Examples Of The Hypocrisy In The Crucible

The distressed wife of John Proctor, Elizabeth, exclaimed “Do what you will. But let none be your judge. There be no higher judge under Heaven than Proctor is!” when she realized that her husband was to be hung for witchcraft immediately (Miller 1270). Since both John and Elizabeth Proctor’s ludicrous trials, they had spent three months separated in jail to await their imminent hangings. In the 1690s, the town of Salem, Massachusetts, was in a frenzy of “witch” persecutions of the innocent, and the Proctors were unlucky enough to fall into the mix of it all. Even though they had both pleaded innocent, the courts ruled them guilty, which led to Elizabeth explaining that the highest judge is God, not the courts. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller …show more content…
The ignorance of the court system and irony about lies can be seen through two key characters: Parris, the minister of Salem, and Deputy Governor Danforth. Parris is a greedy, self-consumed man who strives to protect his reputation over anything else — including his own daughter. When John Proctor was attempting to save his wife by shedding light on Abigail’s dishonesty, Parris loudly retorted “Excellency, you surely cannot think to let so vile a lie be spread in open court!” (Miller 1251). This exclamation is extremely ironic due to all of the lies that have already been told in the court. Abigail had just spent a massive amount of time lying to many about how she had been a victim of witchcraft. Abigail lied about Elizabeth being a witch, and as John was telling the truth, it was seen to be a lie. This ultimatum was seen once more throughout the play The Crucible. Satire is seen when Deputy Governor Danforth stressed “But you must understand, sir, that a person is either with this court or he must be counted against it, there be no road between” (Miller 1253). In Salem, the court was seen to be God’s work and if someone was not apart of the courts or held reservations about it, they were assumed to be doing the dirty job of the devil. This is considered satire due to the absurdity that one cannot be neutral, they must be for or against the courts. What if someone was ignorant about the …show more content…
During the first trial where John Proctor is defending his wife, he states “There are them that cannot sing, and them that cannot weep—my wife cannot lie” (Miller 1259). Earlier in the play he admitted to his wife “God help me, I lusted, and there is a promise in such sweat” (Miller 1259). John had committed adultery when Abigail was the Proctors’ servant, which explains why Abigail is out for Elizabeth’s blood. Due to the fact that John admitted his appalling crime to Elizabeth, he thought by admitting it to the court, and her confirming it, it would prove that she cannot lie and is innocent. He does such this; He confesses to Danforth and the deputy calls in Elizabeth to ask “Look at me! To your own knowledge, has John Proctor ever committed the crime of lechery?” (Miller 1260). Hoping to protect her husband, Elizabeth lies to the court and says no. This instance gives Deputy Governor Danforth all of the “evidence” he needs to convict both Proctors. The fact that Proctor lies about Elizabeth not lying, and then Elizabeth lying about John telling the truth proves that the truth in The Crucible is slim and hard to differentiate from fiction. With all of the confusion throughout the town of Salem, the only way to save oneself once convicted is to admit to witchcraft, guilty or not. John Proctor refused to confess until the morning of his scheduled