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The Crucible Character Analysis

Decent Essays

The play, The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, takes place in the town of Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. This time in Salem, witchcraft was suspected of almost everyone in the town. Preserving one’s reputation becomes recurring concept throughout the play. The witchcraft accusations are usually made by people that have a biased view against others, which is why everyone tries to make sure their reputation looks well with the rest of the town. This concept is proven through the characters of John Proctor, Reverend Parris and Reverend Hale. These three characters go to great lengths to protect what the town of Salem thinks of them. One of the first characters the audience is introduced to in the play is Reverend Parris. Parris is portrayed as …show more content…

Once Proctor admits to his sin with Abigail the court assumes he is a witch. Due to the courts false accusation he is forced to either sign a paper that would be hung on the Church door, or die. Proctor’s statement of, “Because it’s my name… I have given you my soul; leave me my name!”, shows how even though he is giving up his reputation to the rest of the town, by confessing to being a witch, he still values his name (Miller 133). Once Proctor admits to his affair, there is nothing he can do to save his reputation with the rest of Salem, but self respect is what matters to him most.

Due to the rise of witchcraft in Salem, Reverend Hale is brought to town as an expert in identifying witches. When Miller says, “he spent a good deal of time pondering the invisible world, especially since he had himself encountered a witch in his parish not long before” this shows Hale’s motivation for wanting to seek out witches, because he doesn’t want others to experience witches like he did (Miller 31). Throughout the play he examines the men and women accused and puts them on trials, many of which end in tragic deaths. Later in the play he comes to realize the court in Salem is set up in an unjust way. People are forced to admit they are something they’re not. When Hale said, “It is a lie! They are innocent”, he is choosing to save innocent people from living a lie or dying from the court’s wrongful actions of forcing people to confess to witchcraft whether they have proof or

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