Sunday, October 7, 2012

Act 4 Discussion Thread

Today we are going to have a discussion thread based on Act 4 of The Crucible. I want you to respond to at least 2 others, make comments, using textual support, and I always want you to end with a question-intepretative or critical.
I do not want one word responses; I expect formal writing and intelligent thought showing your discerning observations and analysis. Please keep in mind the ideological statements and central questions as a means of helping you to analyze further. Fluency and conventions matter.

To start, please answer the following 3 questions; you must use textual support to back your response:

1. Who is to blame for what happened? Can the people of Salem's actions be excused by the cultural hysteria, or is it the individual's fault? Find evidence to support both sides.

2. As you read this act, what spoke to you the most or evoked the most emotion?

3. How does individual judgment play a role in this Act? Find one example and relay its significance.

When you finish, make sure you ask questions and begin responding to others. Textual support is mandatory!

79 comments:

  1. 1. believe that the girls that were under a "spell" are to blame because they are what started this whole thing back in act one with Betty on the bed not moving and acting strange. The people of Salem's actions can be excused by the cultural hysteria because the people went crazy like on pg. 48 when the girls started to blame random people and the when others started to blame. It might also be the individuals fault because no one would have started to blame without that one person to spark the fire.

    2. In this act Proctor was the one that evoked the most emotion for me because he had so much to say and everything he did to sort of rebel against the court like on pg. 141 when proctor said "You have all witnessed it-it is enough." In this passage proctor was rebelling against signing the paper cause the court had already witnessed what he said and that spoke to me the most because I am at a rebel stage in my life.

    3.Individual judgment plays a part in this act by being the final thoughts or emotions of the characters like on pg. 135 when Elizabeth said "I cannot judge you John." Elizabeth in the end could not judge Proctor on what he did and it showed the final thoughts and emotions that Elizabeth had for Proctor.

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  2. 1.) I believe it is not any single persons fault. The whole town was affected by witchcraft and things got quickly out of hand. Many were accused of being seen with the Devil and carrying out his ways so it is hard to put the blame on one person. Towards the end of the book I think Danforth is to blame because he was willing to hang everyone. There were talks of rebellion and he still wouldn't postpone his hangings. He was the reason so many perhaps innocent people were killed just because they didn't want to lie and confess. They had faith.

    2.)What spoke to e the most in the final act was how Proctor acted regarding his confession. He didn't want to confess but after talking to Elizabeth he really wanted his life so he confessed verbally. Parris was extremely happy but when John had to sign his name saying he confessed he would not. He finally does but takes the sheet demanding it not be posted on the church for all to see. "Damn the village! I confess to God, and God has seen my name on this! It is enough!" pg 142 says Proctor. He claims that he must keep his name if they've taken his soul. He ends up being killed. This spoke to me because John showed lots of faith and was so faithful that he ended up being killed for it.

    3.) Individual judgment plays a big role in act 4 because Danforth wants everyone hung who is accused. He denies the hangings to be rescheduled later on and causes anger throughout the whole village just based on his single judgments to kill people. Hale tells him the town is talking of rebellion but he denies that as well and uses his own judgment to still hang people which only angers the entire village. He killed people who have a significant role in the community and people that many knew were innocent.

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    1. A question I have is do you Andrew not believe. That maybe abigail had a big impact to the fact that the town is believing in witchcraft.cuase I believe if she didn't start the acussing then maybe people would have started pointing fingers?
      -srivas

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  3. 1. I think Abigail is to blame for the most part, there is a lot of blame to be spread, throughout john Proctor, Elizabeth, Mary Warren, and Danforth. The blame can be easily shared, its like a cause and effect type of situation.
    2."He were not hanged. He would not answer aye or nay to his indictment; for if he denied the charge they'd hang him surely, and auction out his property. So he stand mute, and died christian under the law, for he could not be condemned a wizard without he answer the indictment, aye or nay."(pg 135) Elizabeth Proctor says this while she is telling John about Giles death, this part was the most moving for me because Giles took his own life so his family could keep their farm, and he could ensure a safe place for his sons to live.
    3. Individual judgement plays a big role in this act, John Proctor judges himself quite a bit in the end. John asks Elizabeth if confessing is evil, she tells him that she cannot judge him: "Then who will judge me? suddenly clasping his hands: God in Heaven, what is John Proctor, what is John Proctor?" he is judging himself for something he already know is wrong but is asking for others judgement as well.

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  4. 1.) Abigail Williams is the person to blame for what happened because she started it all and lied to everyone in order to get other people in trouble. If Abigail never made up the suspicion of witchcraft then none of the events in Salem would've actually happened. Abigail believes she's doing something good and is helping god when she says on page 115, "Oh, Mary, this is a black art to change your shape. No, I cannot, I cannot stop my mouth; it's God's work I do." Abigail is trying to portray a girl who is getting picked on by the witches and all she's trying to be God's helper by telling who SHE thinks is a witch but in reality there is no proof. I believe that the people of Salem's action shouldn't be excuse because of the cultural hysteria. Although some of the people have been acting on mob mentality but it is still the individuals fault. Everyone in the society was blaming one another for something that they have done to them in the past that they're mad at for and can finally get justice for it in the worst way. For example, on page 71 Francis Nurse says what Rebecca Nurse is getting charged for, "For murder, she's charged! "For the marvelous and supernatural murder of Goody Putnam's babies."" I believe that Mrs. Putnam's anger and confusion towards her losing all her babies is coming out and she's directing the anger towards Rebecca Nurse since Mrs. Putnam doesn't know what else the reason could be.
    2.)In act 4, the person who spoke with the most emotion would have to be John Proctor. Mainly because you can see how he's finally forgiven himself and let himself go of the guilt he's been hiding inside. Proctor lies no more and on page 144, he says, "You have made your magic now, for now I do think I see some shred of goodness in John Proctor. Not enough to weave a banner with, but white enough to keep it from such dogs." This quote evoked a big emotion from me because you can finally see that he has forgiven himself of all the sins he's done and all that burden that he was holding has vanished. He is lying no more and is finally being the respected man that everyone knows him for.
    3.) In act 4, one individual role played a big part in this act and that would be Danforth's role. You can see in Act 4, how much authority he has in this play and that maybe it's used to much and that everything has to go his way or no way at all. For example, on page 131, Danforth says, "Pray be at your ease, we come not for your life. We-- (stage direction)*uncertain how to plead, for he is not accustomed to it.* Mr. Hale, will you speak with the woman?" This quote shows just how much authority he has and how things always go his way since he's not used to pleading to someone and that may be because he's never had to since things gone his way and that people only plead to him. Also, another example of how Danforth's judgment came into play would be on page 142 when Proctor doesn't want to sign his testimony, Danforth says,"Do you sport with me? You will sign your name or it is no confession, Mister!" This shows how stubborn Danforth is and if he didn't push Proctor so much to sign the paper and post it out for everyone in Salem to see than Proctor would still be alive. Danforth knows that with putting Proctor's testimony out for everyone to see his name would be ruined and Danforth is too stubborn to care and was obviously still mad that Proctor didn't confess or say much about the witchcraft.
    A question I'm interested in knowing is how did Elizabeth survive if the only way the other people survived was to confess? Because on page 69-70 she said how she doesn't believe in witches? Do you believe that Elizabeth took the easy way out and confessed to save her life?

