The Character of John Proctor, Elizabeth and Reverend Hale in The Crucible

648 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: How did characters change in the crucible

The definition of crucible, or at least one of them, is a severe test or trial. This is definitely a fitting name for the Salem witch trials based play, as dealing with the hysteria and unjust courts of Salem is a severe trial in its self. However, the characters were also tested by their own ability to choose between right, wrong, or the most beneficial actions. From the main characters to all of the town’s people, they must all decide between what is best for them or everyone, living in sorrow or dying with honor. The three characters that undergo the most change throughout this play is John Proctor the farmer, Elizabeth whom is John’s wife, and Reverend Hale the supernatural expert.

Elizabeth is John’s wife who fell ill months before. During this time she and John have started to become farther and farther from each other, beginning a cold relationship. They are pleasant to each other and John takes care of her in every way he can, but this lack of affection is one of the reasons John ended up having an affair with their servant, Abigail. Since then she has fired her, and the ...

Show More
Related

  • Character Change In Arthur Miller's The Crucible

    1378 Words  | 3 Pages

    Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, is about mass hysteria of witches being in the town of Salem, Massachusetts. An educated man named Revered Hale arrived in the town with his exclusive knowledge of witches to help the town eliminate the presence of the Devil. He became a member of the court and aided in putting innocent people in jail or hung. As Hale started to see the consequences of his actions, he struggled with fixing his mistakes. The change in his perspective of the witch trials caused his overall personality and attitude to change as well. Hale’s dialogue, stage directions, and other people’s perceptions of him reveal a man motivated by good intentions; furthermore, his mission to help Salem destroyed evil in the beginning and his attempts

    Read More

  • Abigail Adams And John Proctor In The Crucible

    685 Words  | 2 Pages

    ¨I have known her, sir. I have known her.¨ A crucible is a test or severe trial, and no trial is more severe than that of a man’s soul. The entire story of Salem is ridden with tests of character and the humanity of the citizens as they respond to the mass hysteria created by someone crying witch. Every single character in this play is given a trial through which they must come to achieve their greater purpose, and these trials expose the skeletons in their closets and the blackness of their sins. However, the similar message is presented in different ways by the cinematic portrayal and Miller’s original play. Lies, unsubstantiated accusations, jealousy, and self-righteousness are the main factors fueling the flame of deceit and hatred. John

    Read More

  • The Character of John Proctor in The Crucible:

    1089 Words  | 3 Pages

    John Proctor: “God in heaven, what is John Proctor, what is John Proctor”. John is a man of strong moral beliefs, concerned only for the safety of his family and personal welfare. He cares of nothing for the beliefs of any of the other people in the town and what his supervisor which is the Reverend, thinks either. After trying to avoid involvement in the witch trials he is later prosecuted for witchery and sentenced to hang. John trys to avoid any involvement in the Salem witch trials. His reason for doing so is to protect his image because he is afraid he will be committed of adultery with Abigail Williams. Following these events he trys to save everyone’s lives by admitting to this horrible offense adultery and ends up losing the trial along with his life. He did have a chance to live but instead of signing away his name and his soul to keep his life, he wanted to die honorably with his friends not without a name, a soul, and with guilt. “John Proctors decision to die is reasonable and believable”. Reverend Parris, the Salem minister and Proctors immediate supervisor, which says “ there is either obedience or the church will burn like hell is burning.” “The church in theocratic Salem is identical with the state and the community and will surely crumble if unquestioning obedience falters in the least.” Proctor, on the other hand, “has come to regard his self as a king of fraud,” as long as he remains obedient to an authority which he cannot respect.

    Read More

  • Courage, Weakness, And Truth In Arthur Miller's The Crucible

    1171 Words  | 3 Pages

    The statement,“The Crucible is essentially about courage, weakness, and truth,” is proven true numerous times, throughout the play. The Crucible was written by Arthur Miller, about the true events that happened in Salem, Massachusetts, between the years 1692 and 1693. The Salem witch trials consisted of many hangings, lies, and complete mass hysteria. The citizens of Salem followed the religion of Puritanism, and the ideas of predestination. The root of the mass hysteria comes from their belief in the sense that in something happens then it must have been planned by God. In Miller’s portrayal of the story, Abigail Williams was the ringleader of the witch trials, and she used the idea of predestination to cover up her own sins. Abigail was a very manipulative girl and ruined many lives. John Proctor, Mary Warren, and Elizabeth Proctor were just a few of the victims in Abby’s game. John, Mary, and Elizabeth exhibit the traits courage, weakness, and truth, whether it was in a positive or negative way.

    Read More

  • The Crucible John Hale Analysis

    706 Words  | 2 Pages

    Miller’s play, The Crucible, is a fictional representation of the Salem Witch Trials, which occurred from 1692-1693 in colonial Massachusetts. He wrote the play to humanize the people involved, and to try and interpret their possible motivations to do all that they did. One particular character Miller focuses on is Reverend John Hale. Hale first appears in Act One, when the citizens of Salem summon him for his expertise on witchcraft. His presence sparks the witch hunts within Salem. Hale goes from being the main accuser and the investigator to later condemning the witch trials and the court’s rulings. Miller displays this change of view through the use of commentary, dialogue, and stage directions.

