the crucible what characters have changed over the course of the play

by Mr. Bradly Stamm 3 min read

In the play, The Crucible by Arthur Miller, Each of the characters of Proctor, Hale, and Elizabeth changed from the beginning of the play to the end of the story. Proctor becomes more honest; Hale becomes more skeptical, and Elizabeth becomes more forgiving.

Full Answer

How did the characters change in the Crucible?

Abigail Williams, Elizabeth and John Proctor, Mary Warren, ReverendParris and even Reverend Hale had changed drastically because of what they had to go through during the course of the play. However, other characters such as Ezekiel Cheeverand Marshall…show more content…

How does Elizabeth change her course in the Crucible?

We might argue that Elizabeth is the character that changes her course to the greatest extent. Initially, she is defensive, petty, and cold in he relations to John Proctor. As the play goes on, Elizabeth softens and demonstrates a growing understanding of her husband, as well as forgiveness. Further along,...

Are there any characters in the Crucible who don't actually show up?

There are several characters in The Crucible who don’t actually show up onstage but still play an important role in the play.

How does the Crucible relate to the 21st century?

It is common for humans to fear change and what is unknown, in the play The Crucible this is witchcraft and the devil, in more recent times it can be seen in post World War Two and Cold War United States, through McCarthyism. The themes in the crucible are as important to people in the 21st century as in Salem in 1692.

What character changes the most throughout The Crucible?

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.

How has Hale changed over the course of the play?

He is eager to discover witchcraft and allows other people to manipulate him but his views change over time. Throughout the play, Reverend Hale exemplifies overconfidence and this decreases because innocent people are being hanged and he becomes doubtful about the court for these reasons.

How has John Proctor changed over the course of the play?

This leads to an important change of his personality: John Proctor changes from a normal citizen and a sinner to a tragic hero, a person of high sense of morality. This evolution of his character is due to many situations he is faced with and which aroused strong feelings and beliefs.

Which character changed the most from the beginning of the play to the end of Act III?

Juliet changes more than any other character in Romeo and Juliet. Juliet changes more than any other character in Romeo and Juliet. During Juliet's first scene in the play, she says that she will love, but only if it pleases her parents. This longing for authority shows her immaturity at the play's beginning.

How does Reverend Parris change throughout the play?

Throughout the entirety of the play, Reverend Parris was a perplexed man. As the play moved along, he grew more introverted and we see his paranoia grow larger. He was also blaming every other person for every little mishap in Salem for his own benefit.

How has Mary Warren changed in The Crucible?

Studying Mary Warren showed us different sides to her. We see her as fragile, frightened, lonely and unimportant. This has changed by Act 2 though. She has changes in attitude towards different people especially Proctor and by Act 3 Mary has broken down and is back to what she was in the beginning.

How did Abigail change in The Crucible?

Within the space of one act, Abigail changes her story from "we were just dancing" to "Tituba sent her spirit on me and bewitched us"—and everyone buys it. Part of Abigail's success in convincing others of her lies stems from her ability to get herself to believe the lies.

How does Romeo change throughout the play?

During the course of the play, Romeo matures from adolescence to adulthood as a result of his love for Juliet and his unfortunate involvement in the feud, marking his development from a comic character to a tragic figure.

How does Elizabeth change in The Crucible?

Elizabeth experiences many dramatic changes in her life, but her main defining moment illustrates the play's theme of forgiveness and bitterness. Throughout Act I and II Elizabeth Proctor is a cold, yet moral character.

What character in The Crucible does not change?

However, other characters such as Ezekiel Cheever and Marshall Herrick did not really change noticeably. Reverend Parris and Reverend Hale are two characters in "The Crucible" that did change, and Ezekiel Cheever is one that did not.

Where does the Crucible take place?

The Crucible takes place in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. The story begins with a group of girls practicing witchcraft and one in particular, Abigail, took part in the practice to harm another woman, Elizabeth. To explain, Abigail tried to kill Elizabeth because she is the wife of John Proctor, the man she loves and had an affair with. Then, one of the girls became ill after participating in witchcraft and so panic spread through the town as everyone believed that others participated and are conversing with evil forces. Soon after, the town accused people of witchcraft and began taking people to court and sentencing others to death.

How did the Salem Witch Trials affect the story?