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    1. She didn't confess, she is pregnant which gets her out of the hanging until she has the child.

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    2. Caleb is correcty and I think by the time she had the child the witch triles ended so she was not hung.

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    3. If the mother and the father of the child a witches wouldn't the child be a witch too or have evil or something in them?

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  5. 1. The beginning of the hysteria spread throughout this town started with the girl's dancing in the forest. However, I believe that the blame for the continuing of the hysteria is shared between John Proctor and Abigail Williams. Their affair was sin, but Abigail took her own hatred of Elizabeth and turned it into a motivation to begin condemning people that she had personal issues with. John had no motivation to confess his sins to the court, until they took his wife in for questioning. At that point, plenty of people had been condemned and the 'blame game' had already began to spin out of control. Abigail directly was the cause in the hysteria because she would threaten anyone who tried to expose her lies. In Act 3, pg 115, Abigail said "But God made my face; you cannot want to tear my face. Envy is a deadly sin, Mary." Abigail said this because she began to spin lies that Mary was bewitching the girls, as well before Mary was about to expose them. Indirectly, John Proctor could have stopped the condemnations because he knew the truth about Abigail, and delayed admitting it until the court was already in full swing in Abby's favor. After that point, and with the girls acting be-spelled, the town became gullible as to the real reason that the girls were acting bewitched: their own personal complications with the townsfolk.
    2. In Act 4, the part that created emotion in me was towards the end when John wouldn't let Judge Danforth hang the confession paper on the church. He was so worried about the good of his name, about how he was trying to do good, and although he sinned it was evil that he was confessing a lie, although it would save his life. The part that struck me was on pg 143, "Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies! Because I am not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang! How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name!" In this section, although he would be hanged he only wanted to have his good reputation in the end.

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  6. 1. In my opinion, I think that Abigail is to blame for everything, she is the one that started all of the accusations and she is the one that asked Tituba to help her in her crazy scheme to kill Goody Proctor. Yes she is the one that caused this to come about, and yes the whole town is to blame because of their hysteria and what they did to people they knew were good, but she is also the one that made it a problem for the whole community, she is the one that started blaming people that she knew would cause confusion and hysteria in the community. Specifically she picked out Rebecca Nurse in Act 2 Pg 71 for killing babies by unnatural cause. She knew that Rebecca was a well looked at woman and that there was no one that would think of her badly until she said that she saw her with the devil gave them an impossible explanation.
    2. What personally made me the most upset was when they said that Abigail had disappeared, Scene 4 Pg 126, you know that she was going to be accused of lying and that Goody Proctor was not getting killed because she was pregnant which must have made her angry, that one she couldn't be with Proctor till she was dead and that they were having another baby showing that they still love each other, and so she ran before she could get in trouble.
    3. I found that individual judgement really had everything to do with how others judged you, in this act you couldn't really see someones judgement of their selves without seeing someone else causing it in the first place. We saw it with Parris when he told the others about Abigail and he kept trying to come up with excuses that kept the accusations off of him and on the two girls. Act 4 Pg 126-127. This was seen also to the point that Proctor would give up his life just to keep the honor and pride in his name. Scene 4 Pg.142-143.

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  7. 1. In my opinion, Abigail is the one to blame for everything that happened in the town of Salem. Abigail is the one who began the accusing of witchcraft due to her own fear of being in trouble and losing a good name. Abigail does this in order to move the focus on others and off of her. I do think, though, that once this happens, all of Salem is in hysteria so it becomes that not only Abigail, but other townspeople, need an answer to the events, and so those people begin blaming witchcraft on almost every one, no matter how good of people they truly are. I do not think that these actions cannot be excused by the cultural hysteria, because the blaming began with Abigail which started false accusing and false confessing. The townspeople had nothing else to believe.
    2. Act the end of Act 4, when Elizabeth cries to Hale, "He has his goodness now. God forbid I take it from him!" provoked the most emotion because Proctor became so fed up with the court when they were asking him for more names, that he ended up being hung. Proctor had finally come to good terms with Elizabeth, who was pregnant, and Elizabeth had forgiven him for the affair and they shared equal blame. Just knowing that the court knew if some one false confessed, their life could be saved. Yet then if they didn't, their life was taken away when there was no proof of witchcraft is hard to understand. It spoke to me that Proctor wanted to stand up for what was real.
    3. Individual judgement plays a role when Parris and Hale visit the innocent in jail who wait to be hung. They try to convince the people in jail to false confess, and they honestly know that the people can be saved this way. Parris judges Proctor after he confesses, that his confessing is not enough, and he needs to give more names. By doing this, Proctor develops anger and doesn't even want to stay alive. Danforth even tries to save Proctor- but they don't let him live without more names and signing of papers.

    Why doesn't Proctor just make up more names for the court to save his life?
    After Proctor his hung, do you think the court will realize that false confessing has become too big?

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    1. He doesn't make up names because of the same reason he wont confess on paper, he doesn't want to spoil others names and be responsible for forcing people to have to spoil their own names or die.

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    2. Proctor's wife is a victim of the scapegoating due to Abigail and is living what it feels like to be in that situation of either spoiling your own name or being condemned to death he doesn't wish for anyone else to go through that.

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    3. I feel that after proctor is hung that the court will not and never will realize that false confessing has become too big. They will never realize this because they will never want to put the blame of all those people dying on their shoulders.

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    4. Proctor wouldn't put more names up because he knows what kind of person he is. He's a respected man in Salem, and his introduction in the story on page 20 says, "he had a sharp and biting way with hypocrites." This quote shows how Proctor dislikes hypocrites and he's sick of being a hypocrite, so he already confessed about his affair with Abigail and is finally free of all his guilt and wasn't going to start again by lying. He doesn't want anybody's name to be ruined either.

