Letter 3: From Elizabeth to John after he is arrested.

My Dearest John,

            I feel terrible for all the events that have happened in these past few months. I never thought it would come to this. I am eternally sorry for what I did in court that day. You must understand that I did not tell the truth because I love and respect you. I did not want to ruin your reputation. I had no idea that you already confessed to the court. It is entirely my fault that you are imprisoned now. Had I told the truth, Abigail would be ruined and the town would be set free.

            John I must be truthful with you. Even though you confessed your affair with Abigail to me I never fully forgave you. I always had suspicion after that, and because of this our love suffered. I feel that it is my fault. I must have done something wrong. I was the one who drove you away, and into your sin. I now truly forgive you.

            When the horrible day of your execution comes, do what you believe is right. You have my forgiveness no matter what you do. Remember that there is no one in this town that can judge you. God is and has always been the only judge. I will love you no matter what happens. Follow your heart.

Love,

Elizabeth

 

Letter 2: From Abigail to Proctor while he is in jail.

Dear John,

            This was never what I intended. I never wished to get you mixed up in this matter. Please do not misunderstand me! I love you John, and I always will. You know that you love me too. You can deny it no longer. You have hoped all along that I succeed in ridding you of your wife so that we may not be hindered by anything in our love. I do not understand why you cannot admit your love for me to yourself. Do not regret what you have done, rejoice in it! It was you who showed me how fake this place is. You broke through the illusion of all the “Christian” men and women living their supposed holy lives. I have been taught to be holy all my life, but now I realize that everything is not as it seems. This town is all full of hypocrites, and it was you who taught me this. You set me free John, and I will never let you go.

            I have a plan. John, we can escape together! I am going to break into my uncle’s strongbox and take his money. We will be able to board a ship in Boston and be free. We will no longer have to be trapped in this evil town. This is a crazy and wild place, and I only wish to be with you. Let us run away together. We can put all of this behind us and start anew. Please come with me, I only did all of this for the sake of our love.

Love,

Abby

Letter 1: From Hale to Danforth after Proctor is accused and Hale quits the court.

Dear Danforth,

            I fear the safety of this village is at risk more then ever before. You have made a grave mistake in believing the lies told by the children. The fate of many innocent lives now rests in your hands, and I regret putting my faith in your court. I came to Salem eager to help rid it of witchcraft, and reclaim this town for God. I realize that I have succeeded at neither of these. I feel that I am at fault for the fate of John Proctor and his wife. I assumed that the court would bring justice to Salem, yet it has only brought tyranny. These foolish children control your mind, Danforth, and therefore they control the entire town.

            It is my greatest hope that God looks with mercy upon your soul, knowing that you killed innocent men and women. Also, you worsen the situation with concern for your own reputation. You refuse to free those who even you know to be innocent. John Proctor is no evil man. There will be chaos in the town on the day of his execution. If you set him free your reputation will be tarnished because the citizens would think it unfair to those innocent lives you have already taken. The town of Salem is caught in the chaos of a girl who has always seemed false to me, and she has tricked us all.

            It is my hope, and it should be yours too, that Proctor will confess, because I know you have not the courage to set him free. If you prove me wrong in this matter by allowing for his freedom, I will be most pleased. Even if his confession is a lie let us hope that God damns a liar less then one who throws their life away for pride. We both have failed Danforth. God is the only judge now.

Sincerely,

Rev. Hale

Crucible 9: 128-145

1) Danforth: “Postponement now speaks a floundering on my part; reprieve or pardon must cast doubt upon the guilt of them that died till now. While I speak God’s law, I will not crack its voice with whimpering” (129).

 

            This quote shows that even after Danforth realizes he was wrong, he still will not free the other innocent people. He does this for the sake of his reputation. He has already killed other citizens, and it would prove his ineffectiveness as a judge if he set some free. The other citizens would be outraged at him if this happened, and Danforth cannot deal with this. He is far too stubborn and will not drop the charges against Proctor even when all the others tell him to.

