Parris uses very strong language to express his anger and disbelief. “My own household is discovered to be the very centre of some obscene practice. Abominations are done in the forest…” His anger is fuelled by the fact that his enemies might use this as evidence to put him out of his job as a Reverend, a very respected position in the community.
The strength of Parris’ anger is also expressed through the use of simile. His question “That my daughter and my niece I discovered dancing like heathen in the forest?” is a good example. A heathen is an irreligious person, which, in Salem at that time, would have certainly been frowned upon. The community of Salem were Puritans, who followed a particular form of protestant Christianity and would not have tolerated any behaviour unfaithful to their beliefs. The suspicion of witchcraft was taken very seriously and eventually led to the torture and execution of many members of the community.
Another example of conflict between two individuals occurs in Act II. When Elizabeth mentions that Mary Warren is currently in Salem, Proctor becomes angered, demanding why Elizabeth did not stop her. Elizabeth explains that she was taken aback by Mary’s new found sense of importance as she in now an official of the court.
As Elizabeth speaks of the trial, she mentions that Abigail has brought other girls to the court to give evidence. She says of Abigail, ‘where she walks the crowd will part like the sea for Israel’, which is a reference to the Bible. It refers to the parting of the Red Sea, when Moses led the Israelites in their escape from Egypt.
References to the Bible are common throughout the course of The Crucible.
It reinforces the religious nature of the society, and gives the reader a feeling of a society which is different to our own, both in time but also in way of life.
Levels of education are indicated by the language used by the characters; some characters are made to be more expressive than others. For example, a speech of Proctor during Act II is as follows; ‘I have gone tiptoe in this house this seven month since she (Abigail) is gone. I have not moved from here to there without I think to please you and still an everlasting funeral marches round your heart.’ This shows that Proctor is a man who thinks deeply, and is more educated than some of the other characters. In contrast Mary Warren speaks more simply, ‘I hear a voice, a screamin’ voice, and it were my voice…’
In Act III, being the climax of the play, there is a lot of conflict and confusion. Evidence is being heard from various characters in an attempt to identify ‘witches’ in the community. An important point in this Act is when John Proctor accuses Abigail of being a whore. She denies this, and Proctor confesses to adultery, which he hoped would destroy her credibility as a witness. However, Proctor’s wife Elizabeth is called to the stand and denies this fact. This brings to light Elizabeth’s undying loyalty to her husband. Although she knows of Proctor’s affair with Abigail, she is too loyal to shame him in court. In response to Danforth’s question, ‘Did he indeed turn from you?’, she says ‘My husband – is a goodly man, sir.’
As in other scenes, this scene features prominent use of double negatives. For example, John Proctor says, ‘I never said no such thing’, and Giles Corey tells Danforth, ‘I will not give you no name’, and Judge Hathorne says, ‘You say you never saw no spirits Mary..’.
In this scene there is also evidence of Miller’s use of a rustic or countrified language. This is done by dropping the final 'g' from words such as dreamin', carryin' and nothin'. When being questioned in the courtroom, Mary says “she sees nothin’”. This also shows a lack of education when compared to the more formal way of speaking of such characters are Reverend Hale, and Judges Danforth and Hathorne.
The English spoken at the time of the events in Salem was heavily influenced by Latin. Most educated people would have used Latin for written communication and many important texts were available only in Latin. In Latin, the verb usually comes at the end of the sentence, e.g. ‘Up the stairs she climbed.’ Inverted sentence structures are used throughout the play. For example, in Act IV, Danforth tells Elizabeth ‘we come not for your life’, whereas nowadays we would say ‘we do not come for your life’; the same as ‘What think you, Mr Parris?’ would be said ‘What do you think?’
In the final scene of the play, Act IV, John Proctor chooses to die rather than losing his good name by admitting to witchcraft. Hale is begging Proctor to lie in order to avoid being hanged. He eventually confesses, but refuses to sign the confession, because he doesn’t want to blemish his name. The heated conflict between Proctor and Hathorne over signing the confession brings in the religious concept of goodness versus evil. For example, Danforth says, ‘You should rejoice to say it if your soul is truly purged of any love for Hell’, Proctor says, ‘They think to go like saints’, and ‘this woman never thought she done the devils work.’
The honesty and integrity of John Proctor are highlighted in this scene. His strong statements such as, ‘God does not need my name nailed upon the church! God sees my name; God knows how black my sins are! It is enough!’ forces the reader to reflect on what the true meaning of honesty is. Does Proctor need to sign a sheet of paper in order to publicly confess his sins? Or is his word enough?
The language used throughout The Crucible is designed to express the emotional intensity of the characters in their conflicts with each other and their society. Through these trials and tribulations and how the characters react to them, abstract ideas such as honesty, integrity, and loyalty are brought to light.
