John Proctor And Abigail Williams In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

“The Crucible” is a play that portrays both the benefits and the devastating outcomes of the calamitous Salem Witch Trials. Inpirticullrly, the major characters in “The Crucible” reveal the true essence of their personality by their response to the events in Salem. Many characters such as Reverend Parris, work avidly to safeguard their reputations. Additionally, characters such as Abigail Williams and John Proctor display their true personalities when they are forced to encounter momentous events. Overall, several characters hassle over maintaining their reputation and staying true to themselves throughout the crucial events during the Salem Witch trials, and with that their true colors are displayed.

Reverend Parris was the Puritan minister

On the surface, the average person living in Salem would assume Abigail was a kind hearted young girl, but as the readers and several characters such as John Proctor know, Abigail is truly a manipulative, tyrannical and lying women. One example when we see these characteristics shine through is after she and a group of girls were convicted of witchcraft. She had a harsh conversation with the girls after the fact in which she stated, “Now look you. All of you. We danced. And Tituba conjured Ruth Putnam's dead sisters. And that is all. And mark this. Let either of you breathe a word, or the edge of a word, about the other things, and I will come to you in the black of some terrible night and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you”.(Act I) Through this quote the readers are able to see how far Abigail and her manipulative and brutal mind will go to make sure her reputation and her secret of conjuring the spirits won't get out. On the other hand, the author, Arthur Miller gives us a possible reason of Abigail's harsh actions. Abigail explains, “I saw Indians smash my dear parents' head on the pillow next to mine."(Act 1).Through this quote Abigail's previous actions become more human due to the fact that a cause of her detrimental choices could have been tied to the fact of traumatic up bringing which included watching her parents being murdered. In a

Furthermore, John Proctor is a man of numerous strengths and countless weaknesses and as the story progresses we are able to perceive Proctors true identity. In the beginning of the play John Proctor expresses his strength when he says to Abigai, “'I will cut off my hand before I'll ever reach for you again.”(Act I) This quote shows that deep down John is a remorseful man who is greatly embarrassed by his past sin and is making the moral choice of not repeating his detrimental actions. Moreover, it displays Proctors strength and commitment to his wife, himself and his faith. Additionally, in Act IV John Proctor lets it be known that he thinks of himself as a sinner and portrays that he admires people who have lived better lives them him. He states, “I cannot mount the gibbet like a saint. It is a fraud. I am not that man. My honesty is broke, Elizabeth; I am no good man. Nothing’s spoiled by giving them this lie that were not rotten long before,”(Act IV) which shows how humble of of a man Proctor truly is. Also, John Proctor reveals his honesty and down to earth characteristics in this quote as well. In the end, John Proctor faces both hardships and repentance throughout the story, but overall we are able to distinguish his true colors which are an honest, humble and remorseful man who