Should Procter Have Signed? (the Crucible)

“I saw Sarah Good with the Devil! I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil! I saw Bridget Bishop with the Devil!” This quote is from Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. The play is about the Salem witch trials, which took place in Salem, Massachusetts, 1692. People were accusing each other of witchery just to save themselves from getting in trouble. John Procter was accused. Procter is put in the position of whether or not to sign his name to witchery. He shouldn’t have signed the confession.

Procter lived during a time where life was fairly short. People were far more concerned about ensuring their never ending life in heaven than their physical existence. It was believed that if you ever lied, God would send you to hell. If Procter had signed, he would have been living a lie.

In those days reputation was vital. If he signed the confession it would have tainted their family for generations. He felt that if he didn’t sign, the truth may come out eventually that he really was innocent, sparing his family.

Danforth was one of the judges that was convicting people of witchcraft. By this point in time, he had realized he had been fooled, but had sent so many innocent people to their deaths, that it was too late to admit his faults. It would ruin him. He would rather continue to hurt other people than harm himself. Proctor didn’t want to give Danforth the satisfaction of succeeding.

While The Crucible is about the Salem witch trials, the themes are universal. They apply to the time in which Miller lived in called the McCarthy era. People were accusing other people of being communist just to save themselves. Like Proctor, there were brave people who refused to lie and accuse friends of being communist. The Truth was more important to them.