This then moves to him coming to a swift and perhaps hasty conclusion without taking in all the evidence at the end of Act 1. Then through Act 2 we see Hales doubts grow as he realises he may be guilty of making rushed and thus poor decisions and the court’s accusations may be unjust. Not long after he first arrives in Salem, Reverend Hale’s words tell the audience a bit about his character and mentality. When Hale says ‘I shall not proceed unless you are prepared to believe me if I should find no bruise of hell upon her’ he is shown to be self-confident and unbiased. Despite all the opinions and views that are being aired, Hale is not swayed and announces that he will be the judge of whether there is witchcraft in Salem or not.
John honored his reputation when he decided not to sign the confession because he didn’t want to be remembered for being a wizard. John’s explanation for not wanting to sign the confession was, “Because I lie and sign myself to lies… How may I
(pg 22). Although Proctor has little time for Parris, he and Rebecca Nurse are concerned with the presence of Hale; they recognise that by calling him to Salem, it is almost an admission to witchcraft. However, Parris nor the Putnams, do not listen to reason. Also and most ironically, upon Hale's arrival he meets
These people all face troubles in their everyday lives, and are treated unfairly. Elderly people are viewed as worthless and this is not fair. Candy was the elderly person in the novel who feared for his future. This was because he was aging and showing signs of weakness, and he wasn’t sure if the boss was going to let him keep his job for much longer. Candy did however have compensation for losing his arm, which he had kept saved encase he needed it.
This makes Macbeth believe that no one will hurt him because he has never thought about the deep meaning of the prophecy. As a result, Macbeth would be killed by Macduff who is born by cesarean section. This vision makes Macbeth feel a false impression of safety. The third apparition is “a child crowned, with a tree in his hand”. It lets Macbeth “be lion-mettled, proud, and take no care who chafes, who frets, or where conspirers are”, which makes him even more evil to
Nevertheless, social hierarchy was not welcomed in the News Orleans anymore. Stanley hated the snobbery of Blanche and he was a ‘social leveler’ in his
Throughout much of the play, he kept that secret very deep inside of him and never talked about it with anyone. He felt horrible for doing it, and wished he could have undone his actions as they were very wrong and also against the laws of the town. One last good thing about Proctor was that he was an honest man. Towards the end of the witch trials, he publicly confessed his adulterated past about Abigail. Everything he told the court was of true nature and he did not intend to hide anything more.
If a person had a 'white name', it meant they were pure, innocent and hadn't committed any sins, but if a person had a 'blush upon their name' or their 'name' was blackened, it meant they had committed a sin, done something shameful or had done something against the church. The play looks at people naming names because if you were accused of witchcraft or even mentioned during one of the trials, you were sentenced to death. If the accusations were false, there was no proof to say that it is a lie. The court could only rely on the witnesses who they had seen 'signing their name in the devil’s book'. A person could lose their life if a witness mentioned their name in court.
Abigail is supported by her uncle Reverend Parris who further instructs Susanna to ‘Go directly home and speak nothing of unnatural causes.’ The use of imperatives ‘go’ suggests a tone of urgency and insecurity. Miller presents Reverend Parris as one of the people in Salem who sees sense as he denies the presence of ‘unnatural things’ however the reader later realizes that he says this because he wants to save his reputation. The reader is told that Reverend Parris has ‘enemies’ and they will ‘ruin’ him if they were to find that his daughter ‘trafficked with spirits in the forest’. This suggests that as a community they are not at peace, they have enemies that can ruin them forever. Millers use of stage direction demonstrates Parris’s anxiety ’his eyes going wide’ As a minister of the church he should not be feeling anxious however in the community where he lives he has to be anxious as news spreads fast and accusations start and then there is the beginning of a witch
John Proctor held a lucid understanding of the truth and acknowledged his wrong doings; his attempt to amend broken fences allowed him to be seen as an upstanding, moral and heroic character. Proctor: “…I have known her… A man will not cast away his good name…” As an attempt to save the falsely accused citizens of Salem, he publicly announced his indiscretions with Abigail William to the court. This can conclude that his fervour for justice, the truth, and to save Elizabeth is stronger than his pride as he forwent his public reputation; in his words, he gave up his good name in favour of justice and the truth. Proctor: “I cannot mount the gibbet like a saint. It is a fraud.