For the majority of the play, the primary focus has been on witchcraft and the girls' accusations, which lead to numerous arrests, including those of Elizabeth, Rebecca, Martha, and John Proctor. In act four, John Proctor and Rebecca Nurse have not yet confessed to witchcraft and are about to be publicly hanged. When Reverend Parris mentions that there has been a rebellion in Andover, where the court has been thrown out, the focus of the play shifts to John Proctor and Rebecca Nurse's innocence, their decision to confess, and the outcome of their public execution.
For the majority of the play, the court has been intimidating and accusing innocent civilians of witchcraft with impunity. The outcome of the Andover court shifts the focus to Salem's corrupt court, which is now threatened. The court officials realize that John Proctor and Rebecca Nurse are revered throughout Salem's community and their executions could incite a riot. Therefore, the court and its officials stand trial as their crimes threaten to be exposed by John and Rebecca, who eventually choose to die as martyrs in order to disband the corrupt court. While the court officials' crimes come to the forefront in act four, John and Rebecca's innocence is emphasized.
Saturday, May 28, 2016
When Parris compares Rebecca and Proctor to other people from Andover, how do these lines mark a change in the play's focus on the crime of witchcraft to the other crimes or claims of innocence?
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