The Crucible by Arthur Miller was set in 1692 in Salem Massachusetts. Salem was a very tight-knit community, where your fate was decided on your status in the community and your relationship with God. Often, many people were accused of practicing witchcraft and worshipping the devil. These accusations ruined many reputations and created a level of fear within the community. The justice system during this time period was biasly based on the bible and the social status of an individual. Through this play, Arthur Miller uncovers the truth behind the Salem Witch trials and how deep the power of God could influence one's actions. Miller uses the personal and inner conflicts between John Proctor and Abigail to uncover Abigail's true desires and …show more content…
He often kept to himself and tried to never mix his private life with his public one. Like many in the community, he has committed sins that he would rather not share with others. For instance, the relationship between John Proctor and Abigail became presently known in Act 1. Abigail was a maid for his family and was later fired by his wife Elizabeth in suspicion of an affair. Despite his unfaithful actions, Proctor tried to retain his honor and fix his mistakes by ending the relationship with Abigail. He then confesses to his wife and tries his best to make it up to her, but by then it was already too late. He states “ Abby, I may think of you softly from time to time. But I will cut off my hand before I’ll ever reach for you again. Wipe it out of mind. We never touched, Abby.” (page 51) From this quote, you can see that John carried guilt about his relationship with Abby. He wants to put any feelings he had for Abby out of his mind and move on with his life. To John's surprise, his wife was later put on trial because of Abby saying she was a witch. Proctor now realized that in order to clear her name, he would have to sacrifice his reputation and tell the community about the affair. By the end of the story, John confesses to the Judge about his affair with Abigail and takes his own life. This shows how he would rather die a good man than live life with debt and grief. He has lived that life before, and would rather not do it