Parris requests Beverly summon Reverend Hale, an expert in the subject of the demonic arts, to examine Betty for signs of the Devil. Reverend Parris questions Abigail as to the night's events, and Abigail denies any claims of witchcraft, insisting the girls were only dancing. The night before, Reverend Parris discovered Betty, her cousin Abigail, and several other village girls dancing in the woods with Parris's slave, Tituba. The play opens with Reverend Samuel Parris standing over the bedside of his daughter, Betty, who has fallen into a comatose-like state. Miller's tragic drama follows the protagonist John Proctor and his plight for justice amongst mass hysteria, and metaphorically examines the motivations and corruption of the McCarthy era in Miller's own time. The play, first produced on Broadway in 1953, illustrates the story of the Salem witch trials of 1692-1693. They may have thought that they could confess to falsely confessing and be forgiven at some future point.The Crucible is a dramatic work by American playwright Arthur Miller.

For some, it was easier to lie and say they were witches so that they could return to their lives and families.

At the same time, it’s not hard to understand why someone would sign a false confession. These people may have had strong religious beliefs and felt God would damn them for lying, and they may also have realized that their reputation would be restored after the witch trials were over, even if they had lost their lives. Like John Proctor, some people in Salem preferred to die rather than sign something that they knew was a lie. But many other people could not bear to falsely accuse their friends, neighbors, and families, especially since the only way those people could clear their names would be by implicating more members of the community. Plenty of people did sign false confessions, in which they were required to name others that they saw with the Devil. Why didn’t more people sign false confessions that they were witches to save their lives?

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