Compare And Contrast Reverend Hale And The Crucible

A Tragic Hero This short essay will delve into character analysis of two characters from The Crucible by Arthur Miller. I will be discussing a few qualities of Reverend Hale and John Proctor, and also arguing why I believe that John Proctor is the tragic hero of the story. Reverend Hale is a man who comes to Salem with a mission. He had recently discovered witchcraft in his own town where he was the minister, and now his services were being requested elsewhere (Miller, 9). His talents were becoming known, and he was very proud. He had intentions of being Salem’s hero by purging their small town of witchcraft and evil while increasing his reputation as a witch catcher. He truly strives to be a virtuous man, and seems to carry that†¦show more content†¦However, John secretly fights his own personal battles. Mark Twain said, â€Å"Everyone is a moon, and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody.† John Proctor shone brightly, but just like everyone else, he had a dark side. Abigail Williams was the Proctor’s servant hand for a while, but secretly had a short lived affair with John. His wife Elizabeth caught on and kicked Abigail out of the house. John, a man who had lived with such great character for much of his life, could no longer live with himself if he kept up the lie. He confessed to his wife and ended things with Abigail. Fast forward to the courtroom, when John is trying to save his wife. Elizabeth Proctor has been accused by Abigail of witchcraft. The Proctor’s new servant, Mary Warren, is supposed to testify against the rest of the girls. The judge, unfortunately, isn’t believing Mary. Ultimately, John is forced to confess his affair with Abigail to the judge and everyone else in the room as a last resort to save his wife. He hopes that this will be enough to convince the judge that Abigail is only trying to get Elizabeth out of the way so that she can have John to herself. It doesn’t work. Mary accuses John of being with the Devil and forcing her to lie in court. In the end, John has one choice. He can lie and sign a paper telling the town that he has broken his ties with the Devil, or he will be hanged if he truthfully denies it. Again, John Proctor must struggle with his soul. It is heart wrenching toShow MoreRelatedCompare And Contrast Reverend Hale In The Crucible1639 Word s   |  7 PagesMacbeth or Professor Moriarty, while typically portrayed as â€Å"evil,† are morally complex characters that view themselves as protagonists, similar to Reverend Hale. In Arthur Miller’s seminal recreation of the 1692 Salem Witch Trials, The Crucible, a group of Puritan farmers, landowners, and priests collide in a tale of desperate fear and hysteria. Reverend Hale, a minister with what appears limitless knowledge of the supernatural, is thrust into an event that his expertise could never prepare him for.Read MoreI’m Not a Witch†¦ or a Communist! I Plead the 5th! Essay1089 Words   |  5 Pagesdestruction of many good Christian people and their families. Arthur Miller, who was arrested during the McCarthy era, wrote The Crucible, a play about the 1692 Salem witch trials, to expose the absurdities of McCarthy’s â€Å"witch hunt†. One of the most obvious similarities between the two time periods is McCarthy’s counterpart Abigail Williams, the infamous antagonist from The Crucible. In February 1950, McCarthy stated to the public that he held â€Å"A list of 205 that were made known to the Secretary of StateRead MoreThe Paradoxical Nature of Belonging Depicted in Arthur Millers The Crucible1318 Words   |  6 PagesIn Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, we are positioned to see belonging as paradoxical, in that the positive, human quality of belonging inevitably carries with it the negative and dangerous corollary of exclusion. By belonging, we are automatically excluding others and excluding ourselves from other groups. The Crucible achieves this complex presentation of belonging through a variety of interconnected techniques which will be explored in this essay. These techniques may be categorized into four mainRead MoreThe Crucible By Arthur Miller1899 Words   |  8 Pageslistening to this advice , spreading bits of untruths as harmless as white lies to the more severe, like in the case of the Salem Witch Trials or the McCarthy trials during the Red Scare. Arthur Miller delved deeply into this topic in his famous play, The Crucible, in which he compared the Salem Witch Trials to the McCarthy trials as a comment on the self-preserving, rash, and gullible nature of human beings, in order to open the audience’s eyes to the error of their ways. He wanted them to see the negativeRead MoreThe Crucible By Arthur Miller Essay1900 Words   |  8 Pageslistening to this advice, spreading bits of untruths as harmless as white lies to the more severe, like in the case of the Salem Witch Trials or the McCarthy trials during the Red Scare. Arthur Miller delved deeply into this topic in his famous play, The Crucible, in which he compared the Salem Witch Trials to the McCarthy trials as a comment on the self-preserving, rash, and gullible nature of human beings in order to open the audience’s eyes to the error of their ways. He wanted them to see the negative