The Crucible Character Analysis

The Crucible Character Analysis

In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, John Proctor, the protagonist, is a farmer in his middle thirties. The author gives little to no detailed physical description of him, but from Proctor’s speech, we can still picture him as a strong and powerful man who is able to keep every situation under the control, the kind of personality which earns him deep respect and even fear from the people in town. On the other hand, Abigail Williams, the antagonist, plays an inferior role as an orphan who has no social status in a place like Salem. Over the course of the play, John Proctor is absolutely awakened and transformed by Abigail Williams. In the end, he overcomes the crucible by releasing himself from his guilt of adultery and becomes a true tragic hero.

John Proctor is an honest, intelligent and righteous man. Unlike many in Salem, Proctor is not afraid of the Church's authoritarianism, because he does not see the true value of it. Hence, he speaks his heart — “I like not the smell of this ‘authority’” (Pg. 181). When he is asked by Hale how come he does not baptize his youngest son, his honesty is again displayed. He responds that he sees “no light of God in that man” (Pg. 199). From the story, we can also see that proctor is a man with a extraordinary intelligence. He has the ability to feel foolishness instantly when in a presence with a fool. He is also one of the few people in Salem who recognize the witch trial as a mischief from the beginning. Above all, Proctor is a honorable and upright man. In Act Ⅲ, he does not repeal his accusation just because Danforth spares his pregnant wife one more year to live, but he is also concern about his friends. Similarly, he does not wish to blacken other’s name w...

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... up the paper and says, “I have given you my soul; leave me my name!” (Pg.240). It is when we see that the prideful man still exists. In other words, he is transformed by Abigail throughout the whole play, from a respected man to someone who, in the end, willingly signs a false confession to save himself. In the end, however, he does not give in to the evil, but rather he embraces death, because it is how he decides to show that good will always defeat evil and the crucible has not destroyed his true, righteous personality.

Obviously, there is no such devil in Salem, but it is perhaps only in the hearts of the people. John Proctor is one of them when he lusts Abigail. Nevertheless, he undergoes the arduous and perilous crucible which not only tests his love for Elizabeth and his faith of god but also, by forgiveness from his wife, frees him from guilt and regret.