You can never get an equal and co-operative society. Especially at the time of the Salem Witch Trials, the puritan establishment brought complete pandemonium to the town and caused many unnecessary deaths. Every person is unequal and the diverse authority levels, beliefs and personalities are always unbalanced. Miller explores the revolutionary ways in the play that people try to rectify their broken circumstances challenging religion and trust. .
Many of the strong points and fundamental themes hidden within their society relate back to personal beliefs, dogmatic views, universal issues and the political weaknesses in society in that particular time. The more persistent themes e.g., Empowerment, reputation, mass hysteria and intolerance, convey and represent individual characters and the loyalty they portray towards their personal beliefs. The puritan people believed that a person could make compact with the devil. Their morals and beliefs led them to start pointing fingers and accusing people of witchcraft.
Out of everyone in the play John Procter remains closest to his beliefs. Proctor is an out spoken character who maintains an upright position of a wealthy farmer. He commits adultery with Abigail, but it was his emotions that did this, his guilt led him to do the right thing and tell his wife of the affair. The thing that I admired most about Procter's character is his ability to change for what he believed in. He cannot be easily led, as he is a leader himself. He was a prominent and distinguished man who remained honest to himself and others throughout the play. He was an attractive role model. By displaying his beliefs openly, he was respected even if it meant going against the puritan authorities. He challenged authority and this is what made him a hero. He's looked upon as a symbol from the bible. This is because he gains a sense of satisfaction and reassurance through himself and his own defeat and dies with his integrity, knowing he could have changed his fate by telling a lie.