      In real life, Abigail and Proctor never had an affair. So why did Miller create this new relationship in the book?

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    5. Proctor didnt make up names because he is against all of this. He knows it's fake and that everyone is false confessing but he doesn't agree with it.

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    6. Proctor wouldn't make up names to save himself because he feels morally upset at his own sins to commit more. He also couldn't bear ruining another's reputation, and his own for lying.

      Do you think if all of the townsfolk were to not participate in blaming that the witch trials would end sooner? Or would more people have been hanged for not confessing?

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    7. @Rachel I think that the trials might not have ever happened if the blaming did not happen cause thats what started the trials in the first place.

      Why did the court need to have Proctor sign the paper even though they heard him confess?

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  8. Would people in our current culture give up their life and more to save their pride in their names?

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    1. No, because I feel that they would lie to save there lives because people in our current culture are really materialistic and would not want to give that up.

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    2. I dont think in our society anyone would give up their life just to keep their name clean. In our day in age so many rumors and false things go around already, people aren't as concerned about it. It has become socially acceptable to have rumors going around as many people lie now a days. Back then it was a huge sin to lie and so people didn't do wrong things for they didn't know how to lie about it. In order to dirty their name they had to commit a pretty bad event and it was seen as terrible, while now a days you can simply deny it or ignore it whether it is false or true.

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    3. Society now a-days don't care about self respect or reputation by others. For example, now some people pride in being hookers or strippers. At those times in Salem, society really cherished their name and they were kind of like Puritans in a way where they had to respect God very highly and everyone had to appreciate him or your name was ruined. But in society in our present day people wouldn't give up their life's, people today would lie their butts off to save their life; we as people now-a-days don't really have to much of a guilty conscience as they did back then. We've grown stronger. But eventually the guilt might make our views change like it did for Mr. Hale. I considered Mr. Hale a good man.

      In the whole book, would you consider Mr. Hale a good man? Why or why not?

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    5. I don't think anyone would give up their life just to keep their name clean because in todays society rumors and lies are spread leading names not be clean and people aren't really do anything to prove them otherwise.

      What is so good about spreading rumors and lies? Why do people enjoy in ruining other peoples reputations?

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    6. I don't think so because our society is more materiealistic then they were and in todays society tabloid magazines try to smudge someones name but no one does anything to fix it. Plus people today don't really care about things unless it has to deal with them.

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    7. Would people today blame eachother like they did in the play?

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    8. I think it is the same as it was in Salem because some people would give up any name just to save their own lives and others would be like John Proctor and not give any names. It just depends on the person and the morals that they have. It's not fair to say that every person in our society would say names because some, maybe not a lot, but some would not do that.

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    9. If something like the Salem witch trials happened today, do you think we would still react the same way, even if we still had the history of the actual witch trials in our past?

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    10. I don't think anyone would give up their life just to keep their name clean because everyone in today's society will fight back even when they know they are wrong. Also rumors spread so quickly now a days that no one knows who to really believe. Plus I feel that it's natural for our society to start rumors about other people.

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  10. 1. Abigail and the girls are to blame for what happened in Salem, Massachusetts. The reason that they are to blame is because they are the ones that manipulated the whole thing and accused a lot of people. The peoples actions can be excused because back then they didn’t know any better. They did not know enough about science to come up with any logical reasonings for this problem. The webpage activity that we did earlier in the semester stated that the reason for all the side effects that supposedly were caused by witchcraft might have actually been caused by a fungus that was common in the area of Salem, Massachusetts.

    2. The part in act 4 that spoke to me and evoked the most emotion out of me was when proctor is signing the paper but then takes it away. The reason that it stands out to me the most is because proctor says, “Because its my name! Because I cannot have another in my life!”(Miller, 143). When he said this it really made me think about reputation then and now. Our reputation is a big part of who we are. No one wants to have a bad reputation, especially proctor. He does not want to sign the paper and when he does he takes it and rips it because he actually cares about his reputation.

    3. Individual judgement plays a huge part in act 4. It is a big part because it decides who lives and who dies. Danforth judges everybody and wants all of them killed. If you are judged in this story then you are killed. If there was no individual judgement then there would be no hysteria in Salem.

    Do you think that this hysteria could ever happen in the present day? Explain?

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    1. In my opinion this hysteria could never happen in the present day. Most of the towns and cities we have now are larger than Salem, so more people would be arguing with the hysteria and be stepping in with their opinion. If something like what happened in Salem was happening today it would be all over the paper, internet and tv reports. The whole world would basically know about the events (or at least the united states) and everyone would have something to say about it. Experperts would be called in to examine the sickness or, situation that was in place. The experts today are far more knowledgeable than Mr. Hale (the “expert" called in at the time of the hysteria in Salem) and with many of them a reasonable conclusion would be reached. Many more scientific explanations exist today, than compared to the time The Crucible took place, so people today usually don’t tend to jump to the conclusion of witch craft.

      If The Crucible was set in a modern setting, how might the story change?
      How would the character of Proctor change? How would the significance of Hale and Parris change now that we have the seperation of church and state?

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    2. I feel like this hysteria could maybe happen in present day because peer pressure is taking over some people letting them not has voices anymore. Some people are so focused in fitting in that they will say or do anything to make sure and some people are scared to share their opinions because they will feel judged so they will just agree to agree.

      Why do we let feeling judge take over who we really are?

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    3. Hysteria could easily spread in today's society. I would like to think that it wouldn't begin over something as ridiculous as possible witchcraft, and maybe have substance to the hysteria. A natural disaster, or other acts that would provoke cultural hysteria would spark fear into people, and that fear would cause rash decisions. The Cold War for example created a certain hysteria where people thought that their own neighbor could be communism, people were blamed and similar occurrences happened.

      Could the Salem witch trials have been prevented? If they were prevented, how would our society today be changed?

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    4. @Rachel I think the trials could have been prevented by the town not freaking out and making illogical assumptions to what was happening to the girls. Also i believe that if they didnt happen we would not have any of the witch hunts that have been present in our society.

      How many witch hunts have happened between the salem witch trials and today?

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    5. I believe Danforth had the power of individual judgement determining who lives and who dies but I think the accused also had individual judgement. Danforth had control over it all but ultimately if you confesses you were free so the people had their own individual judgement. Proctor at the end of the book says, "I speak my own sins; I cannot judge another." pg 141 which shows that he believes he can only judge his own sins. He cannot point out the sins of others when he has his own. Individual Judgement in Proctors situation is good.

