Throughout history there have been many mass hysterias, one of which was the Salem witch trials of 1693. Arthur's The Crucible Miller is set during this time of distress and begins when Abigail and some other girls accuse other citizens of witchcraft. As Puritans, this comes as a shock and causes chaos throughout the city, destroying the social order. Everyone turns against each other, lies are made up, and people are left to their own devices. In the play, Arthur Miller illustrates the lengths many characters will go to risk their reputations and restore social order through the sacrifices made by the characters in the play. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay During the play, Proctor often makes sacrifices to his reputation in an attempt to prevent the madness from escalating. He takes Mary Warren and shows up in court with a petition and depositions, but fails to change the judges' minds. As a result, he decides to confess to having committed adultery with Abigail. Proctor argues that Abigail "thinks of dancing with [him] at [his] wife's grave!... [he] lusted, and there is a promise in such sweat... it is the revenge of a whore, and [they] have to see it.'" He risks his name and reputation to try to convince the judges that Abigail is evil and fraudulent. He does this because he accepts the fact that he cannot can't hide his secret forever if he ever wants to forgive himself. It's a shock because Proctor is well respected and well known in the town. The horrible struggles many go through translate into what Proctor is willing to risk. his name for the benefit of others The dire situation is also illustrated by the countless number of innocent people who die because of the girls' misrepresentations Since everyone in the town is praising the girls because they believe. Whether they help rid the town of witches, the girls' false claims make the Proctors' attempts to restore social order much more difficult. He feels the need to sacrifice his name because of how easily everyone turns on each other because of the quick accusations that are made. Many people naturally believe in girls, due to their extreme puritanical culture, that everything unknown is caused by an evil spirit. This allows witchcraft to spread even faster, because blaming the devil is the simplest explanation for everything that happens. Furthermore, Proctor gives up his own life for his name and his morals, and refuses to live if it meant his name would be signed with lies. Proctor believes that he is “not worth the dust at the feet of those who are hanged!” » and said: “How can I live without my name? I gave you my soul; leave me my name!'". He feels that his name, integrity and pride are already ruined because of his affair with Abigail, so he believes that sacrificing himself will allow him to forgive himself for his sins and at the same time, hopefully - him, to avoid the hanging of the rest of the accused. He does not wish to live knowing that he has committed a sin contrary to Puritan beliefs and knowing that he has betrayed his wife. other people who lied to save their lives The fact that he is unwilling to bring himself to “confess” to his witchcraft proves that even though he has made mistakes before, he is a very noble man with a good conscience and will admit. His wrongdoing allows him to find peace within himself, something he hasn't had in a long time.restore social order because it demonstrates the importance of dying with honor and justice, rather than living a lie. He demonstrates to the rest of the town that if people continue to lie to save their lives and the lives of all the innocent people in Salem, the trial will never end and, as a result, even more deaths will occur. Proctor's death put The witch trials ended and, soon after, social order was restored. Besides John Proctor, his wife, Elizabeth Proctor, also makes risky sacrifices to her reputation in order to end Salem's hysteria. When Elizabeth Proctor is called to testify whether John Proctor committed debauchery, she tries to protect her husband and calls him a "godly man," but when Danforth finally asks, "Is your husband a debauchee!" » , she hesitates and says: “No, sir”. By openly lying about her husband's actions, she prioritizes her husband's reputation over her puritanical beliefs in goodness and risks getting into trouble. Like Proctor, she is selfless and risks her own reputation to save others. Elizabeth Proctor wants to allow Proctor to maintain his good image in the town and is convinced that lying about his lust will help him achieve this. Proctor and Elizabeth choose to sacrifice their own reputations and do whatever they can to help the rest of the town, which is why they have a huge impact on restoring social order to Salem. Near the end of the play, once Proctor chooses not to confess to his alleged witchcraft, Reverend Hale asks Elizabeth to convince Proctor to confess, but she chooses not to. Elizabeth does this out of love because she knows John will never forgive himself if he confesses. She understands that if he is hanged, “'He has his goodness now. God forbid I take it from him!'" Elizabeth tells Proctor, "'I want you to live, John. That's for sure,'" but she sacrifices her love and happiness to allow him to do what he wants. he thinks he's being fair, earning his "goodness" and because it benefits the rest of the town. Because the people of Salem know that John Proctor is a noble man and would not sacrifice his life for no reason, Elizabeth's sacrifice further restores social order because, when she allows Proctor to be hanged, this message is sent to the judges and the entire city. , revealing the whole situation to be a fraud. At Proctor's hanging, he is joined by another well-respected member of the town, Rebecca Nurse. As the two most honorable people continue to be hanged, this leads to the end of the Salem Witch Trials. To help further restore social order, another crucial character, Reverend Hale, plays an important role in ending the Salem witch trials by standing up for his beliefs and sacrificing his important status in the town. While everyone is in the courtroom during the play, Hale realizes that it's all a lie, so he argues, “'Excellence, that's a natural lie to tell; I beg you to stop now before someone else is condemned! I can no longer close my conscience to it: private vengeance is at work through this testimony!'" Hale attempts to inform the judges that the girls are fraudsters, and he reveals that the girls are using the testimony to revenge on the townspeople, for example Abigail trying to get revenge on Elizabeth Hale sacrifices his great reputation in the town to defend Proctor and the people wrongly accused. He fights for what he believes in and ignores the possibility that. people now see him as less Towards the end of the play, Hale begins to make an effort to convince the accused to confess to his witchcraft, so that he can live, which is extremely ironic since Hale is a member of the. church and, by.