In Prison for What?
A case of the wrongfully accused
Not Cool.
Walter Swift
Similar to The Crucible?
In the crucible, we can see many people accuse many other people of being witches. One of the main focuses is the conflict between Abigail and Elizabeth. Abigail accuses Elizabeth of witchcraft, because Abigail wants her gone to have a life with John Proctor. Abigail had said, "She is blackening my name in the village! She is telling lies about me! She is a cold-sniveling woman, and you bend to her!" (Miller 1060). In this quote, Abigail is trying to make Elizabeth look bad by saying that Elizabeth ruined her reputation. The police officer very similarly accuses Walter of being the one guilty of the crime.
A lot of people lie throughout the story The Crucible, and in most cases, they lied in court. Danforth asks Elizabeth, "To your own knowledge, has John Proctor ever committed lechery?" Elizabeth replies and lies "No, sir" (Miller 1091). Elizabeth lied in a time of uncertainty, and the woman who was raped also lied in a time of fear and confusion.
Danforth knew he had done wrong after he realized the accusations were false. He had already done so much damage he wasn't sure what to do about the other people who were accused and still alive. "Twelve already executed; the names of these seven given out, and the village expects to see them die this morning. Postponement now speaks a floundering on my part; reprieve or pardon must cast doubt upon the guilt of them that died until now" (Miller 1102). In this quote, Danforth realizes he must carry through his actions in order to be fair to the people that have already died. This is kind of similar to how the police officers had the blood sample and knew it wasn't Walter that had committed the crime, yet still let him go to jail for nothing.
Works Cited
"Man Gets Day in Court after Spending 26 Years in Prison for Wrongful Conviction in Rape Case." Scripps Media, Inc., 5 Dec. 2014. Web. 6 Dec.
Miller, Arthur. The Crucible. The Language of Literature. Ed. Arthur N. Applebee. Evanston: McDougal Littell, 2000.