Since Proctor refused to make his confession public, the authorities have decided it will. He will hang as if he had not confessed. Proctor regains his goodness by.
She believes that he did the right thing to save his family and that he dies with honor. Why does Danforth refuse to postpone the hangings? What document does Danforth at first refuse to even look at?
What other piece of documentation does he consider, and them make the men wish they had not given him? Life, woman, life is God's most precious gift; no principle, however glorious, may justify the taking of it.
I beg you, woman, prevail upon your husband to confess. Let him give his lie. Quail not before God's judgement in this, for it may well be God damns a liar less than he that throws his life away for pride.
Hale is a disillusioned shell of the man he was at the beginning of the play. He initially felt that he was bringing enlightenment to Salem, but he inadvertently brought destruction instead. His good intentions rooted in a strong faith led to the loss of innocent lives.
Hale argues that throwing away one's life, even if it's done in adherence to God's commandments, leaves a darker moral stain on the world than giving a false confession. This advice is largely an effort to assuage his guilt about the situation.
He won't be able to live with himself if all these people die because of his mistakes. It is pretense for me, a vanity that will not blind God nor keep my children out of the wind. John is convinced that he is not worthy of dying as a martyr because he has already lied and committed immoral acts in his life.
He feels his soul beyond saving, so he should stop acting all virtuous and just confess. There is no point in remaining honest if he is already going to Hell with or without this false confession.
At least if he lives, he can continue to provide for his kids and postpone an unpleasant afterlife. 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 feel of them that hang! How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name! Proctor has this outburst after he snatches his signed confession away from Danforth.
He can't bring himself to permanently sacrifice his reputation by signing the confession. He feels his self-loathing and inevitable suffering in the afterlife is punishment enough "I have given you my soul". He can't stomach the idea of also being defined by his confession in the eyes of society and history. He knows his name will forever be associated with cowardice and a lack of integrity. God forbid I take it from him! Elizabeth refuses to dissuade John from revoking his confession.
She can see that he has achieved freedom from his own self-loathing through this final truthful act. If she persuades him to return and confess, she might as well not save his life at all because he will feel so utterly worthless after throwing away this last bit of integrity. John's destruction of his confession is similar to ripping up a check and throwing it in someone's face when they offer to pay off your debts just to show that their power over you.
In both cases, for better or for worse, pride wins out over self-preservation. One of the single most important parts of your college application is what classes you choose take in high school in conjunction with how well you do in those classes. Our team of PrepScholar admissions experts have compiled their knowledge into this single guide to planning out your high school course schedule.
Here's a list of the major themes that are expressed in Act 4 along with some short explanations and analyses. Danforth makes a few ironic statements in Act 4 as he interrogates Elizabeth and John. In observing Elizabeth's lack of emotion when he asks her to help them convince John to confess, he says "A very ape would weep at such calamity! Have the Devil dried up any tear of pity in you? In fact, he expressed his viewpoint that "I should hang ten thousand that dared to rise against the law, and an ocean of salt tears could not melt the resolution of the statutes" pg.
He can't understand why Elizabeth doesn't fall apart and beg her husband to confess because he doesn't grasp the idea that an action can be legally prudent but morally distasteful. Later in Act 4, Danforth becomes angry at the implication that John's confession may not be the truth. He says "I am not empowered to trade your life for a lie" Danforth pg. This is an example of tragic irony because Danforth has been trading people's lives for lies this whole time.
He has sentenced numerous people to death based on lies about their dealings in black magic, and he has accepted the false confessions of those who would rather lie than be executed. As John gives his confession, Danforth says to Rebecca Nurse "Now, woman, you surely see it profit nothin' to keep this conspiracy any further.
Will you confess yourself with him? He remains convinced that everyone is guilty. Danforth also becomes frustrated with Proctor when he won't name names in his confession: "Mr. Proctor, a score of people have already testified they saw [Rebecca Nurse] with the Devil" pg.
