Crucible Essay (Character Analysis)

The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, is an intriguing novel about the witch trials in Salem during the 17th century. During the Salem witch trials, innocent people were accused of being witches just so that others could take their land and farms. The main protagonist, John Procter, stands up against the corruption and greed that has infested the very heart of Salem, and tries to overthrow Abigail Williams, a corrupt young maiden who blames and kills the accused witches. This novel explores the depth of evil in human nature through these main characters John Procter and Abigail Williams. But despite the corruption of Abigail and the town, the just emerge to try and stop this evil from occurring. The characteristics of John Procter are

People’s true character is revealed through their actions. Their morals and ethics can be told from how they choose to act in a situation. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible; the character of John Proctor is an honorable man despite having committed wrongful acts. He was able to redeem himself through acts that is considered courageous, such as when he refuses to contribute to the lie of witchcraft in Salem, when he fights for the people who were convicted of witchcraft and when he regrets being a dishonest man.

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.

How many people have you met in your life that is stronger because of a difficult experience they went through? Most people are because we take these difficult experiences and grow from them and become better people. This is the exact case is expressed in the play, The Crucible, by Arthur Miller. The story begins in Salem, Massachusetts 1692 right in the middle of a period of witchcraft hysteria. During this time many people were accused of being witches and wrongly convicted by judges Danforth and Hathorne. The characters in the story are struggling because of a girl named Abigail who gets caught practicing witchcraft and then starts naming and accusing others so that she doesn’t get in trouble; one of these people being a well-respected farmer, John Proctor’s, wife Elizabeth. The title, The Crucible, refers to a test, trial, ordeal, formation by fire, and vessel baked to resist heat, and the entire story is an allegory meaning it has a hidden meaning. John Proctor symbolizes a crucible by embodying the definition of one, as he went through a test and was formed by fire.

In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, various characters, whether it is from physical trials or unseen personal struggles, experience some kind of major conflict. There are those who spend every day in fear, wondering whether or not they will be falsely accused of witchcraft. There are others who struggle with more internal trials, such as forgiving those who have hurt them. The protagonist, John Proctor, was a man of strong moral constitution, and held himself to a high standard for the sake of his good name and family. As a result of this, he struggled with a major internal conflict throughout the play.

People are known to change, whether it is liked or not, there is no way of stopping change, and people know this; what most people don’t know, is how similar character change is to human change. In the wonderfully written play 'The Crucible', by Arthur Miller, many of his characters change in big ways as the story progresses, and three of these characters that changed the most are; John Proctor, Reverend Hale, and Elizabeth Proctor. These characters change a great deal throughout this play.

A man 's reputation in many forms is his, life’s work. To have your reputation dismantled is like taking away one 's accomplishments and life’s work. Arthur Miller 's The Crucible is a play about justice and injustice, and how our justice system can be easily corrupted. The story revolves around a man named John Proctor, the tragic hero of this story. John Protector is a symbolic character created by Arthur Miller, because he faced the justice system head on. Proctor’s biggest flaw would be his great amounts of pride, which unfortunately led to his own death. In Arthur Millers’ The Crucible, he characterizes John Proctor as the tragic hero of the story because of all that he lost, through his relentless crusade to free his wife and exposing injustice, illustrating that no hero is perfect.

when people face certain circumstances in their life, it can affect who they are and change them greatly. The Crucible is partly based on McCarthyism in the 1950’s which was similar to the Salem Witch trials. John Proctor undergoes a huge change as he is involved in everything that goes on in Salem. Slowly, he goes from being a proud and confident man to being miserable and feeling worthless. The changes that John Proctor experiences in this play represent how powerful change could be and why people are so afraid of change. In “The Crucible”, written by Arthur Miller in 1953, the changes John Proctor experiences are proven by the things he says, the things he does, and others' opinion of him.

