The play "The Crucible" is a political parable, which addresses many main issues relevant to today's society. These issues are demonstrated in the play, by John Proctor and Reverend Hale. Reverend Hale is considered to be, and considers himself, an expert on witchcraft. He is initially summoned to determine whether the devil is in Salem and enthusiastically participates in the court proceedings. He attempts to convince the condemned to admit to witchcraft and save themselves from death. John Proctor is a stern, harsh-tongued man, who hates hypocrisy. Nevertheless, he has a hidden sin-his affair with Abigail Williams-that proves his downfall. When the hysteria begins, he hesitates to expose Abigail as a fraud because he worries that his secret will be revealed and his good name will be ruined.
             John Proctor's affair with Abigail is an example of one of the conflicts John had in "The Crucible". This causes a lot of anxiety on John's part. He feels extremely guilty for committing the crime of adultery and for betraying his wife Elizabeth and his children. He had to face up to the fact that he sinned - that he was wrong to have an affair with Abigail.
             Another conflict John has in the play is when he is trying to denounce the girls and Abigail as liars or frauds. The girls, led by Abigail, put on a great show for the judges. Everything they did in the court was an act so that they weren't convicted as witches. John has also another conflict, which is with himself. He has been put to the test to see how truly a hero he is. Because of his crime, he either had to choose whether or not to lie and live or to sacrifice his life and die with a good name and a good conscience. As well as John Proctor, Reverend Hale also has been put to many tests. The first one is that he had to decide whether or not he was going to support the actions of the court or to go with the girls. He also wanted the people accused to confess, and this is another examp...