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Character study of the crucible
Character analysis in the crucible
Character study of the crucible
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Not every hero lives to tell his story. This is exactly what happened in Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible, a story focused on the Salem Witch Trials. In Spring of 1692 in the town of Salem, Massachusetts a group of teenage girls were caught by Reverend Parris, a selfish and materialistic man, dancing around a campfire in the woods during the middle of the night. In order to avoid punishment, they began to blame innocent people of witchcraft. The court was established with judges Danforth and Hathorne in charge to question the people who were accused.
Death, can tear anyone apart, but when it's for a cause it can open a family, friends, or even a nation's eyes. When a national icon dies for a cause it can a can make the whole nation take a step back and look at what's really going on. An excellent examples are John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr, or in this case John Proctor from The Crucible, by Arthur Miller. In this play people are being hanged for an accusation of witchcraft, which is necessary to restore the social justice in Salem. This play can be compared to history, with information about the play itself, and lastly how the tragic hero's death makes a difference in this play.
1. John Proctor is a tall man. He has long brown hair and a short beard and mustache. He has a bold personality and cares about his family. He stands up for what he believes in no matter what the cost.
The second important part of the quote Mr. Proctor said was “We are what we always were in Salem, but now the little crazy children are jangling the keys to the kingdom,…” Proctor is seeing in Salem a shift in power from the adults and people with authority in the town. The authority and control was handed to the children who are going crazy convicting others who have hurt them saying they are witches. John Procter knows this because he knows Abigail’s plan. Abigail is trying to get Proctor to marry her by killing Mrs. Proctor in the witch trials.
Overall, Acts One and Two of The Crucible were very well written and achieved the author’s purpose of expressing the unreasonableness of McCarthyism at the time while keeping the audience entertained. One way Miller was able to accomplish this purpose was through developing the individuality of characters. I really liked how he made each character have a very individual personality. Miller developed these personalities through the dialogue between characters and also with authorial intrusions and stage directions. One example of this is when Mary Warren says, “Abby, we’ve got to tell.
Protection and Its Effects A main motivation for characters’ actions in The Crucible was protection of themselves or others. There are many causes and motives for the cast of The Crucible to act as they did, but the one that stuck out to me was the need to protect and save the people of Salem, whether it be for selfish reasons or compassion for others. The focus will land on Abigail and Mercy, Parris, Mary Warren, Proctor, Elizabeth, Giles Corey, and Reverend Hale, who all share a common motive within the story, and that’s to protect someone from the events that occur. Of course, other motivations for the events in the story exist, but as a more personal push for action, it seems fitting to put more focus on protecting themselves and others.
When people are accused of a crime they didn’t commit, it often has lasting effects on them and their loved ones. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, he explores the Salem Witch trials with characters that are accused of a crime they clearly didn’t commit, and are sent to their death. In a similar fashion, the five adolescents who were accused and found guilty of a heinous crime in New York City were ultimately found innocent after they served years and had eliminated a chance of restoring their youth. In the Central Park Five court case that occurred in New York City during the late 1980’s, the idea that a hero is someone valiant is proven by Antron Mccray. In the play, the Crucible by Arthur Miller, it displays that a hero is honest based on
Even though John Proctor is conflicted throughout The Crucible, he finds peace by realizing the Elizabeth loves him, knowing his death will stop the court’s rampage, and forgiving himself for his sins. John Proctor often found himself in contention with the church and the town, however the town was beginning to disagree with all of the hangings. The officials of the court attempted to stop the spreading dissent among the townspeople by getting proctor to sign his freedom for a blackened name. He refuses and says to Elizabeth that he will, “Show honor now, show a stony heart and sink them with it” (Miller 133). He knows he will sink the trials with his actions because he is such a prominent figure in the society, as much as he is disliked,
In Arthur Miller's "The Crucible", John Proctor is our passive protagonist as he tries to save his wife and others that were accused of witchcraft. Unfortunately, his attempt was in vain and his evidence had backfired. His knowledge did not stop the witch trials because of his self-respect, and the children's high reputations, and Abigail's tactful nature. John Proctor valued his self-respect because it made him confident and helped him stand up for what he believed in. John proctor's name was synonymous with honor and integrity and was most respected in Salem.
In the play The Crucible, there are a few round characters, characters that have many or a few different sides or facets. These characters have different, conflicting traits, that confuse the reader on whether they should side with the character or not. The most dominate round character in the play is John Proctor, he progresses a lot as a character throughout the play, he changes from being someone you may not like, into a character that you very well may end up liking a lot because of his actions in the play. He has a past of being unfaithful to his wife with another character, who turns out to be one of the main antagonists in the play. But, at the same time John is the main protagonist of the play, he defends the wrongfully accused in Salem,
When people think of the play, “The Crucible”, they usually picture the witch trials and women being hanged, but Arthur Miller depicts the witch trials in a completely new light. He shows through a story that the witch trials were much more than just people calling others witches. There was deceit, pain, greed, and more. Through the play, we follow the character, Abigail, observe her actions and their consequences. We witness the lives of people she impacts, what happens to them, and how many times she lies to get her way.
“I have given you my soul; leave me my name!” (Miller 1357). This quote is said by John Proctor, a character in “The Crucible,” who is pleading to keep his name reputable when accused of witchcraft. Arthur Miller writes “The Crucible” to portray the Salem witch trials of 1692. The people of Salem have grievances in which they need a scapegoat.
John Proctor is a good man despite anything others may say about him. He displays three very noble qualities throughout the witch trials which are bravery, honesty, and an overall goal to save lives even to the point where he sacrificed his. While many argue John is a bad man because he committed adultery they are entirely mistaken. Just because he had one bad sin gives no right to anybody to call him a bad person when clearly the good side of him is shown more than the bad. John Proctor is a good man who displays the characteristics of a hero and could be seen as one for giving his life for his friends.
In the Crucible, many of the characters go through changes because of the intensity of the situation. But there is only one character that I think changed the most, and that is John Proctor who is the protagonist of the novel The Crucible by Arthur Miller. I think that John Procotor changes the most in the Crucible because he is in every act and mostly in every scene, and throughtout the play I see more drama (Dynamic Character) in him than any other character in the Crucible and I will go through and tell you how John Proctor changes in the Crucible. In the beginning of the play (Acts 1 and 2), we focus on John Proctor and we know that he is a good puritan citizen, a hard-working farmer and who is a husband and father.
Does your word mean anything to you? Does what you stand for as a person mean anything even when someone tries to take it away from you? A word John Proctor lived by, integrity, which stands for honest and moral. The religious background adds to more for their moral compass so they will go to heaven and not be sinful. The author of this play Therefore, to die for the truth is better than to live a lie.