What are some of the main conflicts in The Crucible?

This intense play has a number of conflicts, both internal
and external. John Proctor serves as the central figure in all of the play's important
conflicts as he struggles to attain an honorable honesty even while admitting to immoral
acts. 

Narrowing our focus down to the most significant
conflicts of Miller's play, we can identify the following three
conflicts:

• Proctor's troubled history and
  difficult relationships with Elizabeth and Abigail form a single domestic
  conflict...


• Proctor's attempt to persuade the court that
  the accusations of witchcraft are false is an external conflict central to the play's
  themes and action. 


• Proctor's internal struggle to
  determine the right course of action at the end of the play is a representative
  conflict, as he considers whether to falsely confess and live, or to be honest and
  die. 

These three conflicts are expressive of
the major themes of the play. Social pressure, integrity, and the personal relationships
that fuel nearly all dramas are each present in these conflicts concerning John
Proctor. 

Proctor stands in the center of the plays
turmoil, literally and figuratively. He is engaged in a personal struggle to be honest
with himself and his wife about something shameful in his immediate past. This relates
directly to his public challenge, which is to convince the court that it is acting
dishonestly, or at least acting on dishonest
information. 

Proctor can also be seen to embody the play's
resolution as he recognizes that his honor and his integrity are tied to his ability to
be honest, despite the costs of this honesty. 

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Proctor's final recantation of his confession and
his refusal to put his principles aside to save his life, we see the triumph of personal
integrity in a world of moral
uncertainty