Guilt In The Crucible

According to Revolvy, “A forced confession is a confession obtained by a suspect or a prisoner under means of torture ( including enhanced interrogation techniques) or other forms of duress.”  There are different aspects of forced torture.  Physical and psychological torture are both used to force a confession.  Physical force in the USA is rare during a confession because it has been outlawed (Redich). Many people will confess the truth if they are innocent because they have been coerced or they believe that it will be more beneficial to confess than to maintain their innocence (Innocence Project).  In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, there are many instances of forced confession. Throughout The Crucible, multiple people are accused of being a witch.  When the public and church thought someone was a witch, the person had two options.  They could confess and say that they were a witch or they could be hung and die.  This brings up the question, how does force confession affect the people in The Crucible?

He commits adultery by cheating on his wife with Abigail. Although this may be true, he atones for his sin by sacrificing his own reputation, something he highly values to save his wife. In addition, he stays true to himself and does not confess, so that the same sacrifice others had made would not be in vain. In addition, he shows a crucial emotion that is needed for redemption. The emotion he shows throughout the play is guilt. Guilt displays remorse, and remorse is only felt when the afflicted acknowledge their wrongdoing and feel the need to redeem themselves. Those who do not regret their actions do not feel guilt. Because John Proctor is an admirable character, he becomes trapped in his own cage of guilt, determined to save his wife and atone for his sin, even when he knew he would be executed for

John Proctor has a dark secret, He possesses a major flaw he has had an affair with Abigail Williams, and eventually he realizes what he has done to Elizabeth, He has committed adultery against his wife. Due to the fact that Proctor has committed adultery against Elizabeth, he becomes a tragic hero, and Abigail Williams shows that when she says “I know how you clutched my back behind your house and sweated like a stallion whenever I come near” (Act I, lines 423-425). John broke his marriage vows, but even though he regrets he has become a tragic hero. It’s too late to regret he has sinned, he has ruined his marriage with Elizabeth and now she is not pleased with him. Due to the fact that he has cheated on Elizabeth, his outlook in life is negative, when He tells her “I have not moved from there to there without I think to please you” (Act II, lines 159-161). The affair also caused Elizabeth to distrust John, who for seven months was trying to get into her good graces and is tired of her suspicion. Because of John's inability to control his desire and resist temptation, his life is being turned upside down by the jealousy and need for revenge of Abigail, marking the beginning of his downfall and path to becoming a tragic hero. As a result, the need for revenge of Abigail marks the beginning of John downfall.

When the play sets in action, John has had a past affair with his servant, Abigail Williams. His wife, Elizabeth Proctor, is very forgiving of his sin, but John has his mind set that he will not confess to anyone else, in fear of ruining his good

Guilt is often one of the hardest emotions for a person to overcome. Guilt is one of the few emotions that can hurt someone long after their integrity was damaged. Lying about something or someone, majority of the time makes a person ask themselves “ Did I make the right choice.” However, guilt can be a blessing and a curse. Guilt can show someone the truth behind their actions and make them act upon it. In contrast of that sporadically it makes situations worse. For example in Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible one of the main characters John Proctor feels as if he would feel too guilty if he signed his paper confessing his satanic works.He refuses to have this paper hanged on the church door, his emotions overtake him and he rips the document into two halves. Contradicting that statement, Abigail Williams a teenage girl, blames her use of witchcraft on a clueless slave named Tituba and she has no disregard for her actions. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller seems to prove that habitually people would rather hold other people accountable for their actions other than themselves.

In life, people make mistakes and karma usually comes back to bite them. But there are people who are willing to risk everything to fix that mistake, as seen in The Crucible, when John Proctor willingly gives his life for his good name and dignity. John Proctor went from an impulsive adulterer to someone who genuinely wanted to redeem himself. As the story progresses, we are able to see his fatal flaw decide his ultimate fate. In The Crucible, John Proctor’s character progresses from a sinful adulterer to someone who gains courage to voluntarily sacrifice his life in order to redeem himself and right his wrongs.

Often individuals over dramatize their opinion to convey their attitude. Similarly, Danforth often acts extreme in his attempts to rid witchcraft from Salem when he says, “If retaliation is your fear, know this- I [Danforth] should hang ten thousand that dares to rise against the law” (Miller 129). Danforth displays demagoguery while he explains to Reverend Hale why the executions must happen on schedule because he appeals to Hale’s passionate fear of witchcraft. Danforth’s response to Hale works in the scene to further build the audience’s perception of Danforth as irritable and urgent, yet precise, and support his determination as Deputy Governor. However, Danforth’s determination often misguides his rationality. Furthermore, Danforth supports the thematic topic of law in The Crucible and helps the reader understand the severity of justice Miller conveys throughout the play. Danforth’s role develops the play by illustrating the stubbornness of authority in Salem during the witch trials.