            The citizens who are still to be executed are also concerned with their reputation as good Christians. They do not wish to lie and commit sin, but they also do not wish to die. Hale and Parris try to convince them that this pride is not worth dieing for. They say it is better to lie and confess, than to die for the sake of lies.

 

Why can’t Danforth let them go if they all know what Abigail has done?

 

 

2) Hale: “ 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…Life, woman, life is God’s most precious gift; no principle, however glorious may justify the taking of it…for it may well be God dams a liar less then he that throws his life away for pride” (132)

 

            In this quote Hale acknowledges the change in his character. At the beginning of the play he judged accused people strictly because he believed in the ability of the court. When he realizes how controlled the court was by the lies of Abigail, he regrets what he has done. He blames himself for the death of Proctor.

            This quote also deals with the issue of pride. Hale tries to convince Elizabeth that it would be better for John to tell a lie in order to save himself. Proctor was too stubborn to convince in court, because he refuses to do the wrong thing in order to get out of this situation. Proctor then attempts to confess, but cannot in the end because it will be made known to all the other citizens. He does not want them to know that he gave into the lies of the court, and he dies for this.

 

Why can’t Danforth drop the charges because they know he is innocent? Why doesn’t Proctor confess then explain why he had to do it to all the others later on?

Crucible 8: 113-127

1) Proctor: “A fire, a fire is burning! I hear the boot of Lucifer, I see his filthy face! And it is my face, and yours, Danforth! For them that quail to bring men out of ignorance, as I have quailed, and as you quail now when you know in all your black hearts that this be fraud–God damns our kind especially, and we will burn, we will burn together!” (120)

 

            This quote shows that Proctor is driven to insanity by his rage toward the situation. He cannot believe what has happened, and when he himself is accused he can no longer contain himself. This quote makes him look even more like a warlock or wizard to the others, but this quote is really about what is happening in Salem. He is expressing his opinion that God is dead in Salem because God appears to have failed Proctor. He says that Danforth will regret what he has done, and that the will both burn in Hell together.

            Proctor has gone completely insane because the ‘motto’ that he held to be true has failed him. “Do that which is good, and no harm shall come to thee” (95). Proctor from the beginning has tried to tell the truth, and he believed that God would make everything turn out as it should in the end. When he realizes that doing what was right in the court did not lead to the problem being resolved, he cannot believe it and curses everyone.

 

Will Danforth realize what is going on because of Proctor’s exclamation?

 

2) Parris: “I tell you what is said here, sir. Andover have thrown out the court, they say, and will have no part of witchcraft. There be such a faction here, feeding on that news, and I tell you true, sir, I fear there will be riot here” (127)

 

            Parris is warning Danforth that citizens in Andover overthrew the court, and that it could easily happen in Salem. Parris says that a riot is likely to happen when Rebecca Nurse or Proctor is executed because they are viewed as good citizens. Parris recommends that Danforth postpone the executions.

            This quote is the only sign on hope so far for the innocently accused people in Salem. There were 91 citizens who signed the petition saying that these people were respectable citizens, and there are probably many more that disagree with the court, like the families on the 400 people that Danforth sentenced. A rebellion is definitely possible, because there are enough people to support the cause. The only problem is that if they go against the court and are unable to overthrow it, then they too will be sentenced.

            Parris also has changed his character a lot since the court scene. He now seems to be more reasonable. He is even interacting with Hale who defended Proctor. It is possible that Parris has changed his opinion of the court too a negative one. This may have to do with the disappearance of his niece.

 

Will the court be overthrown, or will the citizens be too fearful to take a stand?

Crucible 7: 98-113

1) Hale: "I cannot say he is an honest man; I know him little. But in all justice, sir, a claim so weighty cannot be argued by a farmer. In God's name, sir, stop here; send him home and let him come again with a lawyer–" (99).

