"The Crucible" by Arthur Miller is a play, which I found shocking yet, eye-opening. It is set in the Salem witch trials of 1692. The story is of a community plunged into hysteria as more people become accused of witchcraft. John Proctor, who is a man of justice, loyalty and integrity, loses his fight for the truth with a corrupt court. He is put to death at the end of they play. This is an appropriate end to the play as it consolidates our thoughts on Proctor.
It begins with a group of young girls dancing in the woods, which then escalates to mass hysteria over practice of witchcraft. Abigail Williams is the epicentre of the allegations as she is involved in the dancing and seems to do nothing but accuse people of witchcraft in the play. She then accuses Elizabeth Proctor of witchcraft. John Proctor knows he will be charged with adultery if he tries to save Elizabeth, because he has had an affair with Abigail. He goes to court to try and save Elizabeth but ends up being prosecuted for witchcraft. He will not confess and is then hung. .
When Proctor is executed, at the end, it fully consolidates our thoughts on him being loyal to his family and neighbours. We first see this in small spurts. This brings the idea of loyalty to mind. We begin to see it when Giles Corey runs in the doorway when Elizabeth and john Proctor are having a conversation with Mr Hale. Giles shouts, "John!" Proctor then replies with, "Giles! Whats the matter?" We later find that they have taken Giles's wife, Rebecca. His concern shows his loyalty to a friend. He is concerned and is prepared to help his friend and help him overcome the obstacle, which is in front of him. He shows his loyalty to his wife in and inverted way by stopping an affair he had with Abigail. Although the actual affair is a betrayal or trust, he still calls off the affair and the fact that he feels tormented by it us a sign of loyalty.