The+Crucible-Big+Ideas


 * Appearance vs. Reality
 * ex/ Betty seems as if she can not wake up when her father tries to wake her, but when the adults leave and Abigail tries, she wakes up. Act 1.
 * Intolerance
 * ex/ If you're not with the court, you must be against it. Act 3
 * Mass Hysteria
 * ex/ Abigail, the girls, Tituba
 * Reputation
 * ex/ Keeping their good names
 * Power
 * ex/ The judges, the Putnam's

Conflicts in __The Crucible__

Conflicts of passion and order: Abigail and Elizabeth
 * Conflict over John Proctor, they both desire him for themselves, at the expense of the other.
 * Abigail desires John Proctor, stemming from her passionate desire for him.
 * Elizabeth uses the ideals of order, sticking to her claim on Proctor as his legally acknowledged wife.
 * In an interesting reversal, Abigail makes use of the order and law of the land as a weapon against Elizabeth and the others in the villiage, as a means to appease her passions.

Conflicts of rigidity and leniency: Hathorne and Hale
 * Hathorne is dedicated to justice through ruthless methods, believing in dispensing justice at any cost, and that justice MUST be dispensed, almost regardless of who actually recieves the judgement.
 * Hale is also dedicated to pursing justice, and arrives in Salem with the intent of purging it of the evil of the witches, but he allows his emotions to sway his judgement often, his position on those judged guilty changing as evidence is presented.
 * Hathorne, on the other hand, is resolute in his opinion, and refuses to be swayed by his mere emotions or the emotions of others.

__Jealousy__

__Greed__
 * Elizabeth is jealous of Abigail, throws her out, causes tension with Proctor
 * Abigail is jealous of Elizabeth; she accuses and frames her of witchcraft
 * Goody Putnam is jealous of Rebecca Nurse; because Putnam lacks the ability to have children while Nurse has had many children and grandchildren
 * Putnam's desire for more land causes tension between himself and the rest of the town

__Fear__
 * Mary Warren's fear of Abigail causes her to fake the affect of witchraft

__Vanity/Pride__
 * Danforth's inability to reverse his judgments
 * Proctor's pride in his name leads to Elizabeth lying in court