Theme Of Motivation In The Crucible

Arthur Miller’s message about human motivation in the crucible is very apparent in The Crucible. Throughout the entirety of the story the characters either provide a false representation of their true self, not to mention the characters are bluntly shown in the aspect of their integrity in which a fellow Salem resident is accused of Witchcraft under false pretense. Each individual in the story is propelled by their own personal gain. Whether it be based upon saving your life by falsely admitting your identity of a witch, facing death directly in the face if you tell the truth or creating the cause of conflict by being the accuser for revenge. In addition to the motivation and vindictive traits of those who accused them shows the true side of human motivations in the story. These events closely represent past experience of alleged association with the Communist Party. However, This only covers the majority of the citizens of salem, while …show more content…
In a number of scenes, for example when Proctor openly admits to having an affair with Abigail while in court, this is caused by his conscious and his guilt of his wife’s sentence. As a result Proctor has a choice to make - either preserve his secret regarding his affair with Abigail or sacrifice his reputation, and try to save Elizabeth’s pride. This further becomes an conflict of integrity. Proctor comes to realize that if he remains confidential with his secrecy, he will be acting in cowardice, betraying his wife after already doing so with Abigal as well as failing to resolve it in a moral way. Again in the story Proctor faces his integrity, but instead now facing possible death based upon other’s accusations. Through this method Miller is able to link the story back to his common theme of the importance of integrity for John Proctor must choose his life or