      Should one man be able to determine life or death? What makes Danforth qualified? Is the individual judgement by the court what causes the hysteria in Salem?

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    6. I don't believe that this event could happen in modern day. For one the justice system is much more advanced. Also i think that people are, for the most part, not as religious so there wouldn't be as much constant fear of going to hell. This fear is what in the play drives all of the victims to not confess and not lie.

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  11. 1.Who is to blame for what happened? Can the people of Salem's actions be excused by the cultural hysteria, or is it the individual's fault? Find evidence to support both sides.

    Abigail and Betty are to blame for the Salem trials. The trials would not have exist if the girls wouldn't have used citizens of the community as scapegoats in the first scene in order to get out of trouble for dancing.
    “ ABIGAIL: …' I saw Sarah Good with the Devil! I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil! I saw Bridget Bishop with the Devil.'
    BETTY: staring too: I saw George Jacobs with the Devil! I saw Goody Howe with the Devil!'”.(PG.48)”
    These few simple lines were the starting of the witch trials in Salem. These girls brought fear within the city; and because of the time period, adults believed that children where to innocent to lie. The words of these girls brought upon the trial, and later combined with their actions in the court, they furthered the lies and made this all seem so real to the entire town.
    “DANFORTH: ' I have seen people choke before my eyes by spirits; I have seen them stuck by pins an slashed by daggers. I have until this moment no the slightest reason to suspect that the children may be deceiving me.'”
    The girls have used such a strong act of persuasion that the town, including the judges, believed that there was something actually there hurting them. This town fell victim to the girls and became a cultural hysteria. The folks of the town, besides these two girls, are not to blame. They were persuaded so greatly that In their minds what they were doing was justified. The girls are to blame for sending Salem into a Cultural hysteria.


    2. As you read this act, what spoke to you the most or evoked the most emotion?
    When reading act IV I was shocked by how willing these characters would be to end their lives instead of lying and admitting to witch craft. There social appearance and religious ties are such huge factors in living that they would rather die then falsely admit. Comparing this to today's day in age, where people will do almost anything to stay alive, and many don't even have significant religious value, it was very strange to imagine.


    3. How does individual judgment play a role in this Act? Find one example and relay its significance.

    Self judgement plays a huge role in this act as their strong wills to not confess, to not spoil their good names inevitably ends in their death.“PARRIS:Now she sits with him, and her sister and Martha Corey and two or three others, and he pleads with them, confess their crimes and save their lives,” (PG.125). The prisoners could easily falsely plead guilty and be set free, but they are unwilling to allow other to look down upon them; for they will then look down upon themselves. Another example of this is with Proctor. Although he falsely pleads guilty in attempt to stay with him wife; when it comes to signing the paper that will be hung before the church, Proctor denies. Later he then rips up the signed paper, “ PROCTOR: I have confessed myself! Is there no good penitence but it be public? God does not need my name nailed upon the church! God sees my name; God knows how black my sins are! It is enough!” (PG.142). Proctor will not have his name be soiled within his village because he himself already has judged himself. Signing the paper was a huge wrongdoing to him and he is already judging himself within the small window of time that has passed. He will not have others see him in such a light in which he already is having trouble seeing himself.

    Is anything we have done in our lifetimes going to be considered cultural hysteria?

    Do you think the judges in that time were put out of their job?

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    1. The judges were most likely not put out of their job. They were reacting that way because of how crazy and scared the town got. They were doing what they thought was protecting the town.

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    2. I think that a lot of what happens now will very likely be considered cultural hysteria, especailly for our generation.

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  12. 1. The girls dancing in the forest are to blame for everything that happened. On page 20 Abigail is telling all the girls to lie and say all they did was dance, after that everyone got suspicious. Their actions could be excused by cultural hysteria because they are all very religious people and don’t even allow dancing because they think it's bad.
    2. In this act the part that spoke to me the most was when John Proctor was talking to his wife. It is terrible that they are still going to hang him even though he has kids at home and one on the way. On page 135-136 he is going against everything he believes in thinking about confessing so he can stay alive with his family.
    3. Individual judgment played a huge role in act 4. On page 135-136 John Proctor was thinking about confessing to witch craft so he could stay alive. It went against everything he believed in so he knew it was the right decision to not confess, even though he would be hanged.

    If John Proctor had decided to confess how would the town have treated him after?

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    1. To Bianca, I Don;t believe that confessing would ruin his name, i think since the entire town was going through the same thing, the town would have understood. I think John Proctor was hard on himself and judged himself and had too much pride to risk his name.

      How would people of our society respond to something like this if it happened in this day in age?

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  13. 1. Individuals in Salem caused the outbreak of the cultural hysteria. Individuals started the problems leading to cultural hysteria and the hysteria carried the fear though Salem. Mr. Hale and Abigail are the two biggest characters that started the events that took place in Salem. Salem, being a puritan culture, looked to the priests of the town for advice and the answers. When Mr.Hale came to Salem and declared that witchcraft was the cause of the girls’ sickness and insanity, almost all of the town believed him. Mr. Hale was reputable man and he was known as a great priest from a neighboring town. His credentials of catching a witch before made him even more believable. Mr. Hale himself even believed he was the best person for this job. “He felt the pride of the specialist whose unique knowledge has at last been publicly called for.”(pg33) Mr.Hale set off the cultural hysteria in Salem, but Abigail instigated, and manipulated the situation into much more. Without the the lies and the show started by Abigail (and soon followed by other girls) the town would not have been so afraid. The actions performed in the courthouse by Abigail and her followers were taken as proof by the town of the devils work. This put what the Salme townsfolk thought was truth into the stories of witchcraft. They now had a reason to believe that he devil was in Salem; blame started and the hysteria erupted. The town was believing, if one started to believe in witchcraft so would another person. The culture of Salem broke out in hysteria which fueled the events that took place. Only a few saw past he tricks and lies, only a few could overcome the hysteria. In the end these were that people that were killed.

    2. The event that spoke to me the most in act four was when Proctor started to confess, but then ripped the paper up. Proctor was conflicted. He didn’t know if he should lie to save his life and give the judge and Parris the satisfaction that he was a “witch” or if he should lose his life. Confessing would mean saving his life, but losing his soul. Proctor thought confessing he was a witch was a evil thing, that God would not allow. However, he wanted his life, so he began to confess. I thought it was noble that Proctor did not mention anyone's name in his confession. When Danforth asked “Did you ever see anyone with the Devil?” Proctor repeatedly replied “I did not.”(pg140) However in the end Proctor was not willing to sacrifice his name by singing the paper. “Proctor, with a cry of his whole soul [said]... How may i live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name!”(pg143) He ripped up the paper and was killed, but with possession of his soul and his name.