This quote is Hale once again trying to stand up to Danforth. Hale now seems like a much more reasonable character. He realizes what grave thing he has done. He now knows that he convicted many innocent people to trial in a court that he is beginning to see is incompetent. He at first trusted the judgment of the court and even ensured Proctor that, if Elizabeth was truly innocent, then the court will set her free. He now is very regretful because he no longer thinks that the court will come to the right decisions. He is trying to save Proctor from making a big mistake, and he is trying to relieve himself of some of his guilt by at least saving Proctor. He cannot take back his actions because then even he will be suspected. He feels terrible because he put the lives of many innocent people in the hands of an unjust court.

Will Hale be able to help Proctor and Elizabeth, so he can save at least two of the innocent people he convicted?

2) Mary Warren: "I–I cannot tell how, but I did. I–I heard the other girls screaming, and you, Your Honor, you seemed to believe them, and I– It were only sport in the beginning, sir, but then the whole world cried spirits, spirits, and I–I promise you, Mr. Danforth, I only thought I saw them but I did not" (107).

This quote is Mary Warren defending her claim that she never actually saw any spirits. She explains that the influence of others around her affected how she behaved. This explains how witch hysteria is like a disease in Salem. It is spreading like wildfire, and only because of a small group of girls influencing the whole town. All of the citizens are peer-pressuring each other into this madness, because if one person looks like they do not believe in witches, they will stand out from the crowd and be accused. This draws all the people together in one long chain of accusation against the very few people who refuse to lie to just save themselves.

Mary Warren seems to be telling the truth, but the only problem is that Abigail makes a much more convincing argument to Danforth. Abigail is much more confident, and does not stutter like Mary. Abigail also has the power of her other friends to help her too. They will go along with anything she says because she threatens to kill them if they do not.

Will Danforth see through Abigail's lies, and believe innocent Mary even though she looks far guiltier than Abigail?

Crucible 6: 83-98

1) Giles: “My proof is there! If Jacobs hangs for a witch he forfeit up his property—that’s law! And there is none but Putnam with the coin to buy so great a piece. This man is killing his neighbors for their land!” (96).

            This quote from Giles is a daring accusation of Putnam. Giles thinks that Putnam is hoping his neighbors will be hanged just so he can buy their land. The court was trying Giles’s wife, Martha during this time, so he may be saying anything just to win her freedom, or Putnam may be truly trying to acquire more land.  This also came up earlier in the play, and it involved Proctor, Giles, and Putnam. In Act I Putnam said that his grandfather owned lots of the land in the area. Proctor then said that Putnam’s grandfather had a bad habit of giving away land that never belonged to him. Putnam may want his land back that he believed belonged to his grandfather. He may also be angry with Proctor for saying negative things about his grandfather. Putnam may now want revenge on all citizens living on what he believes to be ‘his land’.

 

Does Putnam really have the intention of hanging people just to get their land, or is Giles overreacting to the situation?

 

2) Danforth: “But you must understand, sir, that a person is either with this court or he must be counted against it, there be no road between” (94).

            This quote is Deputy Governor Danforth explaining to Proctor that he is either with or against the court. Proctor is suspected of disrespecting the court. This leads to suspicion of him and even more suspicion of his wife of witchcraft. This could be very bad for Proctor because when Hale was at his house he said some very erratic things that could be used against him as evidence later on. For example, both he and his wife claim they don’t believe in witches, and he ripped up the warrant. Proctor is not doing a very good job at making himself look innocent. He is very angry because he cannot believe the ridiculousness of the situation. However, this anger is coming across in the wrong way. He is mocking how absurd the accusations are, and showing lots of anger. He should be acting very innocent and respectful of the court if he wants to earn their trust and thus his wife’s freedom. Anger is not the way to go about saving his wife.

Will Proctor’s anger toward the situation make him look more guilty than innocent? When will he realize it’s a better idea just to agree with the court in order to free his wife?