The Crucible by Arthur Miller

"The Crucible" tells the story of the Salem witch hunt. When the play opens, a group of young girls have been conjuring spirits in the forest. Two of them are in a hypnotic trance. A religious expert in witchcraft is called in and soon the girls are calling out the names of people they have seen with the Devil. A court is set up. Gradually more people are named as social feuds become entangled with personal emotions, and presently Elizabeth Proctor, a cold, harsh Puritan, is framed by one of the girls (Abigail), whom she has dismissed from her service after finding her in adultery with her husband, John Proctor. Proctor, supported by Giles Corey, takes it on himself to oppose the court. He persuades one of the girls, Mary Warren, to confess that it is all fraud, and by admitting his adultery with Abigail, tries to discredit her as a witness. But Elizabeth, called in to confi rm his testimony, lies for the only time in her life, and Mary is once again contaminated by hysteria. After this, Proctor himself is condemned. The last act deals with the struggle of his conscience. To escape the gallows, he has only to confess that he is in league with the Devil. Is not life, he reasons, worth a compromise? But, finally, he tears up his confession and is sentenced to die.