    3. Individual judgement plays a large role act 4 because people are trying to decide if they should confess or not. The accused that are about to die judge themselves and what kind of character they have if they decide to confess. Is it good or bad if they confess? They wonder how they will be judged by others, and start to judge themselves how they think other would judge them. Proctor is judged in act four by himself and by the people around him. He judges his confession in a negative way and is so ashamed of what he is doing that he “turns his face to the wall” (pg139) to avoid eye contact with Rebecca. Proctor is afraid of Rebecca’s judgement, while he is also judging himself. He replied to questions “through his teeth [and] his face turned away from Rebecca”(pg139) Rebecca judged him by saying “Oh, John - God send his mercy on you!”(pg140) This judgement makes Proctor start to realize what he is doing by confessing.

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  14. To Caleb, I don't think that our name is worth our life in our culture, i mean it might be for a few people, but considering all of the bullying and things like that we have in our society, I don' think people would give their lives for their name.

    Do you think Abigail left because she did not want to see John Proctor die? Why or why not?

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    1. That is a good point, I never thought of that. I thought that Abigail ran away to protect her name. People were starting to believe that the witchcraft was not true, and I think Abigail sensed that no more good was to come from the witch trials. She knew that even after the “witches” were dead people would begin to question her and her motives. The truth was out, thanks to Proctor everyone knew about the real Abigail. Abigail was discovered to not be as innocent as people thought - her name was blackened. She might have fled to start new, in a different town where her name could be clean and not black, as it had become in Salem.

      Why is a persons name so important during this time and in this play? Why does one work so hard to keep their name pure, white, and clean? What does this suggest about the time period?

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      I think that they value a persons name because of the way their society is based. They think that all children are inosent and don't lie but if a child has to grow up with a name that has been asociated with witchcraft they won't be thought of as truthful.

      Why is it that John Proctor was the only one that was more concerd about the truth than protecting his name throughout the entire play

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  15. 1. I believe that Abigail Williams is to blame for everything. She is the one that started accusing of witchcraft to aviod a bad name making a hysteria throught the town of Salem. After this I think everyone is involved in hysteria and not just an indiviual fault because everyone was blamed creating no other explanation to believe whats the truth.

    2. The part in Act 4 that stands out the most to me would be the part that is representing Proctor signing the paper and he yells; “Because its my name! Because I cannot have another in my life!”(143). When he stated this it really made me connect with the world today and what reputation means to us. When Proctor ripped the paper up after he signed it he noticed what most people notice today which is reputation has a huge impact on us today and people would do anything to hold onto a good one.

    3. Individual judgement plays a huge roll in Act 4. Danforth wants everyone dead and if you are judged then you will be killed creating hysteria through out the town and letting there be individual judgement in Salem.

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  17. 1.I don’t think there is one person to blame but one person is a big part as to why all the hysteria happened. Abigail Williams was a main contributor to why the Salem witch trials happened. I think that the whole town of Salem’s actions can’t be excused because they caused a lot of pain to innocent people to protect their own lives. I think that no matter what the way that the court was ran no one could get away innocent without having to tell others that they saw someone else with the devil. In the end of the book the court was to blame because they were hanging people that wouldn’t confess to witchcraft but saved the ones that confessed.

    2.The ending of scene 4 really got to me because it had John Proctor about to do what he was against in the whole play but then at the last minute decide to tell the truth and be hung instead of smearing his family name. When Elizabeth Proctor was holding on to the bars to help her stay up instead of running after her husband to talk some sense into him was really touching because she knew there was nothing else she could do to talk him out of it and in a way she knew what he was doing was right even though it cost him his life.

    3.Individual judgment is very important in this play because it happens everywhere. Proctor judges himself when he false confesses to witchcraft. He is so ashamed of what he was doing he couldn’t even look at Elizabeth or Rebecca. Before he confessed he wanted Elizabeth’s opinion but it wouldn’t matter because his opinion of himself would change and he didn’t want to be judged by Rebecca and everyone else in town. But the reason he confessed he was lying was because he was the one that was judging his actions the most.

    Would it have been better for John Proctor to go along with the confession? Why or why not?

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    1. I think it would have been better for Proctor to go along with the confession because then he could have lived and maybe been able to see and raise another child in his life.

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    2. Britt- I agree that you the only way to get off clean was to throw someone else under the bus and say you saw them with the devil. The entire court system in Salem is wrong because they have no proof for anything. If you dislike someone you can easily accuse them and potentially have them hung. The justice in Salem simply is not fair. One man has the final choice and that is Danforth. "I will not receive a single plea for pardon or postponement.... I should hang ten thousand that dared to rise against the law." Says Danforth pg 129. He has complete power and if you do not confess your hung which is not fair.

      Is confession the best way to determine guilt? Is the poor justice system part of the cause of hysteria in Salem?

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  18. Britt- I agree with you that Abigail had a large contribution to the hysteria in Salem. The court was ran in a way so that no one accused could have lived without false confessing, so I agree with you there. Yet, if Abigail didn't even begin to accuse others and would have just admitted to her part in the beginning, would the court have even gotten involved as much as it did with so many people accused? If Abigail had just confessed and got i trouble, I feel like no one else would have accused anybody else in the town and would the whole thing have been solved quickly and simply?

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  19. 1. Who is to blame for what happened? Can the people of Salem's actions be excused by the cultural hysteria, or is it the individual's fault? Find evidence to support both sides.
    There is not just one person to blame for the events that took place. Everyone started pointing fingers at one another when all of the accusations began and they all caused the huge issue for themselves. There isn’t just one individual to blame for the situation because it was Parris who found the girls and they began to get accused of witchcraft and of course they denied it which caused the whole situation to get worse. I believe that what happened, happened because of cultural hysteria and the natural tendency to deny and blame another person.

    2. As you read this act, what spoke to you the most or evoked the most emotion?
    The part of this act that spoke to me the most is how John Proctor got himself caught in a big web of lies and in the end, couldn’t prove his innocence. Proctor’s affair with Abigail began the whole mess but, at the same time, it sort of ended it as well because he dug himself into such a deep hole and eventually couldn’t get back out. This part of the act evoked the most emotion for me because John, in a way, determined his own death. Elizabeth was not aware than John had confessed and said what she thought was the right thing to say. John would not allow Danforth to hang up his confession on the court door which ultimately got him hanged.

