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Salem Witch Trials In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

1076 Words5 Pages

The town of Salem is known for its infamous witch trials that took place in 1692. The gruesome trials resulted in the hanging of nineteen people and the imprisonment of hundreds. The nineteen that hanged were put to death for refusing to admit to witchcraft. In the trials, the only evidence proving the accused to be witches is the actions of a dozen teenage girls. The girls claim to be possessed by the people they are accusing as witches. They act out in court and convince the judges that the people they are accusing are witches by screaming, fainting, claiming to see the devil with the accused and acting terrified of the ‘witches’. This results in speculation and resistance against the courts. The story of the Salem witch trials is told in …show more content…

When Reverend Hale arrives in Salem to investigate the witch problem, he believes the girls are really possessed and the events of the trials begin. As Hale sees multiple people hanged for claiming innocence of witchcraft, he regrets believing that those accused were actually witches. Hale blames himself for the hangings and attempts to save the accused by getting them to confess to witchcraft. After learning Proctor has been sentenced to hang, Hale goes to his wife Elizabeth so that she may get him to confess: “I would save your husband's life, for if he is taken I count myself his murderer” (1224). Hale knows that Proctor is a proud man who will not be easily convinced to lie and admit to witchcraft. He turns to Elizabeth to convince Proctor to confess: he wants Proctor to live so that he may not feel guilty for such an influential death. However Proctor refuses to sign his name to the confession and accepts his death sentence. As Proctor goes to the rope, Hale pleads with him: “Man, you will hang! You cannot!” (1232). Hale genuinely wants Proctor to live and begs him until the very end to save his life with a confession. While Parris and Danforth want a confession to preserve the courts reputation, Hale wants Proctor to confess because he does not want to see him

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During the witchcraft investigation, Hale believed the girls and their assertions of witchcraft against other innocent women. Proctor confessed to Hale that Abigail told him that the sickness was not an effect of witchcraft that was when reverent Hale first considered the accusations might be untrue. After Proctor tells Hale that and agrees to testify, they learn that Elizabeth Proctor has been accused. Hale tells John that he will have to testify on Elizabeth’s behalf in court, but also seems to be amazed by the accusation of Elizabeth. Hale pled for patience and consideration with John Proctor in the courts.

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Near the end of play, both Hale and Parris are sick of executing, and they try to do whatever they can to make Proctor confess, even if it’s a half-hearted one, so they would not have to see any more of the tragedy and feel guilty for

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Hale acknowledges human’s mortality more so than Danforth who believes his word is the final say. Furthermore, Judge Danforth appears to only be concerned with having those who were jailed, confess to being witches whether they were or not. All those who do not confess to conspiring with the devil in his eyes are evil and those “who weep for [them, therefore] weep for corruption” (134). In contrast, Hale is desperate to save the innocent from their inevitable doom because he believes “life is God’s most precious gift” and “no principle [] may justify taking it” (122). He even encourages Elizabeth Proctor to “prevail upon [her] husband to confess” because “God damns a liar less than he that throws his life away for pride” (122).

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691 Words | 3 Pages

The first time Hale truly Stands up for Proctor is when hale says," But it does not follow that everyone accused is part of it."(Miller 513). He says this to Danforth about all the people accused and how some may be working with the Devil but that doesn’t mean all of them are. Hale now truly believes that the whole trial is a scam. At last Hale has realized what he has got himself into and now does everything in his power to stop it.

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Salem Witchcraft Trials In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

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Ever wonder what was so interesting about the witch trails and how many lives were lost due to people getting falsely accused and getting hung. In the book, The Crucible, the author was Arthur Miller and his book was based on the Salem witchcraft  trials during the modern times. Some  of the many flaws that Abigail showed throughout the book was spitefulness, jealousy, and lust.     Abigail shows the flaw of spitefulness when it comes to the point of her trying to be a part of John’s life or to try to get what she wants in life. “Elizabeth: She wants me dead.

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In January 1692, in the small town of Salem, Massachusetts, innocent citizens began to be accused of witchcraft. Two young girls, Betty Parris and Abigail Williams hid under furniture and contorted their bodies into unusual shapes. They screamed and cried out that the spirits of innocent citizens in the town of Salem were torturing them by stabbing them and trying to convince them to sign the Devil’s book. They were thought to have been under witchcraft’s spell, causing the young girls to accuse many people of witchcraft such as their own slave Tituba. More and more people of the town became afflicted with the same symptoms as Betty and Abigail, in the end causing over 200 people to be accused of witchcraft and all found guilty.

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Hale is saying this because he feels responsible that all the good people in salem are accused. He just wants them to confess so they will not die over something that is not real. Still in the jail, Hale says helplessly “ You know, do you not, that I have no connection with the court?... I come of my own, Goody Proctor. I would save your husband’s life, for if he is taken i count myself his murderer.

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1257 Words | 6 Pages

The Salem witch trials proved to be one of the most cruel and fear driven events to ever occur in history. Many innocent people were accused of witchcraft, and while some got out of the situation alive not everyone was as lucky. Arthur Miller the author of The Crucible conveys this horrific event in his book and demonstrates what fear can lead people to do. But the reason as to why Arthur Miller felt the need to write The Crucible in the first place was because the unfortunate reality that history seemed to have repeated itself again. In the article “Are You Now or Were You Ever”, Arthur Miller claims that the McCarthy era and the Salem witch trials were similar and he does this through his choice of diction, figurative language, and rhetorical questions.

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970 Words | 4 Pages

He begins to try to convince Proctor and others to sign documents saying they are witches so that they can go free. Hale has returned to Salem because he feels guilty for signing the death warrants of many innocent people as he says, "There is blood on my head!"(Miller 131). He pleads with the judges again to give him more time or to pardon them as there are orphans walking around Salem, and the judges seem to know they are wrong also. Reverend Hale's last attempt to save Proctor is to try to have Elizabeth convince Proctor to confess. Proctor strongly considers it but tears the confession paper up as he does not want to ruin his family name.

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926 Words | 4 Pages

(Miller IV.133), tearing the paper he signs. He rather chooses to die for his integrity than providing false confession. He was controlled by other people before, but this was the time that he got to control his life by himself. Elizabeth says at the end of the play, responding to Hale’s asking to convince Proctor to confess: “He have his goodness now. God forbid I take it from him!”

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1576 Words | 7 Pages

For the longest time Proctor tries to tell the truth but that only gets him in jail. Hale tells Elizabeth that if she wants Proctor to live then she should convince him to confess. Proctor is left with a difficult discussion. He can either lie and prevent himself from being hung or he can continue to tell the truth and die. Proctor decides to lie

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1008 Words | 5 Pages

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