CRUCIBLE: 68-81

Elizabeth, to Hale: "I cannot think the Devil may own a woman's soul, Mr. Hale, when she keeps an upright way, as I have. I am a good woman, I know it; and if you believe I may do only good work in the world, and yet be secretly bound to Satan, then I must tell you, sir, I do not believe it" (70).

I commend Elizabeth for her intelligence, she has the ability to think beyond reason. Here, she makes a good point once again. It is no secret that she is known as a good woman yet everybody actually believes that she is into witchcraft. She acknowledges the fact that Hale knows she is a good woman and also points out that he is ridiculous. It is almost contradicting in a way to think so well of a person then turn around and accuse them of working with the Devil. Her reasoning behind not believing in witchcraft is substantial, because what kind of a good woman worships the Devil?

Proctor: "Is the accuser always holy now? Were they born this morning as clean as God's fingers? I'll tell you what's walking Salem - vengeance is walking Salem ... common vengeance writes the law!" (77).

This quote reminds me of the saying, "When you point your finger at someone else, there are three fingers pointing back at you." Basically, this is saying nobody is perfect, therefore noone has the right to judge anybody else. Specifically in this society, EVERYBODY has the ability to point the finger and risk someone's life. As we can see, no substantial evidence is needed to get someone put on trial. Thus, Proctor makes a reasonable inference. This society is filled with jealousy and with that comes retaliations. Proctor realizes that it is not the actual people who make the decision but their emotions, in this particular case it is vengeance.