The conscience of the human mind can have a big role on people. In Arthur Miller's The Crucible, John Proctor's dealing with the devil eventually leads him to confessing much like Lady Macbeth in Shakespeare's Macbeth. The power of the human mind led these two to eventually confess into the sins that they both had done so easily before.
In The Crucible, John Proctor is a man that does not go to church regularly. He cheated on his wife with his live in maid and denies it to his wife constantly. The town of Salem is under some hard times. Some witch has condemned some of the town's girls and the local reverend is trying to make them better. The town believes that Proctors wife is the elidged witch because she and her family do not attend church regularly. Her husband states that he does not believe in the local priests "hellfire and bloody damnation,"(Crucible 1187) sermons and that is why they do not go to church. .
When the trials get under way, many people are accused of being seen with the devil by Abigail and her group. They call out anyone's name that they can think of while they are in court. They mention Elizabeth's name and the court comes to talk to Proctors about their religious convictions. They ask Proctor to recite the Ten Commandments and he states all of them except the one of committing adultery. The deputy asks Elizabeth if she owns any dolls and she says that she has not owned any since she was a child. .
Someone notices a doll that she did not mention and they tear it apart and find a needle in the middle of it. They say that she is a witch because they found a needle in the abdomen of Abigail, the woman John had an affair with. She says that she did not make the doll, but the housekeeper Mary had made it in court and had given it to her at dinner. They do not believe this and they take her off to jail. Proctor is outraged by this and demands that they release her because she has done nothing wrong.
