In Act Three, Giles is arrested because he won't reveal
the witness that claims to have heard Thomas Putnam admitting that he was accusing his
neighbors of witchcraft so that he could swoop in and buy their land. Someone told
Giles they heard Thomas saying that, and Giles knows that if he were to reveal the
witness, that witness would be arrested. So, Giles refuses, and is arrested himself as
a result.
This action serves several purpsoes. The first
is to alert the reader to just how power-hungry, suspicious, illogical and defensive the
courts are. Corey's statement is just one of many attempts that John and his friends
make to try to set their wives free, and it is just one more example of the courts not
listening, and arresting the people making the claims instead. So, Giles plays the role
of further revealing the court's corrupt nature.
It also
plays a role is letting the readers know that Giles, even though he is a grumpy and
cantankerous old man who serves as comic relief quite often, is actulaly a man of
integrity who cares deeply about other people. He refuses to give the man's name, in
order to protect him. He would rather get arrested than send someone else to jail. It
adds character depth to his personality, depth that makes him a bit of a
hero.
Giles and the statement he made also reveals that
Putham is a conniving schemer willing to murder his neighbors in order to increase his
wealth. This is crucially important information for the context of the play, and vital
to understanding the motives of why many of the accusations
occurred.
I hope that helped; good
luck!
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