The Crucible Essay, Research Paper

Act one begins with Reverend Parris praying over her daughter, Betty Parris, who lies

unconscious on her bed. Through

conversations between Reverend Parris and his niece Abigail Williams, and between

several girls, the audience learns that these

girls, including Abigail and Betty, were engaged in occultic activities in the forest lead by

Tituba, Parris? slave from Barbados.

Parris caught them and jumped from a bush startling the girls. Betty fainted and had not

recovered. During this session, Abigail

drank chicken blood to kill Elizabeth Proctor. She tells the girls that she will kill anyone

who mutters a word about what

happened. The townspeople do not know exactly what the girls were doing but there are

rumors of witchcraft.

John Proctor enters the room where Betty lies faint. Abigail is still in there and she tries

to seduce him. Proctor is a farmer

who has had an affair with Abigail a while ago, but now he wants to forget it.

Reverend John Hale is summoned to look upon Betty and the research the incident. He is

an expert in occultic phenomena

and he is eager to show his knowledge. He questions Abigail who accuses Tituba as being

a witch. Tituba, afraid of being

hanged, confesses faith in God and accuses Goody Good and Goody Osborne of

witchcraft. Abigail and Betty, who has

woken up, claim to have been bewitched and confess faith in God. They name several

other people whom they claim they saw

with the Devil.

Act two begins eight days after the discussion at Parris? house. Between act one and act

two, Deputy Governor Dansforth

came to Salem to oversee the court proceedings. Fourteen people have been arrested for

witchcraft, and there is talk of

hanging. Elizabeth Proctor asks John to go to the court and testify against Abigail and the

other girls. John doesn?t want to get

involved. There is tension between Elizabeth and John since Elizabeth has not forgiven

John for the affair. Marry Warren

enters. She was in court testifying against the townspeople. She gives Elizabeth a doll

which she has made in court. In the

middle of their discussion, Hale enters to question John and Elizabeth, suspicious of

witchcraft. Later, Giles Corey and Francis

Nurse enter to seek advice after both their wives had been arrested. Next, the marshal

arrives with a warrant for Elizabeth?s

arrest. Elizabeth was accused by Abigail for stabbing Abigail with a needle through a doll.

John Proctor protests but Elizabeth

is taken away in chains. Proctor demands Mary that she goes to court and testify against

the girls. He vows that he will fight

the proceedings, even if it means confessing his own adultery.

Act three takes place in court. Francis Nurse, Giles Corey, and John Proctor present their

case against the girls to Deputy

Governor Dansforth and Judge Hathorne. Proctor presents a petition signed by 91 people

testifying to the good character of

their wives, and Dansforth issues warrants for the questioning of all of them. Corey

charges Putnam on inciting his daughter to

accuse Corey of witchcraft in order get his land. Corey has a witness but will not name

him for fear of getting the man

arrested. Corey is arrested because of contempt of the court.

Proctor presents his case and a deposition by Mary Warren saying that she never saw the

devil or any spirits. Abigail says

that Mary is lying and she and the girls pretend to be bewitched by Mary. Proctor,

frustrated at the gullibility of the court, grabs

Abigail by the hair and exclaims to everyone that she is a whore confessing that he had an

affair with Abigail. Elizabeth is

brought in to be questioned about whether this is true. Elizabeth tells the court that John

Proctor never had an affair with

Abigail in order to save his name, however, this destroys Proctor?s testimony. Mary

crumbles under the peer pressure and

returns to Abigail?s side, accusing Proctor of being a witch. The girls pretend to be

bewitched by Proctor. Proctor accuses

Danforth of being afraid to reveal the truth. Dansforth acts more to keep the reputation of

the court rather than for justice.

Reverend Hale now sees the evil in the court and denounces the proceedings. Proctor is

arrested.

Act four begins in prison where Sarah Good and Tituba wait to be hanged. They have

gone insane and believe that Satan will

take them both to Barbados.

There is rumors of an uprising in a nearby town due to similar witch trials. The

townspeople are afraid of a similar riot in

Salem.

Hale and Parris are now terrified. They go to visit the innocent people in the jail and beg

them to make false confessions in

order to save their lives. Hale believes that the blood of the people who are being hanged

is on his hands. He asks Elizabeth,

who is now pregnant, to tell John to confess to save his life but Elizabeth will not. While

Elizabeth is talking to John, she tells

him that she has forgiven him of his affair and tells his that he can do as he will. John

Proctor confesses that he is a witch, but

will not say the others are. After a few moments, Proctor is fed up with the court, tears

up his confession, and goes out to be

hanged with Rebecca Nurse. Hales pleads that Elizabeth ask Proctor to confess, but she

says, ?He has his goodness now.

God forbid I take it from him!?