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Chaos 1: In this scene, one can get an idea of what starts to happen to a town when fear begins to take over. Without any strong sense of rationale, the people get hysterical. Mrs. Putnam, especially, goes overboard in her reaction to the situation when she declares that the Devil is falling down on the town. The town is terrified that their good Christian ways will be compromised with the advent of the Devil.

Chaos 2: The people continue to argue and Proctor gets very angry with Reverend Parris. All Parris does is speak of damnation, hell, and the Devil in his sermons, and Proctor is annoyed with this. Parris, as well some others in the town, are fear-stricken that hell is upon them. Not only do they fear that hell is near, but they think that their own lives are at stake. This fear causes utter chaos to break out, as they begin to yell and scream at one another.

Chaos 3: Parris speaks out against those that do not obey the church's authority. He says that those who do not follow their authority will burn in hell. He tries to instill fear into the people of the town so that they will blindly follow all he says to do and say. However, instead of people listening, this fear causes the town to break out in chaos and madness. They continue to argue and yell because they do not know what else to do.

Chaos 4: Tituba and the girls are so afraid that they will be punished severely by the church that they start to give the names of people they "supposedly" saw with the Devil. In actuality, they may not have even seen any of these people with the Devil. But, it is their fear of the church's retribution that persuades them to give these names. And because they give these names, chaos in the town breaks out and all of the people are called in for questioning about whether or not they have made compacts with the Devil. This is essentially what causes the "witch-hunt."

Chaos 5: Once the names of people even get mentioned, the town gets into a stir. Fourteen people have already been jailed, and the town is going crazy. Danforth promises that he will hang them if they do not confess to having had relations with the Devil. These people have no choice, and are 'between a rock and a hard place' because of the court. If they confess, then their names will be tarnished forever, and if they do not confess, they will die. It is madness and no one knows the truth.

Chaos 6: Giles' wife, Martha Corey, and Francis' wife, Rebecca Nurse, have just been arrested. These two women are highly respected throughout the town. However, it only took the mentioning of their names for Danforth and other representatives of authority to think badly about them, and even go so far as to arrest them. Many people know that these two women are church-going and have never done a thing wrong in their entire lives. This depicts the fear and chaos that has broken out in Salem. People are being arrested that should not be.

Chaos 7: Proctor is outraged that his wife has been mentioned in the court as possibly having had relations with the Devil. He knows that Abigail is only trying to have revenge on her, for Abby wants to marry John Proctor. John says that the town has gone so crazy as to allow children like Abby to write the law. The court is basing their actions strictly on the children's arguments and John sees this as absurd.

Chaos 8: Proctor claims that the girls are all lying about people being witches. Parris, in his outrage, keeps yelling that Proctor has come to overthrow the court. Parris cannot possibly hear that he might be wrong about all of the people who have been accused, so he must stick to his beliefs however wrong he may be. People die because of Parris' and Danforth's steadfast adherence to the law, even when it may be wrong.

Chaos 9: Things in the court are still at the point where no one can even question the court's authority over the witch-hunt. When Proctor gives Danforth a list of names of people who are testifying that Rebecca, Martha, and Elizabeth are not witches, Danforth demands that they be brought in for questioning. It is sheer madness that no one can even speak one word without being thought a witch.

Chaos 10: Giles refuses to give the name of the person who told him that Putnam is accusing people so that he can get their land. Danforth considers this contempt and arrests Giles, even though he did not do anything wrong. Danforth's fear starts to get the better of him and he reacts with a comment that depicts the ludicrousness of his rationale. He says that there is a plot to destroy Christ in this country and that is why he must conduct himself in the way that he is. He and the other members of the court are creating a society of chaos by themselves.

Chaos 11: Mary Warren has just accused Proctor of being with the Devil. Danforth has Giles and Proctor taken away to jail. Hale is so outraged by the actions of the court that he gets up and quits the court. He now sees the insanity that has taken hold of Danforth, and Parris and can no longer be a part of convicting innocent people.

Chaos 12: Hale pleads with Danforth to stop the executions, for to continue with them just for the sake of the law is not doing the right thing. Danforth refuses and says that they must hang. Hale tries to explain that Salem is in complete turmoil and that Danforth must see this. He says that orphans are out wandering the streets, cattle are wandering on the roads, crops are all rotting, and men are being tempted left and right. He tries to use this as a way to prove to Hale that things cannot get any worse for Salem, and that action must be taken to improve the state of things.