Examples Of Guilt In The Crucible

How does guilt influence the decisions made by people? In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, guilt is one of the many themes represented. This consumes the characters and leads to many of the major conflicts in the story. Guilt is seen in the characters like John Proctor after his affair with Abigail. It is also seen in Reverend Hale when he encourages John to confess to save his life. Guilt causes each character to make hasty decisions and causes anger in themselves.

One character that represents guilt is John Proctor. John Proctor represents guilt when his affair with Abigail affected his marriage. John says “Abby, I may think of you softly from time to time. But I will cut off my hand before I reach for you again. Wipe it out of mind. We

Hale mentions to Danforth “Excellency, I have signed seventy-two death warrants; I am a minister of the Lord, and I dare not take a life without there be a proof so immaculate no slightest qualm of conscience may doubt it.” (104) Hale during the trial starts to feel guilt within himself. Reverend Hale asked the judge redundantly to not judge John based on the loose information that is brought forth to discredit him. Hale also caused many people to die by the noose because of these lies. This is what started the guilt. This mistake made him angry and it is already too late to go back on this mistake. Hale tells Proctor “Let you not mistake your duty as I mistook my own. I came into this village like a bridegroom to his beloved, bearing gifts of high religion; the very crowns of holy law I brought, and what I touched with my bright confidence, it died; and where I turned the eye of my great faith, blood flowed up.” (138) Hale’s guilt made him quit the court for the injustice that he so strongly thought could never happen. He lets John know that he could still be saved by lying. Hale brought his work to Salem for the savior of the town. Religion is something that he believes in very strongly and he preaches the Puritan ways. However, here it is shown that he lost hope in it, and to save himself from being overcome by his guilt, he wants John to lie. Lying is something that heavily goes against their religion and shows Hale's change in character caused by the wrath of