The Crucible (3)

Well, I finished my book this week and read somewhere around 2 hours again. I had forgotten how the story ended or the climax of it all; I am pretty sure I didn't read the ending in high school (just skimmed it). Everyone was taken to court who was accused of witchcraft. If they did not admit to worshipping the Devil, they would then be put in jail and sentenced to hang. They were all innocent people and many of them were devout Christians; therefore, many of them would not under any circumstances admit to worshipping Satan. My favorite part during all this was how twisted and foolish the people of the court were during the trials. John Proctor openly admitted to the court that Abigail was a whore and a liar. The judges were furious about him making accusations about her, but Proctor lets everyone know that he "knows" her - meaning he has engaged certain inappropriate relations with her. The court then asked him if he is truly a lechur since they cannot believe this goodly man has a flaw to his demeanor. He fully admits he has ashamedly had relations with Abigail; she denies any of this. They bring in Goody Proctor for evidence of this and make her husband and Abigail face outwards. Since she cannot see her husband's face, Goody Proctor does not know how to respond to the questioning of her husband, so she protects his image and states that she did not believe he has ever committed adultery (even though she really knows he has). I thought this was very classy and courageous of Goody Proctor to not reveal her husband's flaws. I think she did the right thing by keeping matters like this private and between her husband and her. This was really dumb of the court to not understand that a good woman will not spoil her husband's character. Still, Proctor was sentenced for "lying" to the court about Abigail and many others as well. Three months went by that they were all in jail and Proctor was brought out for his hanging. They said that he could live if he openly admitted to worshipping the Devil. He admits to having dealings with the Devil since he will live (and his image is already flawed). Then they want him to admit that the people already hanged worshipped the Devil, too. However, Proctor stated they did not and that he will not bring harm to their respectable images for hanging as true Christians. I thought this was probably the best thing he could have done; he let everyone else know they were false and that God will judge them one day as well. It ends with the drums going off in the background and Proctor heading to his death.