    3. How does individual judgment play a role in this Act? Find one example and relay its significance.
    Individual judgement has played a huge role in this act. So many of the people on trial know that they are being wrongly accused and although confessing would save them from being hanged, they don’t want to say they’re innocent because they are fearful of others looking upon them. Another example of this is shown with John Proctor. He feels so guilty that his wife is on trial because he knows it’s his fault because of his affair with Abigail, but when his only option to save her is to sign a paper and hang it on the door, he refuses to destroy his reputation more than he already has.

    Is it better to confess to something you didn’t do just for the sake of saving yourself or is it more important to keep a good reputation?


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    1. Ineque- I think depending on the situation you should protect yourself.

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  20. 1. Abigail Williams is to blame for this whole situation because if it weren’t for her confessing a bunch of lies and blaming her own faults on others, none of this hysteria would have ever happened. “Let either of you breathe a word, or the edge of a word, about the other things, and I will come to you in the black of some terrible night and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you.”(Pg. 20) Abigail sought herself out to be the one who was in charge and had the most power over others such as Mary Warren and Proctor; if either were to disrupt her opinions or actions she would go out of her way to make them suffer. Although maybe Abigail is not the one to blame because everyone in the town of Salem was blaming one another for actions that weren’t true or were never convicted. Everyone kind of had a sense of self defense that if they did get accused for, that they could just lie and pretend to confess by saying they saw the devil because they knew that confessing would save them rather than kill them. “Nothing’s spoiled by giving them this lie that were not rotten long before.”(Pg. 134)

    2. John Proctor really spoke out to me the most because he really showed is true character. He pleads to his wife for forgiveness, after he knows what he has done wrong. He is ashamed for his actions and mistreating towards his wife and others, and tries to make it better by saying what he really feels. He explains himself when he says this, “I cannot mount the gibbet like a saint. It is a fraud. I am not that man. My honesty is broke, Elizabeth; I am no good man.”(Pg. 134)

    3. I thought that Danforth played the biggest role of individual judgment in this act. Everyone thought that Danforth’s opinions and thoughts were much more accurate than any other persons because he was the man with the most authority and power. But because Danforth couldn’t tell who was lying or telling the truth, he pretty much had to go with his gut and use the evidence he had for the town’s safety. "Do you sport with me? You will sign your name or it is no confession, Mister!"(Pg. 142) Danforth shouts to Proctor by forcing him to sign his name for the confession of seeing the devil, but proctor denies signing it because he’s worried about his name not being known for that. Danforth’s judgment has everything to do with Proctors death because it was his person decision to prosecute Proctor.


    How is that Abigail gets away with everything when she was the one who started this hysteria?

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    1. Hannah- I was wondering the same thing. I don't think its fair that Abigail starts all this chaos and then runs away. She never has to deal with the consequences of her actions.

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  21. Ineque- this question is so controversial that it really depends on the person's personality or attitude on his/hers life. But personally I would confess to something I wouldn’t do in order to save my life because my life is far more important than what people think of me as a person. In either case you're destroying you reputation because your lying not only to the people but also yourself.

    Should Proctor have signed his name on the paper in order to save his life? Why or why not? If so, what would have happened to him?

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  22. Laura- People are so cruel sometimes and will do whatever it takes to put others down to make them feel better. For example, Abigail lies about Elizabeth stabbing her in the stomach even though its not true at all, but there’s no way to prove it, and that’s how Abigail gets away with accusing Elizabeth in court. “There be a thousand names; why does she call mine?” She calls Elizabeth’s name because Abigail wants Proctor as her soul mate, so she will do whatever she can to ruin Elizabeth’s life.


    What if the girls who were supposedly accused of dancing in the forest and talking to the devil were doing this on purpose to cause this hysteria?

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    1. Idot think they had the intention of starting the hyseria when they were dancing in the forest, but as the hysteria grew I think Abigail started to figure out that she can use it as a way to get rid of all her enemies.

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  23. 1. I think that Abigail and her friends are to blame for what happened. They are the only ones who had complete control and knowledge over what they were doing. At the beginning of the play the townspeople’s actions can be excused by the hysteria because they weren’t exactly sure what was going on, but by the end of the play the individual is to blame because they had opportunities to correct their actions. For example Parris and Hale both want Danforth to postpone the hangings, “There will be no postponement”, Danforth replies pg 128. He is to blame because he was given the option to postpone the hanging but he chose to continue with it.
    2. In this act the part where Proctor refuses to give Danforth his signed confession spoke to me the most. It provoked a realization about how much everyone in the play cared about their name and reputation. “Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies! Because I am not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang! How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name!” pg 143. Proctor is so insistent on not signing his name on his confession that he is hanged for his punishment.
    3. In this act individual judgment changes a lot. In the beginning of this play everyone was judging each other but never looking upon themselves. In this act Elizabeth realizes she can no longer judge Proctor for his past mistakes or future mistakes. “I cannot judge you, John.” pg 135.




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    1. I agree about the part when Proctor refused to give Danforth his confession. Its shoking how far he goes to protect his name. Do you think this scenario would be a lot different in modern times, do you think the importance of ones name is not as important?

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  24. 1) I think Abigail is to blame for what happened because she was faking it just so she can convince everyone that it was Elizabeth Proctor torturing her so she would be killed and Abigail and Mr. Proctor could be together. I don’t think it is just her fault because Susanna Wilcott and Mercy Lewis went along with it also because once Abigail mentions a bird near the end of act three, they both automatically see one also. Once Mary Warren looked guilty of witchcraft she starts the act to and blames Proctor which makes her to blame also. I don’t completely blame the people of Salem because there was no real way they could know that the girls were faking it, but they should have done more research and thought about reasons why the girls would be faking it and maybe they could have figured out that everything the girls were doing was fake.

    2) The scene when Elizabeth and John Proctor get to talk after being seperated from each other for three months evoked the most emotion because the way they were talking you could just feel how painful it was for them and how tough and painful their marriage was. When Elizabeth says, “... I have sins of my own to count. It needs a cold wife to prompt lecherly,” (137). this passage really shows that Elizabeth feels a lot of guilt and blames herself for what happened and that if she was a better wife John wouldn’t have cheated and Abigail wouldn’t have come after them. To carry that guilt would be very tough and to have John about to hang and her life on the line also would make it even worse. Also, the reaction from Proctor evoked emotion to when he says, “I will not hear it! I know you!”(137). That was hard to read because Proctor believes it’s his fault and to hear that Elizabeth is taking the blame for everything and seeing how much pain she is going through just adds to the guilt he already had from his affair.

