How Does Arthur Miller Present Reality In The Crucible

Though they are often confused, perception and reality are two very different things. Making a judgement or perception of a situation does not always mean that the perception accurately depicts reality. In misperceiving reality we can often be led to misfortune and disappointment, contrarily accurate perceptions of reality can lead to happiness. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, the theme that those who fail to perceive reality experience misfortune; conversely those who successfully perceive reality will be compensated is developed. This theme is very apparent in various characters but most precisely depicted through the words and actions of characters John Proctor, Abigail Williams and Elizabeth Proctor. These individuals each experience either

misfortune or success, resulting from their accurate or inaccurate perceptions of reality.

John Proctor is known in his town of Salem to be a good man, a noble farmer who is highly respected by his neighbours. Throughout the play, John experiences anguish due to his false perceptions of reality, but he also manages to make one successful perception which would ultimately lead him to reward. The first of John’s incorrect perceptions is made about Abigail Williams, whom he had previously engaged in an affair with. John believes that after ending the affair with Abigail, she would be capable of acting maturely about the situation and would disregard their previous relations. He fails to acknowledge Abigail’s true colours; he does not realize that Abigail feels differently about the situation. John’s wife, Elizabeth Proctor attempts to illustrate Abigail’s true motives to her husband, but John continues to be unaware:
“…You have a faulty understanding of young girls. There is a promise made in any bed…/...She’d dare not call out such a farmer’s wife but there be monstrous profit in it. She thinks to take my place John.” (pg 58)
John’s ignorance and inability to perceive in this situation later causes Abigail Williams to falsely accuse Elizabeth Proctor, condemning her to execution. This is an accusation that comes with many problems for John Proctor. He feels as though he is responsible for his wife being taken to jail and the possibility that she might be hanged causes him to feel tremendous amounts of guilt. John loves his wife and seeing her suffer because of his actions is the punishment that he receives for having committed such actions of disloyalty.
John makes a second unfortunate misperception when he fails to acknowledge the fragile, desperate state of his servant Mary Warren. John holds Mary Warren to a very high standard, perhaps a standard that is too high for her to handle. When Abigail accuses Elizabeth of witchcraft, John forces Mary to go to court and testify against her friend, Abigail, in order to save his wife’s life. He has full confidence that she will testify; despite the fact that Mary is completely fearful of the possibility of being punished, as well as the possibility of having Abigail turn against her. He perceives that she will be successfully capable of withstanding the pressure and the fear that she is feeling. What he fails to recognize is that Mary is just a young girl, he is blindly putting his trust in her abilities. Inevitably, when Mary is threatened she becomes scared; she lacks maturity and, in order to save herself, ends up testifying against John:
“You’re the devil’s man…/ ‘I’ll murder you,’ he says, ‘if my wife hangs! We must go overthrow the court,’ he says. He wake me every night, his eyes were like coals and his fingers claw my neck, and I sign, I sign….” (pg 110)
John’s misperception of Marry causes him to lose the good reputation that he had in court, causing him to end up in jail. He is parted from the people he loves most and suffers in a cell for his failure to perceive reality.
John’s perceptions are not all inaccurate, at the end of the play John manages to make a successful perception.

After many long days in jail, as his execution date approaches, John finally confesses to witchcraft in an attempt to save his own life. The judge of the court, Danforth, insists that his signed confession be hung on the door to the church. Due to the fact that lying goes against John’s religious beliefs, he fears that in signing to a falsely fabricated confession he will actually suffer more than if he is hanged. He is also a firm believer in keeping his name clean and wishes not to ruin his name. In this situation John perceives that it is important to stay true to your heart and to your beliefs. He wants to remain a good man:
“I can. And there’s your first marvel, that I can. You have made your magic now, for now I do think I see some shred of goodness in John Proctor. Not enough to weave a banner with, but white enough to keep it from such dogs…” (pg

133.)
John begins to become very angry and rips the confession that he had signed, which causes him to later be hanged. Though he suffers death, John is indeed rewarded for his accurate perceptions. He dies knowing that he did the right thing, despite having struggled to see the good qualities in himself at many points of the play. Destroying the confession allows him to find some good in himself and his reputation remains unharmed. Therefore, John Proctor’s actions demonstrate the reward that can be had in making accurate perceptions of reality and that there is punishment for those who fail to accurately perceive reality.

