In Act Two, we see Elizabeth's conflict with her husband, John. He asks if she is sad again, and "she doesn't want friction, yet she must" say,
You come so late I thought you'd gone to Salem this afternoon.
She seems to still suspect him of having ulterior motives for going to Salem. Elizabeth is somewhat justified in her suspicion since John shortly reveals that he spoke with Abigail, his former lover, alone, when he'd led Elizabeth to believe that he was never alone with the girl.
We also see evidence of Elizabeth's conflict with her employee, Mary Warren, in Act Two. Even though John has forbidden Mary to go into the courts in Salem anymore, Elizabeth feels she could not stop her. She says,
I couldn't stop her [....]. She frightened all my strength away.
Despite their age difference, and the fact that Mary is employed by the Proctors, Elizabeth still felt overpowered by Mary, especially given how powerful the court has become in town. Mary claims to be an official of the court, and Elizabeth is afraid to interfere, it seems, though she's also trying to obey her husband.
Then, in Act Four, we see evidence of Elizabeth's internal conflict, a conflict she's had much time to mull over during her three months in jail for witchcraft. When John asks her forgiveness again, she says,
I have read my heart this three month, John. I have sins of my own to count. It needs a cold wife to prompt lechery [....]. John, I counted myself so plain, so poorly made, no honest love could come to me! Suspicion kissed you when I did; I never knew how I should say my love. It were a cold house I kept!
Elizabeth has felt conflicted by her love for John and her simultaneous distrust of that love. It sounds like low self-esteem has caused her to doubt his love since its beginning, and she blames herself and her behavior for John's infidelity. Only now can she really put that conflict into words.
In the play, Elizabeth has quite a bit to be conflicted about. She faces external conflict of her husband having had an affair with their servant, Abigail Williams. Their affair was something outside of herself that created tension and unhappiness in her life. She had to figure out how to deal with that situation, and how to behave after it was over. It created conflict in her marriage, and a huge rift that was evidenced even months after the affair was over. Another external conflict that she faces is later on in the play when Danforth asks her if her husband committed an affair. Admit to it, and her family's reputation would be ruined; so, she doesn't. Earlier, when Reverend Hale comes to visit their home, he presents an external conflict for her when he questions her beliefs about witchcraft, and about the town's proceedings of late.
Internally, Elizabeth also struggles quite a bit. She feels like she was a...
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bad wife somehow, a cold wife, and that was part of the reason that John turned from her to Abby. She was internally conflicted about her potential role in that entire affair. In act two, we see her struggle with her internal conflict of being angry and bitter over the affair still; she still struggles with forgiveness. That is a very personal, internal struggle that she battles with every day. She was also internally conflicted about what to recommend to her husband at the end of the play when everyone wants her to convince John to confess. She admits that she wants him to live, but also that she wants him to be happy. That is an internal struggle--her selfish desire for him to live life with her, or the more noble route of not lying.
I hope that those thoughts helped; good luck!
Describe Tituba's internal and external conflicts in The Crucible.
Tituba’s internal conflicts likely have to do with what she views as right and wrong. She knows that she loves Betty Parris, and she would not do anything to hurt Betty, but she is essentially compelled to lie by the powerful white men who enslave and manipulate her. Mr. Parris wants to whip her until she confesses to witchcraft after Abigail accuses her, and Mr. Putnam wants to hang her.
Tituba must wrestle with the idea of lying, confessing to witchcraft, and naming other supposed witches if she wants to save her own life; if she tells the truth, no one will believe her. When she lies, Mr. Hale is actually nice to her and speaks gently to her, telling her that she is doing God’s work. As a result of this, and the fact that she changes her story—first professing her innocence and later confessing to guilt—we can conclude that she experiences some internal conflict about this.
Externally, Tituba conflicts with Abigail Williams, who accuses her of witchcraft in order to avoid suspicion herself; the Reverend Parris, who is feeling as though he is losing power in his parish and is frightened what rumors of witchcraft will do to his reputation; and Mr. Putnam, who is eager to figure out the cause of his daughter Ruth’s affliction after having danced in the woods with Tituba. She is scared for her life, wanting to tell the truth but being falsely accused of wrongdoing by the very white people she sought to help.
What is an internal and external conflict for John Proctor?
I think that most of the conflicts surrounding John Proctor are internal. One internal conflict of John's is his guilt. John is a respected and well liked member of the Salem community. People look up to him and believe that he is a good man. While John probably agrees with most of that about himself, he is conflicted with guilt about his sexual relationship with Abigail Williams. John tries to be a Godly and religious man, but he he knows that he has committed a great sin against God and his wife.
Another internal conflict of John's occurs at the very end of the play. Should he confess to a lie and live? Or should he die as honorable of a man as he can? It's an incredible scene, and in the end John chooses death in order to preserve his goodness.
