on to die an honest man.In the drama, the value of love is also challenged. The love that John andElizabeth Proctor have is first put to the test by Proctors infidelity and later as they try touphold their values as their community succumbs to the hysteria of the accusations ofwitchcraft. They struggle to heal and maintain their marriage as they care for their farmand children and to help their friends and neighbors who are falsely accused and at risk ofdeath as Salem is swept with paranoia. As Proctor and Elizabeth take bold steps to speakup for what is right and true for their community, their best qualities come to the forefrontand they come to recognize all that is good and enduring about their love. In their finalmoments together, when political pressures have taken such a turn that the court finds itexpedient to come up with a way to spare Proctors life, the imprisoned, pregnantElizabeth is asked to persuade her husband to confess to consorting with the Devil so thathe may live. As they agonize over the desperate choices facing them, Elizabeth tells himlet none be your judge. There be no higher judge under Heaven than Proctor is! . . . Inever knew such goodness in the world! Proctor at first chooses life, for her and theirchildren, but cannot bear the sacrifice of his soul to the lie. Her love for him and respectfor his basic need to be true to himself and his values gives him permission to choose todie an honest man.Throughout the drama, The Crucible, the characters are faced with chilling choicesas they maneuver through a world that has lost its moral compass. The crucibles, theserious tests, of their dearly held values put them in the position of having to figure outwhat is right and true in a world turned upside down. The value of truth is tested whenlies are rewarded and truth brings suffering, shame and the scaffold of the gallows. Thevalue of justice is challenged by a system that comes to be based on coerced co...