    3) Individual judgement plays a huge role in act 4 especially, because Danforth has pretty much the most power and authority that if he thinks someone is a witch they’ll be hung. His individual judgement I think is the most important in the whole play because he is the one that sentences people to death or sets them free which is extremely important. Also, the girls like Abigail who are acting like some witch is hurting them, their individual judgement is important because if they judged you badly and didn’t like you they could just say that your spirit hurt them and you would be sentenced to jail or even death.

    Do you think the different situations that the characters were in, influenced their decision to give names and confess to witchcraft.

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    1. 1. I agree that we should not completely blame the people of Salem because they did not know what else to do. However, they should have looked more into the subject before killing some of the innocent victims.

      Why are people so quick to judge?

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    2. I feel as though people are so quick to judge because they fear that if they don't find an answer quickly that it will spread and cause even bigger problems. For example when they start to bring witchcraft as their excuse for all these weird occurrences they then assume that it was Rebecca Nurse who had killed the Putnam children through witchcraft, so they then killed Rebecca Nurse so that she could do no more harm to anyone else.


      Do you think that if they had today's knowledge of witchcraft, that they would have acted the same, or do you think that the situation would change? If so, how?

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  25. 3. In Act 4, individual judgment is a major concept because that is what ultimately matters to the Puritan culture. How a singular person has sinned will weigh down on them like it did John. "Then who will judge me? God in Heaven, what is John Proctor, what is John Proctor? I think it is honest, I think so; I am no saint." (pg 138) He felt so terribly about committing lechery with Abigail that it hung over his head in everything he did.

    Is reputation and a good name more important than living a lie?

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    1. For some people, a good reputation and a clean name was their life, if their name was soiled and/or their reputation was ripped to shreads, people felt like they were living a lie because they weren't the pure person they used to be.

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  26. 1) If any one is to blame I think it would be abigail just because she was the one saying that goody proctor was doing witchcraft to her when is was the one doing it to her self.
    2) The part that spoke to me the most was the part where mr. and mrs. Proctor are talking to each other where she is telling him "I cannot judge you,john." Pg134This just shouwed that john did kind want some one to blame him but she also felt responsible to the fact that she didn't trust him.
    3) I think out of almost all the characters john has the most individual judgment cause he want to tell the truth and not lies and he judes hime self for trying to lie he also judges him self for cheating and his wiife.

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    1. 2. I loved the part when Mrs. Proctor said that. “I have confessed myself!" (page 142). Even when John admits to his affair with Abigail, Mrs. Proctor still cares enough for him even though she is torn apart inside. It shows how caring and loving she is in the worst possible occasions. I do not think I could personally say this to my husband who cheated on me. John does not deserve the caring that she has given to him.

      Is it good to push people away after they did a BIG mistake or should we forgive and forget? Which is more healthy for us in the long run?

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  27. 1. I believe that Abigail Williams is the one to blame. Abigail is the vehicle that drives the play. She bears most of the responsibility for the girls meeting with Tituba in the woods, and once Parris discovers them, she attempts to conceal her behavior because it will reveal her affair with Proctor if she confesses to casting a spell on Elizabeth Proctor. Abigail lies to conceal her affair, and to prevent charges of witchcraft. In order to avoid severe punishment for casting spells and adultery, not to mention attempted murder when she plots Elizabeth's death, Abigail shifts the focus away from herself by accusing others of witchcraft. This desperate act of self-preservation soon becomes Abigail's avenue of power. Abigail is always trying to blind the court to make everyone else look guilty and she is really the one causing all the problems. Yes I believe that cultural hysteria can be excused by the actions of people in Salem because all the characters try to blame everything on everyone especially Abigail. Also the characters try to tell the truth to the court then some characters try to lie to cover themselves up. The whole book is full of cultural hysteria
    2. In the act Proctor was the one that evoked the most emotion when he signed the paper and confessed. On page on 143 Proctor said “tell them I confessed myself.) I feel that Proctor just doesn’t want to be involved in this situation anyone and finally decides to confess. I think that by confessing it takes the guilt away for him.
    3. Individual judgment plays a very important part in this act. Danforth wants everyone to be hung that is being accused. He judges the characters that he would hang just because of simple actions or even if they said the wrong information to the court. Danforth clearly states that if you are judged then you will be hung. Danforth makes everyone in the village frightful for that they may be the ones to be hung just because of judgment. If people did this in today’s society then everyone would be hung because most of our society judges each other all the time just for very simple things that really don’t matter

    How do you think today’s judges would have acted during the Salem Witch trials? Would it be a lot more gruesome?

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  29. 1. In my opinion, I believe that everyone is Salem is to blame. From the beginning, I think every death that was completed was due to Abigail Williams; but it also was the court's fault. If Abigail Williams had just admitted the witchcraft act in the firt place, no death would have occured. In Act 3 on page 115 Mary exclaims, “They’re pretending, Mr. Danforth!” Abigail Williams would use this excuse as much as possible. But then again, if the court did not take the case so harshly, then death would not have been an option. However, on page 100 when Danforth says, “Therefore, who may possibly be witness to it? The witch and the victim. None other. Now we cannot hope the witch will accuse herself; granted? Therefore, we must rely upon her victims...” This proves that either way, someone will get hurt/die. Everyone just took a little situation and turned it into a much larger deal than what was necessary. In conclusion, the people of Salem's actions are excused by their cultural hysteria.

    2. As I read act four, the theme of reputation comes back into my mind again. With Proctor, he says on page 142, “I have confessed myself! Is there no good penitence but it be public? God does not need my name nailed upon the church! God sees my name; God knows how black my sins are! It is enough!" We see with this quote that Proctor has confessed his wrongdoing. He is very aware that what he did was wrong, but he is still too cautious of his reputation.

    3. (Referring to the quote from number 2, on page 142 again.) In act 4, individual judgement plays a large role through Proctor. Proctor would LITERALLY rather die than have a bad reputation throughout the town. Therefore, he chose death over having his story hung on the church doors.

    Does Proctor know what he does is wrong or is he too worries about reputation at this point of the story? Do we learn from our mistakes or continue to do them without anyone knowing? Is it worth risking your life over one mistake?

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    1. Proctor realizes that it is a lie to confess to witchcraft, but h also realizes that it is his only hope to save his life. Really the only people in this story that made mistakes were the judges and the girls because they wrongly accused and sentenced innocent people to their deaths because they were speaking the truth.

