The Crucible Essay

In the play The Crucible, it is ironic that the more John and Elizabeth Proctor try to be honest and truthful, the more trouble they appear to get into. The play takes place in Salem Massachusetts in 1692 during a time when witchcraft is believed to be present. The Proctors are honest and hardworking people; yet they are accused of lies and witchcraft. John is accused of being a bad Christian, and it becomes apparent throughout the play that they must lie if they want to save their lives. Throughout the play we see that the Proctors honesty and integrity become their downfall.

We begin to see the irony when Elizabeth is questioned about witchcraft and tries to answer the asked questions honestly, but she appears to be caught in a lie. As arrests begin to occur after Abigail and the other girls are caught in the woods and disclose names of townspeople they accuse of witchcraft, Herrick and Cheever show up at the Proctor house to take Elizabeth because she is being accused, even though that day in court Mary Warren, a servant of the Proctors, has said that she took care of any allegation made against Elizabeth. When asked if there are any poppets in the house Elizabeth says no, but almost immediately Cheever sees one on the mantel. Elizabeth says that the poppet is Mary’s, but she is not believed. Mary admits to sewing the poppet while in court, but the poppet actually has a needle in the stomach, exactly in the spot where Abigail fell over in pain. It is a dramatic moment when this poppet is found, but this drama is increased when we see that there is a needle stuck into it. Mary Warren states that she gave Elizabeth her the poppet, but she did it with them thinking that there was nothing to worry about because she personally took care of the matter. The drama continues to unfold as it appears that Mary Warren is a good girl, but at this moment you begin to wonder if you can trust her. At this point one must wonder if Mary gave the doll to Elizabeth as a kind gesture or was it a set up to make her look like a woman involved in devil and witchcraft.

It is ironic that Proctor can recite nine of the Ten Commandments when asked, but the only one he cannot remember is, ‘Thou shall not commit adultery’. Just before Elizabeth was taken away, Hale visited her and John Proctor. In that time together John was accused of not being a good Christian. The reasoning was that John did not go to church every week and even on some occasions would plow on the Sabbath day. When Proctor is asked to recite the commandments he gets through nine of the ten. Interestingly the one that he cannot remember is, ‘Thou shall not commit adultery’ the one commandment that he clearly broke. It makes you wonder if he actually forget that commandment or did he pretend that he didn’t know it because he could not bring himself to say it out loud. His wife is in the room when he is questioned about the commandments; perhaps he does not want to remind his wife of his sins and is trying to protect her from the pain of having to hear it again. The drama builds later in the play as he must decide in court if he will admit to his affair with Abigail to try and prove her to be a liar. Ultimately he confesses