Character Insights

The Crucible was the turning point in literature and in history. It showed how people were convicted with only a minute amount of evidence. The only thing that would have caused a person to be convicted was if people went into hysterics. However, for someone to be accused of using witchcraft, someone else has to say he or she had seen them practicing it or they were the only person who could see it. The trials caused some of the characters to learn new attributes about themselves. Elizabeth Proctor is more reserved. John Proctor, on the other hand, is more prideful; whereas, Reverend Hale is more confident. These three characters go through their own personal journeys and uncover the person within them beneath the surface, which in turn broadcasts their true identity to the audience.
Elizabeth Proctor is a reserved Puritan woman, who has both positive and negative qualities. She is a loyal and honest wife. She also steadfast and true; which makes her a bit shallow. However, she has adequate reasoning to feel this way. Her husband had recently performed the action, which breaks the sacred vows of marriage: an affair. The line, “Suspicion kissed you when I did; I never knew how to say my love. It were a cold house I kept.” shows her inner vulnerability and inquiry about herself. She shows that deep within her she knew all along that John’s adultery wasn’t completely his fault. By acknowledging her weaknesses, fears, and faults, she finally forgives John for what he’s done.
John Proctor was a kind many in many different ways. However, when he is aggravated, he will get irate. That is one of his imperfections, his temper. If a friendly conversation did not work, then he would start shouting and sometimes even was...

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...s beliefs, while also realizing that he had sent innocent people to their deaths. Having this understanding ended up changing him, for the better. He caught a glimpse of true faith through those who he had condemned.
These characters went through many different trials throughout the play. Each character had faced their own complications, but in the end they each had changed for the best. Elizabeth Proctor realized that she had been part of the reason for her husband having an affair with another woman. John Proctor realized that to save his wife, he would have to admit that he had committed a sin with Abigail Williams, and by doing this he would end up ruining his good name. Reverend Hale realized that he had sent faultless people to their deaths and tried to save the other prisoners. They each had to make judgments in order to unearth their true identities.