Act III is interesting, because it illustrates how illogical the court of Salem has become. The reader sees three men, Giles Corey, Frances Nurse, and John Proctor, come to court to present several depositions in order to free their respective wives. The court is at first very hesitant to hear their depositions at all, because they do not want the accused to be released.
The first deposition is one signed by Mary Warren in which she admits that she "never saw no spirits" and that "it were all pretense, sir." John Proctor forces her to sign this deposition; she does not do so enthusiastically because she knows that Abigail will be furious.
The second deposition is signed by 91 people and brought by John Proctor when he states, "These are all landholding farmer, members of the church. If you'll notice sir -- they've known the women many years and never saw no sign that they had dealings with the Devil." These people are then ordered to be arrested so that they may be "examined" by the courts.
Lastly, Giles Corey presents a deposition that he heard from "an honest man" that Mr. Putnam encouraged his daughter to accuse George Jacobs so that he could take Jacobs' land. Giles states, "I have it from an honest man who heard Putnam say it! The day his daughter cried out on Jacobs, he said she'd given him a fair gift of land." The court wants the name of this "honest man" and Giles refuses, knowing that the man will be arrested. Giles is taken into custody for contempt of court because he will not reveal the name, and is eventually killed by pressing.
Each of these depositions is meant to show the absolute lunacy with which the court is assessing the claims of the townspeople when it comes to the accused and illustrate how absolutely unfair it is.
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