The Ending of "The Crucible"

The ending of "The Crucible" is a bit sad and confusing. Parris and Hale both want John Proctor to confess so he won't be hung, but he can't. I was confused as to why it is such a big deal for him to confess. He would be able to live just by writing down that he was "with the Devil." I assume that it was just the time period and how strict their religion was that caused it to be so hard for him to confess. Even though Parris was the one calling Proctor out for being a liar, he wants him to confess now. I think the reason for this is because he doesn't want to be responsible for a life lost, and because Abigail left out of the blue and took Parris' money.
Abigail seems to be running away from her problems. She puts all her effort into making up lies to make herself look better in the town, and then she just runs away, leaving all that behind. I assume it is because nothing is going to be left for her. She probably realizes that John Proctor hates her and will not want to be with her if he lives, even though it's probable that he will be hung. Her parents are also dead which makes Salem even more of an empty place for her. Overall, the ending of the book was not surprising, because it was clear all along that the people accused were going to die, but it was confusing as to why confessing was such a big deal.

Comments

  1. Yea I was confused a bit why John wouldn't sign his name on the confession as well. And I agree that Abby is most likely running away from her problems, since she does have a problem with facing them head on (like deflecting onto others).

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  2. I think confessing had to do something with giving away in what he believed in. I guess John didn't want to yield his dignity to a bunch of crazies.

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