AP Question 3 The Crucible

       There are many themes revolving around the critically acclaimed book The Crucible, by Arthur Miller. One of the most memorable would be motivation since it spreads to various characters throughout all acts of the story. And with this motivation follows death, a recurring motif. But, there is a death that affects the audience the most, which comes in the very end with the protagonist meeting his demise. The main focus of the story is good vs. evil, and most of the characters pay the ultimate price for being involved in the battle. Most of this is due to the story-taking place during the Salem Witch hunts in Massachusetts in the year 1692.

      From the beginning, it is made clear that the people believe that there is witchcraft surrounding the village of Salem. This is because Abigail Williams, the antagonist, has tricked people into believing that there is evil lurking around their homes filled with witches. Her actions cause people to be hanged after they have been accused of being witches. But specifically she wants to kill John Proctor’s wife Elizabeth Proctor. Abigail is shown as a deceiving manipulative woman having the motivation to be reunited with John Proctor so she could have for herself, and this explains her behavior. Her motivation is so strong that it causes many to die, who are seen as innocent and good, as they are suspected of being witches.

      John Proctor’s death is the most effective throughout the story. Although it doesn’t really take place within the story, it is foreshadowed at the very end. Abigail’s actions have accidently caused Proctor’s death since he is suspected of seeing the devil because he had been trying to save his wife from being killed as well. This is his motivation at first, to protect Elizabeth and save her life. This also causes his imprisonment. Elizabeth’s motivation is identical to Proctor’s, which would be to save her husband’s life. She does so by convincing him to confess. At that point Proctor becomes motivated in living with his wife and chooses to do so.

However, near the end, Proctor’s motivation changes. When refusing to give the confession paper, he acknowledges that he’s become a bad person, resembling the evil in the story. So, in response, his motivation changes to being an honorable person and staying that for the rest of his life. He chooses to rather die a good man than to live the rest of his life as a monster. Elizabeth summarizes this as the last line: “He have his goodness now. God forbid I take it from him. Proctor choses to be hung and this shows how powerful his motivation really has become.