Abigail Williams, a main character of the play, tries desperately to rekindle her love with John Proctor, though she is unsuccessful due to her misperceptions of reality. When Elizabeth Proctor discovers the news of Abigail and John’s affair, Abigail is relieved from her work immediately; though her strong desire for John does not cease to exist. As the rumours of witchcraft begin to circulate in the town, Abigail’s cousin Betty falls quite ill after her father, reverend Parris catches her dancing in the woods. John Proctor comes to question reverend Parris about these speculations of witchcraft when he encounters Abigail. This is where Abigail’s first misperception occurs. She is very much still in love with John and she believes that he feels the same way. She fails to recognize that John does not want to revitalize their romance. Believing that he will return her affection, she confesses her love and desire for him and he does not return it:
“John I am waitin’ for you every night…/…I will cut off my hand before I’ll ever reach for you again. Wipe it out of mind. We never touched Abby”(pg 21-22.)
Abigail’s failure to perceive reality in this situation causes her emotional hardship, as she is faced with rejection she becomes frustrated, bitter, sad and her hatred for Elizabeth grows even stronger.
At this point, Abigail believes that the only way for her to win John is to get rid of Elizabeth, so that is exactly what she attempts to do. She wants to make people believe that the devil is a thriving evil force that is taking over the town of Salem and that there are many people that are associated with such lechery, including Elizabeth. She wants for Elizabeth to confess to witchcraft or be hanged. She believes that her plan will be successful and that Elizabeth will die, but she fails to perceive that John is a noble man that will fight for the life of his wife. Abigail believes that her accusation will fly by without questioning because she thinks that John will be too scared to reveal about their affair in court, but her perceptions prove to be inaccurate:
“It is a whore!.../ I have known her, sir. I have known her…/God help me I have listed, and there is a promise in such sweat. But it is a whore’s vengeance, and you must see it…/ I believe him! This girl has always struck me false.” (pg 101-102, 106)
As John reveals this about Abigail, she experiences difficulties as her credibility is questioned by reverend Hale, putting a stain on her reputation in the eyes of both the court and the town. John also becomes increasingly agree at Abigail and the distance between them grows larger which goes against her original plan of winning him back.
Following this confession, Mary Warren reveals about Abigail’s mischief to the court in an attempt to defend Elizabeth Proctor, her employer. This is when Abigail makes yet another misperception. She perceives that if she can convince the court that Mary is in fact associated with witchcraft the court will deem Mary’s revelations as irrelevant. So, Abigail pretends to be completely frightened and begins yelling that she sees a bird flying around the courthouse and that this bird is the devil, brought on by Mary. Mary did not bring the bird, Abigail’s perception is incorrect. In her horror, Mary attempts to take the blame off herself and accuses John of witchcraft:
“You are combined with anti-Christ are you not? I have seen your power; you will not deny it…/Take him and Corey with him to the jail!” (pg 111.)
Because of Mary’s accusation, John Proctor is taken to jail, therefore Abigail’s false accusation due to her misperception leads to her ultimate misfortune. John is sentenced to be hanged, making it impossible for Abigail to achieve her overall goal of being with John, leading her into frustration and heartbreak, once again. Abigail’s constant failure to perceive reality ultimately leaves her with very unfortunate consequences.

Elizabeth Proctor makes both accurate and inaccurate perceptions of reality, causing her to suffer consequences and gain reward. Her first misperception is in regards to John and his loyalty to her. Elizabeth fails to perceive that John is no longer sleeping with Abigail, she believes that he continues to be disloyal to her. So, when John tells Elizabeth about his encounter with Abigail, Elizabeth immediately becomes very jealous, she assumes that John and Abigail are more than what meets the eye and so her and John argue:
“You were alone with her? / For a moment alone, aye. / Why, then, it is not as you told me? Do as you wish then…/ Woman. I’ll not have your suspicion anymore. Oh Elizabeth, your justice would freeze beer.” (pg 52-53)
Elizabeth becomes very sad due to the constant fighting and lack of trust in her relationship with John. There are issues in their marriage, Elizabeth keeps a cold house and there is no love between her and her husband.
Elizabeth’s second misperception is when she tells the courthouse that John is a loyal man, who did not take part in any sort of relations with Abigail Williams. While Elizabeth is in jail for witchcraft, John comes forward about his affair with Abigail in an attempt to prove Abigail and her accusations as wrong. The court is shocked that John would say such a thing and demands to speak to Elizabeth in order to determine whether or not John is being truthful. She fails to realize that John is a noble man that loves her enough to sacrifice his name to save hers:
“Answer my question! Is your husband a lecher!.../ No, sir./ Remove her Marshal./ Elizabeth, I have confessed it!/ Oh, God!”(pg 105)
Elizabeth’s faulty declaration which stemmed from her misperception of her own husband’s goodness causes her many problems. She is taken back to jail, John now has to face problems in the court and she lies which goes against her religious faith causing her to experience sadness as well as guilt.
Elizabeth’s final perception which is indeed a good one, comes at the very end of the play when she is in jail.

She successfully perceives that she is in the early stages of pregnancy and that this baby may indeed be capable of keeping her alive, at least for a little while longer:
“…your wife send me a claim in which she states that she is pregnant now./ …if I should tell you now that I will let her be kept another month; and if she begin to show her natural signs, you shall have her living yet another year until she is delivered….” (pg 85)
By making this successful perception, Elizabeth was able to save herself from execution, in doing this she gets to live with her new baby as well as her other children. Elizabeth’s unsuccessful perceptions of reality lead her to hardship, while her successful perceptions lead her to success and happiness.

The witch trials in Salem 1692 was a time of immense tragedy, where the accuracy of one’s perceptions could create many problems, some of which led to death. In the play The Crucible, Arthur Miller develops the theme that those who fail to perceive reality experience misfortune; conversely those who successfully perceive reality will be compensated. This theme is exhibited through the fortunes and misfortunes of characters John Proctor, Abigail Williams and Elizabeth Proctor. The importance of perception of reality is stressed throughout this play. Any time you are put in a situation where you must make a perception of reality, the outcome

will be either benefit or hardship. Your fate will depend on the accuracy or inaccuracy of your perceptions.