The Crucible by Arthur Miller Essay Example for Free

The Crucible by Arthur Miller Essay From seeing the slight unease his wife was feeling, Proctor already felt under pressure when Hale then asked him if he too knew his Commandments. Hale: and you mister? Proctor: a trifle unsteady I am sure I do, sir. The reason why John is unsteady is not only because is he under pressure here by Hale but he knows he is repeating the commandment of Thou shalt not commit adultery. This is pressure in it self as John knows that he has in fact broken this commandment and his dear wife Elizabeth is still cold and unforgiving towards him. The stage directions then go on to tell us how Hale is worried about Proctor and his good wife Elizabeth. Proctor then realises he must sternly tell Hale there be no love for Satan in this house, mister to make sure his and his wifes names are not blackened in the village. These examples show the pressure that the people of Salem are under and what role they have to live up to. Hale goes on to use religious terms in more of his sentences. For example, my duty is to add what I may to the godly wisdom of the court, you surely do not fly against the Gospel, the Gospel-, God keep you both, pray calm yourself and so on. These all emphasize how religion is a part of everybodys role and lifestyle in Salem and that it is so greatly important to them. Hale uses these saying to protect his beliefs and make sure that no one can disagree or talk wrong of God and the Gospels. By being able to say I pray it, I pray it dearly to others, this shows that Hale must see himself higher than the rest of Salem in order to be bale to pray for them and also put a fear into them of God and that He is what can save them, if only they pray. The serious nature of the society can be seen in Act 1, in part of the Titubas confession. Abigail says aloud amongst all the hysteria, she often makes me laugh at prayer! The people in the room calm down as they are trying to take this in, but a person mocking prayer is far beyond their thoughts and understanding. This was taken very seriously. In another example, it is noted down how many times a year one comes to church. When Hale first starts to question Proctor he says to him, in the book of record that Mr Parris keeps, I note that you are rarely in church on the Sabbath day. As Salem takes this so seriously and the church has a major influence on the people of Salems life, Proctor sees this as a very big mark against his name and is quick to defend himself. Proctor slightly rebelled against these rulings and often worked on his land for several days at a time. This made the people of Salem very suspicious of his ways and he was often talked about. Such things indicate peoples expectations in such a society. The end of Act One shows Titubas confession and how Miller uses a certain technique of short snappy sentences such as, I dont compact with no devil! anxiety and the force of God to show the pressure that Tituba is under to confess whether it be true or not. The importance to save her life is much greater, and is the main thing that is forced upon Tituba to make her lie about conjuring spirits. We can tell this where Putnam says, this woman must be hanged! She must be taken and hanged! it is after this point that Tituba realises it is better to make a false confession and let Hale tear her free then to die. The irony of this is that it is better to lie in such a deeply religious society in order to save ones life, then to let your life be taken for God, which is the focal point of lifes of Salems citizens.