In the play The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, a series of trials takes place in Salem, Massachusetts, to drive out the devil's works brought to life through witchcraft. Hysteria has taken root in the village as people accuse their neighbors to receive revenge against one another or gain each others' land. Through the characters of John Proctor, the tragic hero; Giles Corey, the scapegoat; and Abigail Williams, the villain, Miller laments the fact that in the real world truth is not always rewarded and treachery sometimes prevails.
John Proctor functions as the tragic hero who begins the play harboring a secret adulterous affair, but even when he finally admits the truth society refuses to believe him. When Proctor tries to convince Mary to confess to concocting the lies about seeing spirits, Mary points out that if she does, Abigail will reveal John Proctor's sin, but Proctor in return declares, "Good. Then her saintliness is done with. We will slide together into our pit; you will tell the court what you know" (Miller 76). Proctor has been hiding his affair with Abigail but now in order to save his wife he is finally ready to let the truth come out. Proctor no longer cares about the "pit" he and Abigail will fall into as he naively believes that admitting to his sin will result in the safety of his wife. When Proctor realizes that telling the truth about his relationship with Abigail is not enough to save him or his wife, he briefly resorts to issuing a false confession, but ultimately he returns to the truth, tearing up the document and remarking, "You have made your magic now, for now I do think I see some shred of goodness in John Proctor. Not enough to weave a banner with, but white enough to keep it from such dogs" (133). David Levine notes that, "The Crucible dramatizes brilliantly the dilemma of an innocent man who must confess falsely if he wants to live and who finally gains the courage to insist on his innocence- and hang" (538).