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  30. 1) Abigail is the obvious person to blame for the start of the hysteria. We know that Abigail is jealous of Elizabeth Proctor. She manipulates her friends to try to basically curse Elizabeth by doing a kind of ritual dancing in the woods. Once they get caught instead of taking the blame she tells all of her friends to say that they were possessed and that is where all the hysteria comes from. Although I do think the start of it is all because of Abigail, I also don’t think that the people of Salem don’t share the blame. I understand that it was a different time and religion was more important back in there time; however it is terrible that they disregard common sense just because of their religious beliefs. So I think it is Abigail who started it all but the people of Salem let the hysteria grow because of their overly religious lifestyle.
    2) The thing that really spoke to me was when John finally changed his mind. “His breast heaving, his eyes staring, Proctor tears the paper and crumples it, and he is weeping in fury, but erect.” This really spoke to me because it makes the reader look at John in a new light. The action in this quote to me is what makes John essentially the hero of this book.
    3) Individual judgment plays a huge role in this act because it is why John changes his mind. The judgment of both Rebecca and his wife affect the way he sees himself and it drives him to change his mind about his confession. Individual judgment is important to the people of this act because they seem to judge themselves only to see if they are damned to hell or if they will go to heaven.

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  31. In my opinion, Abigail is to blame for almost everything that happened in Salem because she is the one who was almost conducting the girls on what to do the girls followed her almost like puppies. Abigail is also to blame because she was a person who would tell lies to get out of trouble and did it so well most of the time that people actually believed her. The people of Salem's actions can probably be blamed on cultural hysteria because of the fact that people were so strongly wrapped up in the fact that if you did anything wrong you would basically go to hell and there would be no way to fix your sins. And that probably led way to the cultural hysteria because they were so embedded in their beliefs.

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  32. 1. I believe Abigail is to blame because she pointed the first finger at Tituba, and from there the accusations spiraled out of control as more and more people started playing the blame game. Had she and the girls confessed to what they were actually doing in the woods instead of blaming others for bewitching them, my guess is that almost all, if not all, of those innocent lives would have been saved.
    2. This act, i thought, was very moving. When Elizabeth was brought in to try to persuade John Proctor to confess, it was very touching how they still cared about each other even after all the madness and the both of them being accused. I also thought that the ending was almost cruel, having Proctor confess his innocence, even though he knew it was a lie and he wished to not lie, and then when he tries to save his name in the town by refusing to sign the confession and have it posted, I thought it was cruel how they hung him for not publicly confessing.
    3. Individual judgement seems to play a role when Danforth starts to question Proctor during his confession, he presses Proctor, in my opinion, for more of a detailed story than a simple confession of witchcraft. On page 141, Proctor says: I cannot judge another. i have no tongue for it. In return Hale says: Excellency, it is enough he confess himself. Let him sign it, let him sign it. At this point, it seems like Danforth and Hathorne are just doing all the last-minute-confession stuff as a public “entertainment,” it seems like Hale and Parris are the only ones who want to put a stop to the nonsense.

    How do you think this story would have played out had the word “witchcraft” not been floating around the town?

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    1. I feel as though the situation would have been more realistic, and more factual based than believing that kids are incapable of lying so they had to be telling the truth. I feel that a lot more people would have not lost their lives.

      Do you think that more people would have sold out if the charges were not based on witchcraft?

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  33. 1. I feel as though you can not point a finger at any one person, I feel as though it is the entire community that is to blame. Although it is started by the girls in act one with Betty laying there pretending to be be-witched, I feel that it is everyone’s fault because they naively believed these girls and went and carried out actions resulting in death to these several teenage girls lies.
    2. What spoke to me most was when John Proctor was talking to his wife Elizabeth. He was pleading with her to forgive him, but she kept saying “I am not your judge, I can not be. Do as you will, do as you will!” I found it odd that she would not say if she would forgive him or not, but that it is not her place to judge him. Was it that she could not bring herself to forgive him, or was it that she already had? What is her reasoning for not giving him a strait answer?
    3. Individual judgment plays a role in this act through John Proctor. Proctor has his confession written out, and he even signs it, but he refuses to let them post it in public out of fear of loosing his name. Proctor asks “How may I teach them to walk like men in the world, and I sold my friends?” Here Proctor is passing down judgment on himself saying that he would be hypocritical if he were to let them post this on the church doors. He then tears the paper up so that he will hang, which I feel is how he judges himself. I feel as though he judged himself unworthy of redemption, and unworthy of life. This has a major effect on act four because it shows how arguably the most important man in the play has his end and how the entire fever soon comes to a halt because of people like John Proctor who chose to not sell out and decided that it was more important to die a good man than to live a fraud.
    Q. Why do you think that it was impossible for the judges to realize whether they were children or not, that they lied? Even after Marry Warren confess that she lies in act three?

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  34. 1. I think that in this society children are considered pure beings and even if the evidence is obvious, they will refuse to accuse children for fear that it is the wrong thing to do and they will be punished by God for doing it.

    2. The part of this act that evoked most emotion was when they sent Elizabeth Proctor into John Proctor's holding cell to change his mind and make him confess to witchcraft and at first he was hesitant, but then finally decided to keep his life and confess to witchcraft.

    3. Individual judgement played a big part in this act because people had to decide for themselves whether they wanted to confess to witchcraft in order to save their own lives or if they wanted to keep their reputations clean and risk their lives.

    Q. Why do you think Elizabeth Proctor didn't plead John Proctor to save his life? Because in the act, she just let him decide for himself. Do you think John Proctor's past has affected their marriage?

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  35. 1. I believe that Abby is the one to blame because she used the power to her advantage and corrupted the court of young women. She imposed power into the young women and then on they held the power of the city. A strong example of this is in Act 2 on page 58 when Mary Warren stands up to Proctor and is yelling about the court, "She never knew no commandments, and they had her in a flat lie!" I also think this leads to the towns hysteria because the court is powerful and if they don't like that person, then they can just pull their crazy act and that person is gone. But it can go either way. It can be said that the one person is to blame(Abby) or its the town's fault because they went crazy and didn't challenge the jury's evidence.
    2. In this act I think Proctor was the most outspoken in his emotions because he stood his ground and didn’t give in to be safe. So he stayed in jail to keep his honor and died a good man.
    3. Proctor was the most judged in this act because of how he remained in jail and didn just admit so he was safe. He kept his truth and did not lie and the others wondered why he did that.

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