Proctor Refuses to Name Others, Explained：have no tongue for it

What's really going on

The scene draws the line between confession and betrayal. Danforth wants Proctor to name others, because a confession that names no one has little use to the court; Proctor is willing to admit his own sin — "I speak my own sins; I cannot judge another" — but not to hand over names, because that would make him a tool of the trials. He also resists the last demand, the signature, with simple reluctance: "I have no tongue for it." The court understands what is at stake: "It is a weighty name; it will strike the village that Proctor confess." The signature is the whole point, because a spoken confession can be denied later, while a signed one is permanent and public. Proctor is not yet a hero here; he is a man bargaining, trying to save his life without spending anyone else's. The court, which has learned to weigh names, refuses to let him have it both ways.

Theme

このチャプターで学べること

• Proctor confesses himself but names nobody else.
• The court treats a missing signature as no confession.
• Sport with hints the court feels toyed with.
• A score of witnesses makes his denial look hopeless.

発音のポイント

• come in — Come in links as co-min without a gap.
• confess yourself — Confess yourself runs together with a doubled s sound.
• is the issue — Is the issue links into i-zee-issue.