Character+Analysis

John Proctor

In both the movie and the play, John Proctor seems like a respectable citizen who works hard to live an honest life. His adultery, which is later revealed, constantly tears on his marriage,and he persistently endeavors to fill in the gap it left in his relationship with Elizabeth. Even though he is a proud man, he risks everything he can give, even his life, to save his wife after she is arrested. He hid most of his emotions and his struggles towards the beginning, but as the story culminates, he lets everything that hides his true inner state crumble in order to do what he believes is right. His attempt to do away with the injustice of the court shows that he is proactive in times of trial.

Elizabeth Proctor

Even though she possesses a strong semblance of self-control, Elizabeth Proctor deals with conflicting emotions concerning her husband up until the end of the play. As a result of his affair with Abigail, she cannot bring herself to completely open herself up to him. Only when he is sentenced to death does she reveal to Proctor that she feels accountable for his betrayal because of the way she never showed her true love to him. In her effort to save her husband from death, she is proactive because she lies about his adultery and goes to discuss whether he should confess or not with him.

Abigail Williams

Abigail gets herself into mischief often, and Parris, who adopted her as his niece, has to cover her antics for her to prevent his house from seeming unholy. Religion doesn't mean anything to her, but she knows about the Bible and the doctrines she can use in arguements. She had an affair with John Proctor when she was his house servant, and when she obtains the means by which she can eliminate Elizabeth to secure Proctor for herself, she does not hesitate to execute them. She strives to get what she wants, whether it be Proctor or the continued escape from punishment, no matter what rules or social taboos she must trespass in order to get it. She is a combination of reactive and proactive, which can be described as an opportunist, because she just goes with the flow of events until she sees an area where she can take advantage of the situation.

Reverend Parris

Parris is a reverend in the church of Salem, which should imply some form of a conscience, but his actions contradict the nature of his position. Many people in the village do not approve of him as a religious leader to begin with, and their opinions of him can be justified with the fact that he only thinks of himself and how he can protect his reputation. He remains self-centered throughout the entire story, and he supports the witch trials in order to prevent his prestige from being tainted. He is reactive because he just goes along with wherever the situation goes as long as it profits him.

Reverend Hale

Hale is also a religious leader, but he doesn't come from Salem like Parris does. He is called to Salem to deal with a possible witch infestation, and he truly believes that they exist in the town and performs a religious process by which he supposedly reveals the identities of these witches. He later realizes that the accused people were really innocent, and he tries to make up for his part in their condemnation by aiding the effort to end these unfair trials and set the innocent free. His beliefs run according to what he truly thinks is the right thing, and at one point he does place reason over religion to achieve his goal of justice. He is proactive because whether he sides with religion or with reason, he tries to deal with the situation instead of just allowing whatever to occur

Judge Danforth

As a judge, Danforth chooses a path and persists on following it, no matter the consequences. When he first comes to Salem, he actually thinks there are witches that need to be eradicated through the law. When Proctor, Giles Corey, and Francis Nurse present their case, though, Danforth finally comprehends the falsehood behind what he's come to judge, but much like Parris, he knows that if the town is informed of the deceit he's been tricked by, his reputation as a judge would be ruined. As he tries to prove in self-interest what he knows is false true, he also goes against his duty to discover the truth in court. He is mainly reactive because he just tries to come out of the situation as unharmed as possible.

Mrs. Putnam

Bitterness has a hold over the life of Mrs. Putnam because she never comes to terms with the anger that formed when her children died. She feels hurt, and she wants someone to pay for her misfortunes. She does eventually get her chance to strike at those who she feels are responsible for her grief when Hale pressures Tituba to confess that others also made a pact with him. Tituba mentions the two women whom Mrs. Putnam hates because she keeps on insisting that they might have been working with the devil. She is a proactive character because she does something in order to get what she wants and doesn't wait for it to come to her.

Giles Corey

Giles Corey also works hard to earn his keep and provide for his household, and his determination to give his wife the best is tested when the court sentences her to death for witchcraft. Even though he speaks a little too much, he is an honest man who demands what is rightfully his when he feels someone is stealing it from him. For that reason, he goes to court frequently for small things that occur, and most of the time he wins some kind of recompense. He knows the law as he appears before Danforth, but that isn't enough to overturn the unfairness that permeates through the witch trials. He is also proactive because he does everything he can possibly do to prove his wife innocent.

Rebecca Nurse

Everyone in the town sets Rebecca Nurse as an icon of holiness before all the nonsense began. She has a firm foundation in her beliefs, and the fame of her biblical stance even reaches Hale before he arrives to cleanse the town. She stands by her Christian character even unto death, and she is saddened greatly when Proctor begins to admit that he is a witch. She is proactive because even though she cannot approach the court directly, she gives up her life in defiance of the law, which eventually does lead to the termination of the witch trials.