Moral conflict in The Crucible. Arthur Millers play, The Crucible, is a great portrayal of humans and their struggles. This play takes place in the 1690s in Salem, a small Puritan community based on a rigid social system, where an outbreak of rumors claiming witchcraft contaminated the small village. The witch hysteria was initiated by a group of young girls (headed by Abigail Williams,) who were afraid of being accused of swaying from the strict regulations. This caused conflict among the people of the community and ultimately resulted in absolute chaos. I am going to write about three of the main characters, Reverend Hale, John Proctor and Mary Warren, who have some of the most intense internal and external struggles in the play. Reverend Hales battle is initiated by his personal commitment to God. In Act I, the Reverend is described as an eager-eyed intellectual pondering the invisible world. Hale seeks witches and gets them to confess, so god can bless them and rid them of the devil. An example of this is when he said to Betty, In nomine Domini Sabaoth sui filiique ite ad infernos, which means: In the name of the lord of hosts and his son get thee to the lower world. This shows Reverend Hales views on witchery. He is a deeply religious man who was unrelenting in his quest for the devil. Originally, Hale believed that there was witchcraft in the town and wanted to drive it out. However as the play develops, Hale witnesses sincere and respectable townspeople being sentenced and hanged. Hale tries to gain a perspective on those accused, by going to their houses and putting questions to them, about their nature and religious behavior. He soon learns that the court proceedings, lead by Judge Danforth were sending innocent people to their death, in the name of Christianity. Here begins the Reverends inner turmoil. With scrutiny, he looks at himself and tries to figure out which way to go. Should he continue with what he is doing and li...
