How Does Arthur Miller Present Death In The Crucible

Arthur Miller’s The Crucible aims to place characters in such difficult positions that they begin to consider death, just as Hamlet did before ultimately realizing “conscience makes cowards of us all.” By this, Hamlet implies that knowledge of the horror of death can persuade a human to do anything, as they are almost subconsciously obligated to avoid the premature coming of this inevitable end. Hamlet’s statement is relevant to The Crucible in that the townsfolk will seemingly do anything to avoid “social suicide” or the destruction of their carefully constructed reputations in the small community. In the play, John Proctor, Abigail Williams and Reverend Hale all experience the unrelenting pressure of preserving their image and weigh this

Proctor describes his name as irreplaceable and pleads with Danforth for he “cannot have another in [his] life.” (Miller 143). Also, he comments on his innocence and argues that if he were to sign the statement he would be signing himself to lies. Even though he says he has given Danforth his soul, he is still trying to preserve his name. Through these declarations, Proctor relays the dire importance of his reputation. His threat that there is no way to live without his pure name is most likely empty, however accomplishes the goal of describing how important it is that his reputation be maintained. Arthur Miller portrays Proctor as overly dramatic in the circumstance. Though Proctor tries to convince Danforth he would choose death over public humiliation, Hamlet’s philosophy regarding humans’ ultimate weakness, death, likely applies to John Proctor. Through Proctor’s perception, he is facing two unpleasant propositions, however, the audience is able to relate to the fact that, in the end, nothing is more frightening than

This is a clear example of when Reverend Hale’s character first showed his determination to not commit “social suicide” and let Abigail or other people manipulate him into accusations of innocent people. Through his vulnerable personality, Reverend Hale continues to accuse other guiltless townspeople because of rumors spreading in Salem. John Proctor when faced with death proclaims: “We are what we always were in Salem, but now the little crazy children are jangling the keys of the kingdom, and common vengeance writes the law!” (Miller 389). Reverend Hale finally comes to the realization that he valued his reputation rather than justice and he might have just killed innocent people because he let other people convince him otherwise. Hale shows his gullible personality throughout the play when he sacrifices others for the sake of his