The Crucible Beliefs Post

Although for the most part I try hard to stick to my beliefs, if the consequence for doing so is death then I would most certainly tell people that I believe whatever they want me to believe in order to survive. If  Proctor had told Hale that he did not believe in witches, he probably would have been hauled off to jail along with his wife, and possibly faced a hanging with her. It's true that sticking to your beliefs is important, but another belief of mine is that it is okay to stray from that in order to save your life. Ordinarily I would tell people the truth about what I believe, even if it would result in me being shunned or harassed, but Proctor faced imprisonment and possible death if he told Hale the truth. At first I thought that Elizabeth was somewhat stupid for telling Hale she did not believe in witches, because it only made her situation worse. But then I realized that they were taking her to jail anyway so she really had nothing to lose in telling the truth. I know that if I had been in the situation that Elizabeth and John were in, I would have done the same thing as John.