The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts. The trials resulted in the executions of twenty people, fourteen of them women, and all but one by hanging. The play was written in 1952 after the Red Scare in America that caused much hysteria, like the Salem witch trials. In the play, The Crucible by Arthur Miller, Each of the characters of Proctor, Hale, and Elizabeth changed from the beginning of the play to the end of the story. Proctor becomes more honest; Hale becomes more skeptical, and Elizabeth becomes more forgiving. The Salem witch trials did not only influence the characters changing, but it also affected the outcome of the Trials. Proctor Changed by becoming more Honest with himself. “He was the…show more content…

What were the Salem Witch Trials?

The Salem Witch Trials were a series of cases that was brought to judges about the suspicion that some of the town’s people had been practicing witchcraft. The Salem Witch Trials began in February 1692 when three girls accused the first three victims, Tituba, Sarah Good and Sarah Osborne, of witchcraft and had ended in around May of 1693, when the remaining victims had been released from jail. A short time later, the three girls had claimed to be "possessed" by evil spirits.

How many people were executed in the Salem Witch Trials?

The Salem witch trials occurred in Massachusetts in the year of 1962. 20 people were executed and over 200 people were accused of practicing witchcraft (the Devil’s magic). It all started when Reverend Samuel Parris’ niece and daughter started throwing, what were described as, “fits”. The fits consisted of the girls throwing things, moving into strange positions, saying very odd things, and screaming. When the girls were examined and observed by the village doctor, the doctor blamed the supernatural.

What does Claudius say about Hamlet?

Claudius also shows this when he tells Hamlet “Tis unmanly grief, ” (I,II) basically saying that Hamlet is acting like a woman since he is mourning over the death of his father. Gertrude says “ I shall obey you,” (III,I) this shows that despite that she is a queen she has little to no power at all, because the men overrule the women. This play definitely shows a strong feminist critique through the way women are treated. Ophelia is shown to be told what to do and have all her

How many characters are in the Crucible?

To start off with, I'll discuss the seven characters in The Crucible who are integral to the plot of the drama: John Proctor, Abigail Williams, Mary Warren, Giles Corey, Rebecca Nurse, Reverend Hale, and Elizabeth Proctor. For each of these characters, you'll get an overview of their relationships with other characters in the play, ...

Why are some names useful in the Crucible?

Some of these names are useful to know because they give context to character relationships that shape how events unfold in The Crucible (for instance, James Bayley is the brother-in-law of Putnam who was passed over for minister of Salem due to opposition by other townspeople, including Francis Nurse, which causes bad blood between the two families). Some of the other names might be useful if your teacher asks you to list off people accused of witchcraft over the course of the play, or to list people who accused others of witchcraft.

What logically follows from the combination of his dispassionate questioning and his belief in witchcraft?

The combination of his dispassionate questioning and his belief in witchcraft means that what logically follows is him ordering the arrests of everyone who signed the petition affirming the good characters of Rebecca Nurse and Martha Corey, holding Giles in contempt of court, and ordering Proctor’s arrest.

What is the name of the old man who has no problem suing his friends for perceived insults?

A cantankerous old man who has no problem suing even his friends for perceived insults, Giles is described by Miller as "a crank and a nuisance, but withal a deeply innocent and brave man" (p. 38). Act 1: Giles wanders into the Parris house to find out what’s going on.

Why did Giles storm into court?

Act 3: Giles storms into court to try to prove his wife isn’t a witch. He ends up being condemned for contempt of court when he won’t name the person who told him that Putnam’s daughter accused George Jacobs of being a witch in order to be able to purchase George Jacobs’ forfeited land.

Who is Abigail in The Proctors?

Abigail is the niece of Reverend Parris and the cousin of Betty Parris. She also used to work as a servant with the Proctors, before she was sent away by Elizabeth Proctor for having an affair with Elizabeth's husband John. She is friends (or at least acquaintances) with Mercy Lewis and eventually becomes the ringleader of the "afflicted" girls (i.e. the girls who accuse people of being witches). Miller describes Abigail as " seventeen...a strikingly beautiful girl, an orphan, with an endless capacity for dissembling " (p. 8); in essence, he is calling her a pretty little liar.

Who is John Proctor?

John Proctor is the central character whom the drama of The Crucible revolves around. This primacy is helped by the fact that he has relationships with many of the other characters in the play: Proctor is husband to Elizabeth Proctor, former (adulterous) lover of Abigail Williams, employer of Mary Warren, friend of Giles Corey and Francis Nurse (and by extension their wives), and not a fan (though not precisely an enemy) of Reverend Parris. Proctor is described by Miller as “respected and even feared in Salem,” having “a sharp and biting way with hypocrites” even though he “regards himself as a kind of a fraud” (p. 19) due to his affair with Abigail Williams.

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