    Read More

  • The Crucible: Hysteria And Injustice

    1618 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Crucible: Hysteria and Injustice Thesis Statement: The purpose is to educate and display to the reader the hysteria and injustice that can come from a group of people that thinks it's doing the "right" thing for society in relation to The Crucible by Arthur Miller. I. Introduction: The play is based on the real life witch hunts that occurred in the late 1600's in Salem, Massachusetts. It shows the people's fear of what they felt was the Devil's work and shows how a small group of powerful people wrongly accused and killed many people out of this fear and ignorance.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Power In The Crucible

    1224 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Crucible is a play with many underlying messages and themes. One of which is the idea of power. Power is a very important term in this play in that whoever holds the power, holds the fates of others. The hysteria within Salem has directly effected society. Everything has turned upside down and has gotten distorted. Arthur Miller is telling us that all the power in Salem is given to those who are corrupt and their abuse of it is directly shown through: the actions of Abigail throughout the play, the corruption and desires of Parris, as well as the witch trials held by Judge Danforth.

    Read More

  • Character Analysis Of Reverend Hale In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

    577 Words  | 2 Pages

    This is a character essay on the “The Crucible”. The character I have chosen to be my

    Read More

  • Justice and Injustice in The Crucible by Arthur Miller

    924 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Crucible mocks the way society deals with justice. Salem is torn apart, due to the extent of Abigail's imagination and power. It shows the bias of opinions, as it was shown in the court, and how people tend to choose outcomes that suit them. In the end, injustice thrived upon the souls of the community, leaving many innocent people dead. Justice did not prevail, as the heart behind the case, John Proctor preferred to keep his self-respect and integrity, than live a life of lies.

    Read More

  • Elements of Good and Evil in The Crucible by Arthur Miller

    1083 Words  | 3 Pages

    The play, The Crucible, is a fireball of guilt, evil, and good compiled into one magnification. It is a play with tremendous feelings, with many inside twists hidden in the archives of the true story. It is a play with emotional feelings; feelings of anger, hate, and evil, yet also feelings of goodness, and pureness. Undeniably, The Crucible is a play illustrating good versus evil.  The principal characters, Abigail Williams, John Proctor, Ann Putnam and Marry Warren all contain within them elements of good and evil.

    Read More

  • A Test of Character in The Crucible by Arthur Miller

    1488 Words  | 3 Pages

    A crucible refers to a harsh test, and in The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, each person is challenged in a severe test of his or her character or morals. Many more people fail than pass, but three notable characters stand out. Reverend John Hale, Elizabeth Proctor, and John Proctor all significantly change over the course of the play.

    Read More

  • The Change in Character of Reverend Hale in The Crucible by Arthur Miller

    1027 Words  | 3 Pages

    A crucible is a severe test as of patients or belief, a trial. The play The Crucible is a journey through the trials of many townspeople caused by the superstitious belief of witchcraft. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller progresses and evolves the outlooks and views of the townspeople of Salem and shows how events, people, and catastrophes cause the characters to change their views on whether the people prosecuted were guilty or innocent of witchcraft. Reverend John Hale changes his view, more and more drastically as the play advances, as a result of the events that he underwent and the experiences he had. Soon he had total belief in the innocence of all those convicted and hung in Salem.

    Read More

  • Arthur Miller's The Crucible

    546 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Crucible is a 1953 play by Arthur Miller. Initially, it was known as The Chronicles of Sarah Good. The Crucible was set in the Puritan town of Salem, Massachusetts. It talks of McCarthyism that happened in the late 1600’s whereby the general public and people like Arthur Miller were tried and persecuted. The Crucible exemplifies persecutions during the Salem Witch Trials. The people were convicted and hung without any tangible proof of committing any crime. Persecutions were the order of the day. When a finger was pointed at any individual as a witch, the Deputy Governor Danforth never looked for evidence against them or evidence that incriminated them; he ordered them to be hanged. This can be seen through his words “Hang them high over the town! Who weeps for those, weeps for corruption!” (1273), the people were persecuted aimlessly. The four main characters in the play, John Proctor, Abigail Adams, Reverend Hale and Reverend Parris, are caught in the middle of the witchcraft panic in the religious Salem, Massachusetts in late 1690’s. Persecution is the most important theme in the Crucible, the leaders and citizens of Salem attacks and persecutes one of their own without any tangible evidence against them.

    Read More

  • Character Analysis of Elizabeth Proctor in The Crucible

    585 Words  | 2 Pages

    Out of all the characters in the crucible was great, but in my opinion, Elizabeth is the best character in the cast in the Crucible. She was a faithful wife, a good mother, and strong in her faith/religion. Even though her husband cheated on her she still remained faithful to him. Elizabeth demonstrates a very truthful woman. She’s the wife of John Proctor. Nicknamed Goody Proctor, because she was a good christen woman. Everyone liked her, because she was a woman who never lied. Until, she lied in court one day to save her husband’s life. She acts very frigidly to others. The only person that didn’t like her was Abigail Williams. Abigail wants Elizabeth to die because Abigail wants John Proctor all to her self.

    Read More

  • The Title of The Crucible by Arthur Miller

    836 Words  | 2 Pages

    By the end of this play, the true meaning of the word crucible was a severe test. John Proctor underwent the most severe test and as a result his character underwent a drastic change throughout the play. The ultimate test that John Proctor undergoes is the final decision that he makes before he dies. The town of Salem was deeply religious and they were willing to believe the word of a deceitful young girl rather than believe in the integrity of people like John Proctor, Reverend Hale, and Rebecca Nurse.

    Read More

More about The Character of John Proctor, Elizabeth and Reverend Hale in The Crucible

Open Document