They are accused of being witches and it provokes a large scale witch hunt throughout.

Arthur Millwer wrote the play 'The Crucible' because he saw the similarity of what happened in Salem and what happened in America in 1953. Just after the Second World War, the American Government were paranoid about anyone who sympathised with the communist way of living. If they were suspicious of anyone, they had every right to interrogate people. They were charged and were made to name names of people they had seen at meetings ten or even twenty years before. Regular people to film directors were interrogated and they found it hard to regain their status afterwards.

Here are some parallels between what happened in Salem in 1692 and what happened in American in the 40's and 50's.

1. When Arthur Miller was summoned before the House of Un-American Activities, he was in the same position as John Proctor in 'The Crucible'.

2. He (Miller) was pressured into naming names of people he had saw at communist writers meetings ten years before. Like John Proctor in the play, he refused to answer the

Proctor then admits that he had an affair with Abigail. He is distraught about having to admit it and is scared of what is to happen next now that he has admitted. We know this because the stage directions say "trembling, his life collapsing about him".

John is ashamed and upset as he confesses what he has done. The stage directions say "trembling, his life collapsing around him." This shows that his life will never be the same again. The audience would now have sympathy for John because during the play, they haven't seen him upset. It is suprising because it is rare to see a man cry. During the play, John has come across as a strong and powerful figure. We see nothing of this at this point of the play.

When Proctor declares that Abigail is a whore, the other characters are in shock as this is the last thing they expect John to say. John now knows that he must provide evidence to back-up the allegation he made about Abigail. This means he will have to admit to adultery. Proctor says "It is a whore" in reference to Abigail. This shows that John does not think that Abigail should be recognised as a person but an object. It also shows that John has no loving feelings towards Abigail - he now hates her. Though at the beginning of the play, John shows that he has lustful feelings towards her - this has now changed.

Some topics in this essay:
Surely John, Mary Warren, John Proctor, Heavenly Father, American Government, Proctor Abigail, Betty Parris, Mary Abby, John Abigails, John John, abigail girls, john proctor, mary warren, john john, stage directions, play john, 'the crucible', directions trembling life, loving feelings, feelings towards, trembling life collapsing, judges beleive, stage directions trembling, mary warren witch, judges beleive abigail,