"In what ways does Miller succeed in making the moments when Proctor tears up his confession particularly dramatic? In your answer you might consider the character of Proctor, the events that lead up to this situation and the pressures he's under both to sign the confession and to destroy it".
             Towards the end of the play we see how john proctor is accused of witchcraft and sentenced to death, unless he confesses his dealings with the devil. As he is a true committed Christian he would rather stick to his beliefs and principles and loose his life than to lie in court and to God and save himself.
             In 1692, Salem Massachusetts was ruled by religion and men. The communities in Salem were all puritans and were deeply devoted to their religion. The lives of people in Salem were organised around their religion. They had a very simple way of life and had no means of amusement. There was no entertainment as it was forbidden. If anyone were caught dancing, singing or reading anything other than the bible the people of Salem would automatically suspect that this person was dealing in witchcraft. People in Salem could go to jail for such things. To make sure nobody was accused of devil dealing nobody had a private life, everyone in the community knew everyone's business. This was all normal to the puritans of Salem. There were no real feuds or arguments in the county. The only disputes were over land or cattle. People used the arguments as a 'weapon' against their neighbours. They would accuse the person with the most land of witchery and they would therefore be hanged leaving their land open for buyers. For a simple town with simple people this was very devious and un-Christian like! It was a very harsh life for people living in Salem at that time but people in the communities made in harder for themselves and their neighbours with the witch hangings.
             Miller himself had a huge fascination with witchcra...