Proctor is in serious danger of getting arrested as Cheever brings up the incident in which Proctor ripped up the warrant for his wife and the men debate the possibility that he is attempting to make an attack on the court. Proctor then presents a petition attests to the innocence of the accused women. Ninety-one people signed the petition.
Danforth says to Francis Nurse who is trying to prove his wife is simply the victim of scheming townspeople.
“This is a sharp time, now a precise time we live no longer in the dusky afternoon when evil mixed itself with good and befuddled the world. Now, by god’s grace, the shining sun is up and them that fear not light will surely praise it” This is one of the most important quotes in act three and should stand out, the actor should raise his voice and heartbeats should be heard in the background. But Francis Nurse completely convinced by the girls and believes that the court is doing the work of god.
They reveal that Elizabeth Proctor has claimed to be pregnant and when Proctor still refuses to drop his charges of fraud Danforth insists that he means to attack them. Parris tries to disparage these people and his arguments result in warrants being drawn up for all of them to be examined.
Thomas Putnam is brought in and it is revealed to him that Giles Corey has accused him of compelling his daughter to accuse George Jacobs in order to acquire his land. He of course, denies this. Corey refuses to reveal the source of this information for fear that this person will be arrested like those who signed the petition. He is charged with contempt of court.
Proctor speaks up at this point and compels Mary Warren to admit her involvement in Abigail’s game. The children are brought in. Abigail denies Mary’s charges and stands by her accusations. Proctor continues to try discrediting Abigail, when it looks like he is going to succeed. Abigail unleashes her strongest weapon. Abigail grows into power and influence; she seems to enjoy sending these innocent people their deaths. She takes pleasure in her lies and thrives on the attention and power that they bring her. All these are the aspects of being the evil character. This shows us how much power a sole individual can have. The centre of good can be labelled as John Proctor. He is considered the hero of the story because he fits into the points that make up a hero of a story. He does posses some fragments of evil in his soul. His intentions are to do well and that justice is served, but he wants this so badly, that he also turns to evil incentives to kill Abigail.
During the Salem witch trials religion was much more so than now, the answer to what people didn’t understand. So as a result, ministers and priests were extremely powerful because they were the only people that were “qualified” to interpret the rules of their religion. They were considered to be the voice of God. Abigail begins to act as though she is afflicted. The other girls follow her. Her accusing eyes roam until finally settling on Mary Warren. Mary Warren tries to fight Abigail but the favour of the room is quickly slipping away from her.
Proctor having no options left, reveals his affair with Abigail and tries to show her motivation to see Elizabeth Proctor condemned. The men are horrified. Proctor says to the men of the court in his last attempt to save his wife and prove the dishonesty of the girls.
“She thinks to dance with me on my wife’s grave! And well she might, for I thought of her softly. God help me, I lusted and there is a promise in such sweat. But it’s a whore’s vengeance and you must see it…………..”
Abigail Williams is the nucleus of all evil in this story. She is the one who triggers off the sense of hate in the act. She tempts Proctor to lechery and commits unlawful acts which all are against the puritan religion.
Proctor and Abigail are instructed to turn their backs as Elizabeth Proctor is brought in. They ask her if her husband has been unfaithful. Not knowing that he has confessed and thinking of his protection, she denies it. As she is led out, Proctor tells her that he has confessed it and they both realize that they are undone. Abigail and the other girls continue to act as though afflicted by Mary Warren until the girl finally cracks. She accuses Proctor of having used her for the devils work and runs into the now welcoming arms of Abigail.
Conformity is an idea that has plagued mankind for ages. The need to conform to the church’s views and that of the ministers is quite evident. The characters in the play find themselves in a very difficult situation. They must either turn their backs on what they believe in and lie by admitting to having had relations with the devil, thereby conforming with the church’s wishes, or they must follow their individualistic beliefs and refuse to lie. The Crucible is a great drama because it addresses the issue of conformity in American culture and questions the amount of power that we allow those to have whom are supposedly more educated than the majority of the population and are responsible for defining ideologies and beliefs by which we live.
Fire and heat is used as a symbol in act three. This important quote is said at the end of the act. This should be said furiously and very loud because he is angry at this point.
“ A fire, a fire is burning! I hear the boot of Lucifer I see his filthy face! And it is my face, and yours, Danforth! For them that quail to bring men out of ignorance, as I have quailed, and as you quail now when you know in all your black hearts that this be fraud-God damns our kind especially, and we will burn, we will burn together!” Here Miller makes the ultimate connection between the plays title the Crucible and the society he is portraying. The intense heat and pressure of hell is also present in the crucible, and both can be associated with the hysteria and suspicion of the people in Salem during the witch trials. Proctor and Giles Corey are led off to prison. Reverend Hale realizes the dishonesty of the girls at last and quit the court in protest.
In the act we notice that Abigail shows what she is capable of. Abigail really likes Proctor but Proctor likes Elizabeth. Abigail is evil and blames Elizabeth for being a witch so then Abigail can have Proctor. Elizabeth and Proctor depend on each other. Proctor shows that he loves Elizabeth and wants her to forgive him because he was stupid for having an affair.
One very important battle that is not very obvious in the story is with God and the Devil, being good and evil. The question is will the accused people be sent to heaven with the good God or will they burn in hell with the evil Satan? This is mainly what the whole play is based on. The puritan religion is the reason for why the people are being executed. The forces of good always tried to do what was best for everybody, even if it meant breaking some puritan laws. The evil group did whatever was best for them. They were greedy and had no consideration for others.
Through his text, he shows the frailty and vulnerability of human nature by showing how hypocrisy and hysteria can lead to times of suspicion and instability. He leaves us, his audience; to make our own judgement about similar periods in history and to ask ourselves the question- is it possible, or even predictable, that this situation will ever occur again?
A great drama is a play, which an audience can find personal relevance. Arthur Miller successfully related to its audience and left us with the messages that still echo today. The Crucible must be considered to be a great drama because of Millers skilful play writing which created a script that not only addressed the idea of conformity in American culture, but also illustrated the unreal amount of power that select individuals hold because they define the means in which we live. It also addressed issues, which were as important to Americans in the 1950s as they are today. Arthur Millers play took on very strong themes and took a stand against issues that are still pertinent to date. The Crucible is a play that no one will ever be able to ignore because of Millers ability to touch issues and themes that have plagued mankind throughout history and will continue to do so in the future.
This act had tremendous feelings with many inside twists hidden in the archives of the story. It was an act with emotional feelings, feelings of anger, hate and evil, yet feelings of manipulations, good and pureness. A fireball of guilt, evil and good compiled into one magnification. The act contained many scenarios of good versus evil. Every character could either be placed under good or bad intentions.
