name. John weighs both sides of his internal conflict and realizes that he must not make another mistake. He, therefore, sentences himself to death, not for his own sake, but rather for the sake of others. As John dies, Elizabeth weeps saying, “He have his goodness now. God forbid I take it from him!” (145). When Elizabeth says this, it proves that John is a dignified and upright man who tries to find a way to escape his sin of adultery which causes him internal conflict. The evidence shows that throughout the play John still feels guilty about Abigail and feels responsible for his wife’s conviction of being a witch. By allowing himself to hang without confession, he allows himself to gain peace by leaving his family with a good name. Almost everyone in the community feels some type of responsibility that connects to the conviction of some of the residents of Salem.This internal conflict is evident in Reverend Hale whose investigation causes these problems to jump from just dancing in the woods to witchcraft. At first, Reverend Hale is sure about his belief that there are witches in Salem and feels that he needs to carry out the desires of God himself. Yet, as the play moves on and Hale sees all these honest and up-standing people being sentenced and executed, he also feels an inner conflict. He contemplates whether to do what he is sent to do, listen to Danforth, or listen to his own conscience and denounce these proceedings as unjust and wrong. Hale decides to aid all the people wrongly accused by encouraging them to confess and save themselves from these false proceedings. Hale, attempting to repent his own sins by trying to make people confess states, “I come to do the devil’s work. I come to counsel Christians they should belie themselves… can you not see the blood on my head!!” (131). This shows that he is feeling the effects of his inner conflict because he is trying to lessen the feelin...