John was forced to make a serious decision for being a tragic hero. As Proctor came home late after finding out that people first been accused of being witches, Elizabeth believes that he was out with Abigail. He then learns that she may not trust and believe that he was not with the girl. That he was having an affair, which is true but he does not want her to know that. As they fought he says this to her, “Because it speaks deceit and I am honest! But I’ll plead no more! I see now your spirit twists around the single error of my life and I will never tear it free!” (Miller,1275) John can’t tear his guilt away from himself and that he feels very bad for making this big error of his life. John does regret having the affair and everything else bad he did. In the end, John Proctor had a troubled life which led to him having to decide whether to confess or not as was the hardest decision in his life.

In the strict religious theocracy of Salem in the year 1692, “patrols invigilated every single activity and redressed the slightest mistake” (Lejri 91). The society affords little natural privacy to the villagers and they thus must strive to conceal their wrongdoings or risk becoming socially ostracized. In Arthur Miller’s 1953 tragedy The Crucible, this atmosphere of paranoia inevitably results in an internalization of guilt that any villager must ameliorate prior to attaining a sense of tranquility. Miller traces protagonist John Proctor's relationship with guilt to reveal that, in a society that values strict adherence to established relationship norms such as monogamy, those burdened with guilt for failing to conform to such norms will suffer from its internalization until they finally take ownership of their actions and accept the resulting consequences. In the short term, they often attempt to redistribute their guilt privately. Should that not succeed, they will resort to more frantic methods of relieving themselves of culpability in the long term, even risking their own statures in the process. Ultimately, these tormented souls hold themselves accountable, achieving both intrapersonal and interpersonal harmony by taking full responsibility for their actions.

Many people underestimate the powerful affliction that is guilt. People think that if they simply turn their back on what they have done and to the feelings of remorse over the wrongdoing, these feelings will eventually subside. However, this is not the case, as the moment one turns his or her back on feelings of guilt is the exact moment it sneaks up behind that person and eats him or her alive. In 1850, Nathaniel Hawthorne published The Scarlet Letter, which tells the story of two people who commit adultery and the aftermath of their crime. Almost exactly one hundred years later, Arthur Miller published the play The Crucible, also set in Puritan society, which tells the story of the 1692 Salem Witch Trials. Though written years apart,

John Proctor also lies throughout The Crucible. Although he has come clean to his wife, Elizabeth, about his love affair with Abigail, it is still a secret to the rest of the citizens of Salem. John is severely ashamed of his act of adultery, and has trouble admitting it to himself. When Elizabeth suggests early on,”I think you must tell him[Hale], John” (Miller 67), Proctor evades admitting the truth to Reverend Hale of his affair even though it could have been a valid excuse for the Proctor family’s lack of attendance at church and John’s inability to say the commandment, “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” In Act III, when John finally is forced to admit his clandestine affair with Abigail to the court, nobody believes him. Because John has waited so long to confess his affair, it just looks like a poor attempt to save him and Elizabeth from the indictments. If John had divulged the secret of his affair earlier on, people might scorn him for his sin, but he would have evaded the allegations of witchcraft.

Guilt, a feeling that is product of knowing that you have done something bad, but if you could decide what was thought be wrong and what was thought to be righteous, could you ever truly sin? In the book, the Crucible, author Arthur Miller uses the character Judge Danforth to symbolize how power and political invulnerability can numb a person’s sense of justice. Judge Danforth is a character who is so bent on protecting humanity from injustice, (witchcraft), that he would forget reason, and reassure himself of his righteousness by killing those he determines to be evil. This can be seen when Danforth is interrogating Mary to determine whether she is telling the truth about the witchcraft accusations being a hoax or not. He argues, “And yet, when people accused of witchery confronted you in court, you would faint, saying their spirits came out of their

Judgement. We all do it, every day. We make decisions based on certain factors of a person. In the Crucible, a group of girls tell lies and act be-switched to accuse people they dislike. They act as if the convicted are Satan followers, knowing that the highly religious villagers would do anything to rid of evil.

In Act 1, Hale’s devotion to carrying out God’s law reveals his sense of obligation in eradicating the diabolic disturbances in Salem, despite the negative impact it may have on its citizens. Prior to entering the town, the Reverend’s motives lie in defeating the Devil, believing that this valiance will bring preservation to the Puritans. Although “his goal is light,” he believes the people of Salem have been “called upon to face what may be a bloody fight with the Fiend himself” (36). Despite wanting to face off with the devil, Hale stands strong in his belief that this will restore peace and prove to be beneficial. Consequences aside, his heavy

There once was a Reeve who was angered by a farmer’s teasing tale, so he tells a story of his own to mock him in return.