In the play, The Crucible written by Arthur Miller the Salem witch trials were examined in 1692. In this essay, I will introduce three strong characters. The play is about courage weakness and truth which is a legitimist statement I will provide evidence for. The three strong characters in my opinion are john proctor, Abigail, and Tituba. John proctor’s role in the crucible shows many strengths and weaknesses throughout. He is honest and he shows his strengths but also a weakness, which shows when it led him to his affair with Abigail. You are God’s instrument put in our hands to discover the Devil’s agents among us. You are selected, Tituba, you are chosen to help us cleanse our village.” (Hale, Act 1) Tituba she is the one told what to do and told to obey; now, however, she has the power of life and death over others.
A fire, a fire is burning! I hear the boot of Lucifer, I see his filthy face! And it is my face, and yours, Danforth! For them that quail to bring men out of ignorance, as I have quailed, and as you quail now when you know in all your black hearts that this be fraud—God damns our kind especially, and we will burn, we will burn together! (Proctor, Act 3) the real devil of The Crucible is not Satan, but instead is people who don’t step up to tell the truth (like Proctor) Abigail Williams role in this play accuses Elizabeth proctor of witchcraft so she can marry john herself when Elizabeth is executed. Tituba role in this play Tituba, the Reverend Parris’s slave, is a woman from Barbados who practices what the Puritans view as “black magic.” Of course, she mainly does this because the conniving Abigail manipulates her into doing it. Tituba admits her supposed sin, but we never really find out what happens to her in the end. I think these are the strongest characters in this play. I want to open myself! . . . I want the light of God, I want the sweet love of Jesus! I danced for the Devil; I saw him, I wrote in his book; I go back to Jesus; I kiss His hand. I saw Sarah Good with the Devil! I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil! I saw Bridget Bishop with the Devil!’ after the slave-girl Tituba has confessed to witchcraft.
Abigail spent the first act worrying desperately about the possibility of being disgraced for having cast charms with her friends in the forest. Tituba’s confession “A man may think God sleeps, but God sees everything, I know it now. I beg you, sir, I beg you—see her what she is. . . . She thinks to dance with me on my wife’s grave! And well she might, for I thought of her softly. God help me, I lusted, and there is a promise in such sweat. But it is a whore’s vengeance” when Proctor finally breaks down and confesses his affair with Abigail, after trying, in vain, to expose her as a fraud without revealing their liaison.
In the play john proctor shows his courage when he must make a life and death decision to lie and say that he is involved in witchcraft which will prevent his execution, or to deny being a witch and be hanged. Proctor, after being questioned by Judge Danforth about being involved in witchcraft stated that he was. Danforth was then having Proctor sign a confession, but he argued with Danforth saying, ‘ I have confessed myself! Is there no good penitence but it be in public? God does not need my name nailed upon the church! God sees my name; God knows how black my sins are!’ john proctor chose to be hung to save the people around. in the play he was the one that spoke up when he had an affair with Abigail which showed his truth also what was johns weakness was Abigail Williams because she wasn’t helping the situation about doing things with a married man in all honesty john proctor showed weakness, courage, and truth throughout this play.