Danforth is convinced that John knows more about the Devil's dealings than he has revealed. Though Rebecca Nurse's involvement has already been corroborated by other confessors, Danforth demands to hear it from John. This testimony will confirm that John is fully committed to renouncing his supposed ties to Satan. As the hysteria over the witch trials dies down, it becomes apparent that the reputations of the accused continue to influence how they are treated as prisoners.
Parris begs Danforth to postpone the executions of John and Rebecca because they're so well-respected that he's received death threats for going along with their hangings.
He says, "I would to God it were not so, Excellency, but these people have great weight yet in the town" pg. However, Danforth's own reputation as a strong judge hangs in the balance, and he dares not damage it by getting all wishy-washy. While I speak God's law, I will not crack its voice with whimpering" pg.
John Proctor's concern for his reputation also plays a role in the events of Act 4. He goes to the gallows instead of providing a false confession because he realizes his life won't be worth living if he publicly disgraces himself in this way: "How may I live without my name? In Act 4, many of the power structures that were in place earlier in the play have broken down or become meaningless. Though the judges and reverends technically still hold official positions of authority, Reverend Parris has been subjected to death threats, and Salem as a whole seems to be in complete disarray.
The judges now have little respect for Parris "Mr. Parris, you are a brainless man! The prisoners have lost what little faith they had in the earthly authority figures who have failed them, and they look towards the judgment of God. John ultimately realizes the only power he has left is in refusing to confess and preserving his integrity. As Elizabeth says to him, "There be no higher judge under Heaven than Proctor is! In steadfastly refusing to confess, Rebecca Nurse ends up holding onto a significant amount of power.
The judges cannot force her to commit herself to a lie, and her sacrifice will deal a serious blow to their legitimacy. Several characters are still dealing with intense guilt at the end of The Crucible.
After quitting the court in Act 3, Hale did some self-reflection and decided to return to Salem to advise the accused witches to confess. His rationalization is that encouraging people to lie to save their lives is a forgivable sin, but being responsible for the deaths of innocents is not.
He's wracked with guilt over the part he played in kicking off the witchcraft hysteria "There is blood on my head! However, because Hale is so tormented, he's only able to consider his personal feelings about the situation. The false confessions might absolve him of his guilt, but the confessors would be forced to live the rest of their lives in shame.
This might seem strange to us today obviously you should just lie to avoid being executed! This is not just a matter of upholding one's good name in society—it's a matter of the state of one's soul. To the most devout people like Rebecca Nurse in such a highly religious culture, lying about involvement with the Devil might be considered worse than death.
If a person dies without sin, she will go to Heaven, but if she corroborates the lie perpetuated by the courts, her soul will carry a permanent stain and could spend eternity in Purgatory or Hell.
Hale's argument is less than convincing to people who have spent their whole lives in service to God and don't intend to compromise such an excellent record. Meanwhile, John Proctor continues to feel guilty for his affair and the role it has played in putting both he and his wife in mortal peril.
A deep fear of hypocrisy almost persuades Proctor to confess because he would feel guilty martyring himself next to other people like Rebecca Nurse who are genuinely without sin. He says, "My honesty is broke, Elizabeth; I am no good man" pg. However, he ultimately doesn't allow his guilt to define him and refuses to give up the remainder of his integrity.
Twelve are already executed; the names of these seven are given out, and the village expects to see them die this morning. Postponement now speaks a floundering on my part; reprieve or pardon must cast doubt upon the guilt of them that died till now.
If retaliation is your fear, know this—I should hang ten thousand that dared to rise against the law, and an ocean of salt tears could not melt the resolution of all the statues. Now draw yourselves up like men and help me, as you are bound by Heaven to do. Let you not mistake your duty as I mistook my own. I came into this village like a bridegroom to his beloved, bearing gifts of high religion; the very crowns of holy law I brought, and what I touched with my bright confidence, it died; and where I turned the eye of my great faith, blood flowed up.
Beware, Goody Proctor—cleave to no faith when faith brings blood. It is mistaken law that leads you to sacrifice. I beg you, woman, prevail upon your husband to confess. Let him give his lie. John, I counted myself so plain, so poorly made, no honest love could come to me! Suspicion kissed you when I did; I never knew how I should say my love.
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