Self Preservation In The Crucible

Self- preservation is a very prominent theme in the play The Crucible; everyone is looking over his or her shoulders worried about getting accused of witchcraft. Notably, a servant girl Mary Warren and Reverend Hale of Beverly both have strong concern for their prestige in the community. Mary Warren is the servant to John and Elizabeth Proctor and once Abigail accuses Elizabeth and she is arrested, John insists Mary tell the truth of what the girls are doing to the court. However, Mary is afraid of what Abby can do to her and what could happen if she spoke out against her. Mary speaks her fears to john when she says, “I cannot charge murder on Abigail . . . She’ll kill me for sayin’ that!” (Miller 1286). She knows Abigail will turn the accusations
One could not blame him though; he truly believed at first he was doing the right thing. However, in acts three and four his entire way of thinking was transfigured in the opposite direction. After the arrest of Elizabeth Proctor, Rev. Hale begins to see the deep flaws in the system he has dedicated his life to and arises as a voice for the innocent and accused. Hale’s dynamic with the judge and the court diminishes and dies along with the villagers that are hanged. He speaks his concerns to Judge Danforth during John Proctor’s disposition; “I have signed seventy-two death warrants; I am a minister of the Lord, and I dare not take a life without there be a proof so immaculate no slightest qualm of conscience may doubt it” (MIller 1301). The reverend and his paramount standing against the court defending Giles Corey, John Proctor and Elizabeth made him a target to Abigail, but he was seldom concerned about his name in these last acts. In the long run, Mary and Hale are motivated in the beginning by the same goal, finding witches, but in the end it comes down to who was stronger in their beliefs and who stood up for what was