The Crucible Fear Analysis

American essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, “Fear defeats more people than any other one thing in the world.” Fear can be caused by many things and become many things, but the type of fear that causes people to stay quiet or even lie can be particularly devastating. A real life example of this fear could be as simple as a thief blaming their thievery on someone else; however, an extreme example of this devastation can be shown in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, where fear led an entire city to kill several of their own innocent people. Even though this story is technically historical fiction, it still provides fantastic scenarios of how fear defeats people. In act one a group of girls accused several people of witchcraft because they feared …show more content…
Events unfold as several officials of the town examine Betty, most notably being Reverend John Hale. During Hale’s visit one of the girls Abigail Williams made a “confession” that she dabbled in witchcraft because of the Hilton’s slave named Tituba. It is unclear whether or not Tituba attempted any witchcraft, but after being whipped and yelled at for a while she confessed and claimed she saw both Sarah Good and Goody Osborn with the devil. Abigail chimes in claiming she also saw Sarah Good as if it were an opportunity. The act ends with the rest of the girls who were there, including Betty joining in, naming off people they “saw” as if it were an auction. Abigail can be seen as the antagonist in this story as she is the main one who creates the fear in the village. The other girls fear Abigail because she has threatened to hurt them if they speak against her. Because of this the girls go along with every one of Abigail’s fantasies. Let’s not forget Tituba, she was punished into confessing to something she didn’t do. This was all just the …show more content…
John Proctor can be seen as the protagonist in this story as he is the one that, in the end, faces the choice to die or to lie. The court officials come to his jail cell offering to let him go if he confesses to witchcraft. These officials give the impression that that believe Proctor is innocent but are unable to simply let him go because of the law; so they ask John and his wife to agree to sign that they confessed. At first they agree, but John finds himself unable to give them the paper because he is struggling with his fear of death and his morality. While making his decision he delivers somewhat of a speech saying things such as “Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies! Etc.” Eventually he makes his final decision, ripping the contract in half, and sentences himself to