Characters In The Crucible

Choose three of the characters in the crucible and show how Miller presents the motivations for their actions.

Think about:

Reputation- is this a motivating factor for any of the characters

Power – Which characters are motivated by power

Witchcraft – how are the accusations used? Who benefits? How?

The individual and the society – how might the particular community situation in Salem be a motivating factor for some characters?

800 – 1250 words

In the crucible characters are motivated by various themes such as, reputation, power, witchcraft and society. John Proctor, Reverend Hale and Reverend Parris’s actions are prime examples of how in the crucible these themes are dominant. From the very start of the text we can see that reputation is a

It is seen countless times in the text that he defends his ‘name’, one prime example of this is the fact that he vowed not to touch Abigail again, in fear of losing his name in the town “I will cut my hand off before I reach for you” or even him not admitting to adultery at the earliest stage of the witch trials, which essentially could have ended the madness. However this point maybe invalid as he may be trying to protect his children’s and wife’s name rather than his. In my opinion this factor is still relevant – if he admitted to adultery as soon as possible in the witch trials, many lives would have been saved which in turn would have made him be seen as a hero by the reader.

At the end of the play, despite his admittance of adultery being dismissed, John Proctor’s desire to keep his ‘name’ leads him to withdraw his admittance of witchcraft however sacrificing his life., this fact alone shows his courage and individuality. This is seen by many as the defining characteristic of John Proctor’s heroic attribute. “I have given you my soul; leave me my name!” he cried to Danforth in Act 4, because of this heroic action he saved his name and died at peace, knowing his name is

His great knowledge of witchcraft grants him this skill; it is instrumental in gaining both power and respect throughout Salem. Power is the thing that motivates him, as we all know knowledge is power and he is focused centrally on knowledge in witchcraft – granting him knowledge and power and this power disguised as knowledge motivates him throughout. Yet another motivation of the characters in Salem is witchcraft. Witchcraft became a major theme in the text, as it became a weapon which could leave innocent people hanging on a noose. Witchcraft had revealed to the reader that reverend Parris was ashamed of his child and niece, as they were supposedly ‘possessed’ by witchcraft; this could also link with the reputation theme. He uses witchcraft to state things he normally wouldn’t, like assuring that Abigail’s laughs during