The Crucible

The Crucible Final Essay

        Throughout Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, the main characters: John Proctor, Reverend Hale, and Elizabeth Proctor experience many life altering changes through their moral and personal quandaries as they commit a selection of “sins” , but by the end of the play,  demonstrate various virtues.

        In the play, John Proctor is seen as a “man’s man” who is prideful and full of wrath.  After “confessing” to witchcraft, Proctor refuses to sign a paper that will be hung on the church door showing his confession. He says to Danforth, “You are the high court, your word is good enough! Tell them I confessed myself; say Proctor broke his knees and wept like a woman; say what you will, but my name cannot—” (239). This shows Proctor’s sin of pride. Even though people would have found out that he confessed once he was released from jail, John couldn’t bear to have his name posted upon the church door. With his final noble act, John Proctor comes to find peace with himself. He says, "I do think I see some shred of goodness in John Proctor. Not enough to weave a banner with, but white enough to keep it from such dogs" (240). This exemplifies Proctor’s virtue of humility. He would rather die a fairly pure man than someone who lies to save his life. As a result, John dies a noble and honorable death upon the gallows.

        In the play, Reverend Hale is seen as a powerful religious figure with the overpowering sin of pride. As arriving in Salem to examine Parris’s daughter Betty, Hale boast of his extensive knowledge by talking about his books. He says, “They must be; They are weighted with authority” (184). This shows Reverend Hale’s sin of pride in the sense that he sees his understanding as a type of power over others. With this he in a way cautions people of not only his books’ but also his own authority. Reverend Hale attempts to wash some of the blood off his hands and do away with his pride. In a last stitch effort of humility, he says, “I come of my own, Goody Proctor. I would save your husband’s life, for if he is taken I count myself his murderer. Do you understand me?” (234). This shows Hale’s disparity to make things right. He went from someone who threw fourteen people within a week or so, to someone who tried to save the lives of others to the extent that they would be lying to a minister. Hale has become a completely different man than the one we met at the beginning of the play.