Elizabeth, supporting herself against collapse, grips the bars. of the window, and with a cry: He have his goodness now. God forbid I take it from him!
External conflicts are a bit more difficult with John and this play. He's never really in any kind of battle against a person. At least not in the kind where punches are thrown or the kind in which a reader would be able to declare a winner. John has an external conflict with Abigail. She still clearly desires to continue their affair, but John is committed to never cheating again.
Proctor: Abby, I may think of you softly from time to time. But I will cut off my hand before I'll ever reach for you again. Wipe it out of mind. We never touched, Abby.
John also has an external conflict with Judge Danforth. In the final act of the play, Danforth is pushing John hard to name the people that he saw communing with the devil. Proctor does not want to confess to any more lies, so he doesn't give Danforth any names. The scene continues to intensify as Danforth all but forces John to physically sign a document of confession. Danforth wants to hang the document for all the world to see, and John doesn't want that. He doesn't want his good name tainted for all of Salem to see, so John eventually tears the paper up, which prevents Danforth from "winning."
His breast heaving, his eyes staring, Proctor tears the paper and crumples it, and he is weeping in fury, but erect.
What are the internal and external conflicts in The Crucible by Arthur Miller?
In one way, there are too many conflicts in Arthur Miller's The Crucible; in another way, there are not enough. If there had been more conflict between the court and the girls, things may have ended differently for the twenty-some people who died during the Salem Witch Trials. Alas, that did not happen.
The external conflicts in this play include all three kinds: man vs. man, man vs. nature, and man vs. society.
The man vs. man conflicts are many. The girls who call out the names of people innocent of witchcraft are in direct conflict with their neighbors and fellow citizens. People like Parris and Putnam are in the same kind of conflict with their neighbors and congregation, as they want to get more land and save their reputations (such as they are). Both they and the girls (primarily Abigail) are using the court to punish and get rid of their enemies.
As the fear intensifies, the people of Salem are then in conflict with one another, quick to accuse someone else before an accusation can be leveled against them. They cheer at the hangings, at the deaths of their fellow citizens.
More specifically, Parris is in conflict with Proctor and Giles Corey because they question his authority; these two men are in conflict with Parris because they do not think he is a true man of God. Abigail is in conflict with Elizabeth Proctor because she wants to steal her husband; she is also in conflict with Tituba because Tituba could tell the truth about what they did in the forest and against Marry Warren once Mary tries to tell the court the girls are lying. There are countless other examples of man vs. man conflicts because that is the mood of Salem during this trying time; there is a notable lack of conflict between Danforth and the girls.
The only significant man vs. nature conflict is the war against witchcraft, which could be considered a kind of nature.
The man vs. society conflicts are many, and most of them center around the court, a social (and political and religious) institution. The court is in conflict with those who tell the truth because it consistently believes lies. This would include Proctor, Corey, and Hale, among others.
A few other societal conflicts include John and Abigail, who committed adultery (both a sin and a crime in this Puritan world), and Tituba, who comes from a culture in which witchcraft is perfectly acceptable.
The inner conflicts are fewer; however, we do know of several. Elizabeth is in conflict with her own heart when it comes to her husband; she resolves it by letting him die, as he wishes. John Proctor wants to live his life but is tormented by the reality that, to do so, he must give up his name and everything that means to him and will one day mean to his children. Proctor resolves his conflict by refusing to sign a false confession.
"I do think I see some shred of goodness in John Proctor. Not enough to weave a banner with, but white enough to keep it from such dogs."
Hale's inner conflict is between believing that witchcraft is a real and evil thing and wondering if what is happening in Salem is true witchcraft; he concludes that it is not and quits the court. Abigail appears to have no inner conflict at all, and the same is true of Danforth. Though they each have a moment of wavering, it does not rise to the level of conflict.
The man vs. God conflicts are many and complicated for these Puritans.
This town and this story are replete with conflict of every kind.
In The Crucible how does Miller present Proctor's internal and external conflicts on stage?
Proctor's internal and external conflicts are presented on stage through a combination of verbal and non-verbal communication. The various external conflicts he has with other characters are easy to identify. He openly states his problems with characters such as Elizabeth and Parris, making reference to the problems that exist in his marriage with the former and mocking the latter for his insistence on having silver candlesticks in Act II. The immense internal conflict that Proctor endures in Act IV when he is tempted with signing his name away in order to gain his life is revealed in the following speech, which the stage directions indicate is uttered "with a cry of his whole soul":
Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies! Because I am not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang! How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name!
Note how this speech, combined with the instructions Miller provides as to how this speech should be delivered, clearly indicates Proctor's internal conflict as he has to choose between death and keeping his name and life and losing his name. Of course, as this speech reveals, he would have no life if he lost his name, as he would not be able to live with himself. Proctor's internal and external conflict is therefore revealed through his dialogue and how he delivers that dialogue.