Judge Danforth for example, a powerful man with extreme authority, he turns a ‘blind eye’ to the truth to keep his position and stay in power. He is bought and biased, looks more for his own benefit rather than helping others which should be the case. He abuses his position magnificently to stay in power.
Reverend Paris, also has a considerable amount of power in the village of Salem. His main concern seems to be keeping his reputation and he’s bent on doing anything and everything to keep his authority and be feared. He has controlling power yet refuses to shift position for the right cause.
John Proctor is an honest man who isn’t easily led. He is a hardworking farmer in his mid-thirties with logical thought. He is married, even tempered but is powerful of mind and body. Proctor is feared and respected in Salem, however he is no saint he has committed adultery with Abigail Williams who worked for Proctor as a servant but was subsequently fired when Proctor realized his mistake. He’s a good-hearted man who wants to make his wrongs right. An honourable man, who stands up for what is right and uses his wisdom against that which is wrong.
Abigail, a very cunning young woman, she has committed adultery with John Proctor and uses this to her advantage by blackmailing and threatening him. She blames lies on other to save herself, she plays innocent and acts naïve when in reality she is the cause of the disputes. She is evil and spiteful, cares for nobody but herself – she is simply selfish.
Mary Warren, one of the weak and afraid characters, who can be moulded through threatening, as she is easily intimidated. She sides with Proctor when he threatens her and then sides with Abigail when she blackmails her. She is very controlled as though she doesn’t have a mind of her own nor any opinions. Because her worth is less than a slave she grew up with no honour, respect, honesty or independence, this is why she is unable to see the wrong as well as Proctor and in the end sides with the wrong people out of pure fear. Unfortunately, Mary Warren is a timid and gullible character who plays an unwitting role in the outcome of the trial.
The audience will see the tension build up when they see such a combination of characters who all have very different agendas and are extremely volatile arguing in this type of situation.
In this essay, I will focus mainly on act 3. It begins in the courtroom the witch trial has commenced. There are of course two parties, those accused of being witches (John Proctor, his wife etc) and the accusers (Rev. Parris etc). Proctor has a tough job defending himself because he has to prove that the court is wrong, Danforth questions Proctor and finds out what kind of a man he is before he hears the case. Giles Corey testifies for his wife (she was accused of being a witch). Giles feels guilty since it was he who told the court that his wife, Martha, had been reading some books. The court believes that she was reading them books to learn how to curse people. Francis Nurse testifies and defends his wife, Judge Hathorne supposes they are the bad ones and is angered by their blatant denial so consequently orders Corey and Nurse to be arrested. Proctor forces Mary Warren to testify for the defence and she complies by saying she lied in the court before. John says the girls are lying about the witchcraft. This makes the judges very nervous because if Proctor is correct then they have killed many innocent people. Proctor presents his case, he has three depositions to offer for evidence, the first being a signed petition proving the innocence of the three men’s wives. The second statement comes from Giles Corey, he tells the judges that Thomas Putnam is a ravenous and greedy man who is obsessed with attaining land through any means. However, Putnam denies this and Corey refuses to tell the court who gave him this information on Putnam in fear of being arrested. Unfortunately, he is still arrested for contempt of court. From here we are taken back to Rev. Hale who has realised his mistake and has changed sides, now supporting Proctor. Mary is the third final element of John’s defence. John tells her what to say and that he is supporting her. But Mary Warren is afraid no one will believe her (that the witchery was all untrue and the girls had been lying all along) because she lied earlier. Danforth brings in the accusers led by Abigail. Williams says that Mary is lying, the judges begin to wonder how Mary could be ‘pretending’ to be a witch earlier. She is asked to demonstrate this ‘pretending’ for the court. She can’t. Abigail and Danforth argue when Williams is questioned and then pretends to be seeing Mary as a bird in the air from the devil. The rest of the girls on Abigail's side mimic her for their act to look believable. Proctor having no options left reveals his affair with Abigail. The men are horrified, John and Abigail are instructed to turn their backs while Elizabeth Proctor is bought in. She is asked if her husband has committed lechery. Not knowing he has confessed and thinking of his protection, her loyalty to John gets the better of her and she denies it. As she is led out John tells her he has confessed and they both realize that have lost completely. Abigail and the girls continue to act as though afflicted Mary Warren until she finally cracks. She accuses Proctor for having used her for the devil’s work and runs into the now welcoming arms of Abigail. Proctor and Giles Corey are led to the prison.
Language is extremely powerful in ‘The Crucible’. Miller’s words are used effectively and do not include anything unnecessary to convey the idea. For instance,
‘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 is a whore’s vengeance and you must see it, I set myself entirely in your hands.’
This quote consists of simple speech and tells a straightforward message. Proctor knows his mistake and regrets it, but he also knows he must reveal it to the court in order to stop the trials. Another example of a powerful quote is
‘A person is either with this court or he must be counted against it, there be no road between.’
This quote is very effective in a way Danforth is telling everyone their fate. He is saying those against the court are evil and will suffer the consequences for it, presumably death. he tells everyone in favour of the witch trials that they are victorious and have nothing to worry about if they carry on as they are doing.
The theme of this play I believe is a very interesting one. In my opinion ‘The Crucible’ is about rising over adversity, standing for the truth even to the death. there are many examples in the play to support my opinion. John in the beginning wanted to keep distant from the trials, he didn’t want to have a part whether good or bad, but when Elizabeth was arrested he was forced to take part. Throughout the trial, he stood for the truth. He confessed to his affair and was forgiven for his sin. He died a hero learning what truth really meant through his sufferings and struggles. there is also a great deal of hysteria in this play. The village’s people were easily manipulated by Abigail’s lies and came to quick poorly judged conclusions, which lead to killing a great many innocent people.
Act 3 is very strong most of the main things are revealed such as the court’s verdict, who is right and who is wrong, who will win and who will die. It is an extremely gripping part of the play, telling how Proctor was so close to victory (through his confession and Mary Warren) yet he still defeated by the envy of Abigail, or rather the loyalty of Elizabeth and the fearful Mary warren. He knows he will die but he also knows he has a chance of stopping this fate yet because of his decency Proctor decides he would rather face death than bring trouble upon his friends and everlasting shame upon his family. I also noticed that in act 3 the three main sides are shown clearly. The power hungry stand together, those full of jealousy, greed, hate and lust join and those who are willing to sacrifice themselves for the truth unite. The people in this play may have had different motives for accusing other people, and practically sentencing them to death, but the outcome of all accusations was more or less the same. Innocent people died and there was more than one person to lay the blame on. In almost every conflict, there is someone or some people to hold responsible. In this case, it was Abigail for her manipulative nature, the Putnam’s for their greed, Mary Warren for being weak-willed and Rev. Parris for craving power.
It makes one wonder how such a diminutive act of young girls could lead to such destruction of a community. How could innocent people be sentenced to death simply because some girls were playing and dancing? This is the power of religion and the annihilation it can cause if people refuse to tolerate any other explanation and follow it blindly. ‘The Crucible’ is a magnificent play, superbly written conveying one simple message. It is better stand for the truth and sacrifice yourself than to live with a lie. It reminds us that man is not perfect, and that we can make mistakes. However, even with these mistakes, we can cleanse ourselves and purify ourselves by making what is wrong right.
