The Crucible Essay
Crucible, a word that has taught a valuable lesson in this book, is a situation of severe trial, or in which different elements interact to produce something new. Not only does this describe the book to it's fullest extent, but, "The Crucible" gives us examples of insight. The main characters are as follows. John proctor, a farmer who is stern and hates hypocrisy. John is married to a women named Elizabeth. Although he is married, he has a hidden affair with a women named Abigail Williams. Elizabeth, John's wife, has high moral standards, you could say she's virtuous -but can be cold sometimes. Hale is a committed Christian and reverend who is said to be an expert of witchcraft. These characters are not only the most important ones in the book, but they are also the characters with the most capacity to gain an accurate and intuitive understanding of something, or insight as they call it.
Elizabeth Cervantes
English: Drawing of Martha Corey who was hanged fo...
Elizabeth Freeman (LOC)Elizabeth Proctor plays a very important role in The Crucible. She is a women of honesty who has great confidence in the ability of a person to stay righteous. Because of her honest and kind reputation, this causes John to be punished when Elizabeth lies about his affair with Abigail, thinking that it will save John. Elizabeth can also be cold and demanding. Her insight into John is that she questions if he is a moral man or not because of his affair. She knows that he is a good man, but good and moral are two different things. Elizabeth's insight on herself is that she feels that she may have driven John to adultery. She also understand that her suspicions made their marriage tense because she never confronted him about it, so it built up inside of her.
Hale is a hater of witchcraft, and believes that he knows everything about it. At first Hale is the force behind the witch trials, always trying to make people confess but as the book continues Hale makes a dramatic transformation. After listening to John Proctor and Martha Corey, he becomes convinced that they are telling the truth. Hale's insight on witchcraft changes, Because at first he though he was a master on it, but later on he realizes that he didn't know as much as he thought he did. Hales insight on the law after he realizes what is going on, is completely ruined. Hale finally recognizes the evil of the witch trials and the court and then tries to convince the accused to save their own lives and admit to witchcraft.
John Proctor is a man who is very blunt and intelligent. Not only is he a good man, but he is very proud of his name and will not give it up for anything. He understand that Elizabeth is angry with him, why shouldn't she be. He asks for her forgiveness at the end of the play, and finally comes out with the truth to her about the affair. Proctor believes the he is a good, intelligent man that can see the foolishness in other people. Because of his affair with Abigail, Proctor believes that he is not a moral man anymore. Proctor shows this throughout the play, by the comments that he makes and things that he says to himself.
So, there you have it. Hale the Reverend that made a dramatic change in character throughout the book. Elizabeth, the housewife that learned to open up more and forgive people when they make mistakes. Last but not least, Proctor the man whose name means more to him than anything in the world. I believe the the most important character in the story is Proctor. He is the leading character and serves justice in the book. He is the hero of the tale. He is the one that exposes the girls as frauds. He wouldn't sign his name was because he committed a sin, the sin of adultery and believed that he wasn't worth being save because he, himself lied and didn't deserve justice.