Arthur Miller’s character John Proctor, in his play, The Crucible, demonstrates that even though one may commit a sin, he is still redeemable in the eyes of God and his family. John Proctor is a man who despite his flaws, symbolizes how final dying actions can redeem previous sins. Taking place during the 1692 witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts, no character more perfectly exemplifies the definition of the word ‘crucible’ other than John Proctor, for a crucible is defined as a situation of severe trial. He shows his love for God and his family name when he admits to his sin of adultery and dies to protect the things he loves the most.

Throughout The Crucible and the Salem witch trials, John Proctor is known by his community and family as a nice, trustworthy man who will remain loyal to others. Although he is seen this way, a secret he must retain will eventually lead to his downward spiral into a predicament he cannot control. As John Proctor is faced with the possibility of losing his life as a whole while facing the court, he begins to lose who he truly is and become something he isn’t. This pattern of changing from a trustworthy and consistent individual, to someone lacking morals and ethics is a common theme that can be applied to many characters in Salem during the witch hunts and trials. However, John Procter’s situation is one of significance due to the many factors that play into his demise such as the tension prevalent in his marriage, his affair, the accusation of his wife.

The play The Crucible by Arthur Miller follows the story of a broken man as he watches his town descend into chaos. The Puritan town of Salem, that this man once called home, has transformed into the breeding ground for the witch hunt that’s been overtaking his society. The Puritans are a stubborn and religious people, they view anything outside of their rules as the devil’s work. In the year 1692 Salem Massachusetts is ravaged with paranoia and false accusations. Amid this chaos lives John Proctor. Proctor has a reputation of being a good and honorable man; however, in this case, looks are deceiving. After an affair with his servant Abigail, guilt for what he has done overtakes and pushes him to do everything he can to redeem himself. As he is dealing with his shame, his neighbors are being falsely accused and hanged for witchcraft. His frustration at this, paired with regret for what he has done, drives him as he undergoes an intense character development. Since John Proctor is motivated by a want to redeem himself, his decision not to confess to witchcraft allows him to free himself of his guilt and go to his death like an honest man.

In the play The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, there is sequence of events involving witching in the city of Salem. Everyone in the town is being accused of being involved of doing witchcraft. The ones that are accused will be hung if they don’t confess. There are external and internal conflicts within each character. One main character that changes the most throughout the play is John Proctor. In the beginning of the play John Proctor shows that he is suspicious but throughout the play he confesses his wrongs and clears his act which makes him become a man of his word and a true puritan.

How does Arthur Miller use the crucible to represent personal experiences or voices? Arthur Miller used “The Crucible” to his advantage in the 1950’s, voicing his personal experiences of belief and religion through the characters of Danforth and Rebecca Nurse. He represented his experiences of proving ones honor and name through John Proctor and he characterized his experiences of hysteria and extremism through the girls and Abigail. Miller is using his play, “The Crucible”, to illustrate significant issues that he wishes to convey to his audience. Miller has used “The Crucible” as not only a representation of the Salem witch trials and McCarthy trials, but also as a representation of how humanity will react when faced with situations such as hysteria, extremism and proving ones honor and name.

The puritan society of Salem victimized and inflicted deep damage upon even the purest of citizens. John Proctor and Reverend John Rev. Hale have similar intentions, go through harsh and stressful experiences and develop a separate state of mind. While John Proctor and Rev. Hale in the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller begin with pure intentions, the critical, harsh puritan society morphs them into victims.

How do the characters in The Crucible face conviction as a challenge? According to Arthur Miller, they gain an insight, or understand themselves. John Proctor, a Puritan farmer along with his wife, Elizabeth Proctor are in jeopardy under the Salem witch trials. With the help of Reverend John Hale, an expert in witchcraft, they will encounter the opposition of lies coming from Abigail Williams. The morality of the Salem witch trails conducts important insights between Elizabeth’s toleration with John, Reverend Hale vulnerability, and John Proctor tragic downfall.