full of her newfound power that she feels able to ignore Proctor's assumption of authority over her. She uses her own power as an official of the court, a power that Proctor cannot easily deny. Proctor's sense of guilt begins to eat him away. He knows that he can bring down Abigail and end her 'reign of terror', but he fears that his good name will be ruined if his hidden sin of adultery is revealed. The knowledge of his own mistake makes him feel judged, but Elizabeth is correct when she points out that 'The magistrate that sits in your heart judges you. I never thought you but a good man, John- only somewhat bewildered.' Proctor has a love for hypocrisy, and, here, he judges his own hypocrisy no worse than he judges others. Hale, meanwhile, is involved in a struggle to get power and authority. He clearly enjoyed being called to Salem because it made him feel like an expert, even though he only managed to solve one case of witchcraft beforehand. His pleasure in the trials comes from his position of authority trying to define the guilty and the innocent. However, when he hears about Rebecca Nurse's arrest and the warrant for Elizabeth's arrest, it shows that Hale is no longer in control of the proceedings. All his power has passed into the hands of others, and as the craze spreads, Hale begins to doubt if the truth is actually being told, or it's all just a bunch of lies.

Act three is the dramatic climax, which occurs towards the end of the Act. In the build up to it the dramatic climax there is a final attempt by Giles, John, and Francis to save their wives exposes the extent to which the trials have become about specific individuals and institutions struggling to maintain power and authority. Danforth and Hathorne do not want to admit that they were mislead by a bunch of young girls, whilst Parris does not want the trials to end as a fraud because he will be accused of having a lying daughter and niece which would eventually end his career in Salem. Danforth and Hathorne react to Proctor's claims by accusing him of trying to undermine "the court," which, in theocratic Salem, is practically the same as undermining God himself. In order to get rid of Proctor's threat, Danforth and Hathorne apply their power to invade his privacy. Although Proctor has not yet been formally accused of witchcraft, Danforth and Hathorne, like Hale earlier, question him about his Christianity as though he were already on trial. They hope to find in his character even the slightest difference from Christian policy because they would then be able to cast him as an enemy of religion. Once accused, Proctor would have no chance of anyone in God-fearing Salem help him. The reaction of Danforth and Hathorne to the statement signed by 'ninety-one land-owning citizens' further demonstrates the power of the court to invade the private lives of citizens, and indicates the level to which the court believes in guilt by relationship. In the witch trials, guilt need not be proven by hard evidence, and signing a statement questioning the good character of those accused is enough to put him under the same suspicion of guilt. Over the protests of Francis, Danforth states that the signers should have nothing to worry about if they are innocent. The desire for privacy becomes an automatic sign of guilt. Parris then states that the goal of the trials is to find out what is not seen by others into people's private lives. Abigail responds to Proctor's charges of lechery with a refusal to answer questions. Although Danforth's patience with her arrogant manner is limited, the fact that a young girl can so refuse to answer a direct question from a court official shows that she possesses an unusual level of authority for her age and gender. Much of Act three has to do with finding out who will define innocence and guilt. Proctor makes one desperate bid for this authority by finally overcoming his desire to protect his good name, exposing his own secret sin. He hopes to replace his wife's alleged guilt with his own guilt and bring down Abigail in the process. Unfortunately, he mistakes the proceedings for an actual search for the guilty, when, in fact, the proceedings are better described as a power struggle. He exposes his private life to enquiry, hoping to gain some authority, but he does not realize that too many influential people have put energy into the proceedings for him to be able to stop them now. Too many reputations are at stake, so when Proctor's confession does eventually come it is too late to stop the accusations. All of this tension which built up to the dramatic climax of the play makes the climax seen worse than it actually is. When Proctor confesses lechery and Abigail denies it, the only way to decide who is telling the truth is to call in someone who is neutral and does not know what had just happened, so Elizabeth was brought in. The tension is also built up as Abigail and Proctor had to keep their backs turned. This shows isolation on Elizabeth's behalf which also build up t when she is asked ' To your own knowledge has John Proctor ever committed the crime of Lechery!' and she then answer ' No sir' to save her husbands good name in the village but she did not know that Proctor had already confessed. Therefore it seemed that proctor was lying to the high court, which also meant that he was lying to god.

The final Act of the play is known as the falling action. The climax has already taken place so now it is just calming down. Although it is meant to be calming down there are some tense moments, like when Proctor gets to meet his wife, Elizabeth. And he confesses to save his family. Danforth and Hathorne are beginning to get increasingly insecure. They do not want to, and ultimately cannot, admit that they made a mistake in signing the death warrants of the people convicted, so they hope for confessions from the remaining prisoners to protect them from accusations of the false verdicts. Danforth cannot pardon the prisoners, despite Hale's pleas and his obvious doubts about their guilt, because he does not want to "cast doubt" on the reason of the hangings. Clearly, the most important issue for the officials of the court is the protection of their reputations and the authority of the court. As a theocratic institution, the court represents godly and fair justice. To admit to twelve mistaken hangings would be to question godly justice and the very foundations of the state and of human life. The honour of the court would be shattered, and the reputations of court officials would fall with it. Danforth and Hathorne want Proctor to sign a confession that admits he is a witch. While they seek to take advantage of Proctor's reputation for honesty in order to support their claims of having conducted themselves justly, Danforth and Hathorne are not willing to believe Proctor. Proctor's refusal to take part in the ritual transfer of guilt that has dominated the play-the naming of other "witches"-separates him from the rest of the accused. His refusal to sign his name to the confession results in part from his desire not to disgrace his fellow prisoners' decisions to stand firm. More important, however, Proctor concentrates on how his name will be ruined if he signs the confession. Proctor's decision to preserve his good name earlier keeps him from testifying against Abigail, leading to terrible consequences. Now, however, he has finally come to a true understanding of what a good reputation means, and his defence of his name, in the form of not signing the confession, enables him to gain the courage to die heroically. His goodness and honesty, lost during his affair with Abigail, are recovered.

In conclusion, Act three is the dramatic climax of 'The crucible'. There are reasons to support this view. The Protagonist, John Proctor was doing well against Abigail and the witch trial until Act three, when he admits to lechery and Elizabeth denies it.