Fear And Paranoia In The Crucible

Telling the truth may seem like the right path to take, but in the Puritans’ society it leads to nothing but consequences. In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, reasoning and logic play a huge role in the society’s fear and paranoia. Proctor, Hale, and Giles are the main characters who have reasonable explanations for the chaos that has occurred. John Proctor is one of few characters that maintains valid logic towards the people’s fear and paranoia. In the beginning, Proctor gets in a dispute over whether Tituba, Sarah, and numerous others have dealt with the devil or not. Hale argues that since the girls confessed to dealing with the Devil, it must be true. Proctor then proceeds to say, “And why not, if they must hang for denyin’ it? There are them that will

Instead of accusing all of the innocent people of witchcraft, Proctor simply gives the explanation that the girls are lying to save their lives. After this, Proctor goes to court to testify his beliefs. In court, Proctor continues to argue with Hale and provides evidence that Abigail is guilty. “Is the accuser always holy now?… This warrant’s vengeance!” (Miller 77). Proctor shows that just because Abigail is the accuser, doesn’t mean she is innocent and that she is lying so she can gain revenge. Once again, the court ignores all of the reasonable answers that Proctor provides and agrees with Abigail’s theory of witchcraft. After further disagreement with the court, Proctor finally decides to confess his affair with Abigail to prove that she isn’t as innocent as she seems. This action sacrifices Proctor’s good name; which is sacred in the Puritan society. Even after throwing away his good name though, the court still denies the truth and puts Proctor in jail. Proctor, furious, gives his final speech before he is escorted away. “…when you know in all your black hearts that this be fraud-God damns our