Characters

="The Crucible"=

Characters:


//(Scheidt, Jennifer L., and Denis M. Calandra. CliffsNotes on The Crucible. 30 May 2007// [|//http://www.cliffsnotes.com/WileyCDA/LitNote/id-68.html//]//. )//

__John Proctor__ - The main character, a farmer, he had an affair with Abigail outside of marraige. He is in his middle thirties. He is described to view himself as a fraud without any evidence on the surface. He is extremely against hypocrisy, but hides his sin of adultery until the very end of the play. He is afraid to expose others to his sin for fear of the consequences. He knows what is right but is fearful of saying anything because of his history with Abigail. He is a tragic hero (from the Greek example)..... He confesses to committing witchcraft to avoid being hanged, but retracts his confession as it is against his beliefs. __Abigail Williams__ - The leader of the group of girls who were dancing in the woods. Her original intention was not to cause the complete hysteria in the town, but to avoid the consequences of the towns' harsh social narrowmindedness. She acted primarily to protect herself by denying taking any part in any of the shameful acts (like drinking blood) but dancing, however she starts to cry "witchcraft" when she sees she cannot talk her way out of the situation. She has a deep hatred for Elizabeth Proctor as she feels she is the one keeping her from John Proctor. She drank blood to supposedly kill Elizabeth. She tells Proctor that she and the girls were dancing. She eventually becomes a whore in Boston in the epilogue. __Reverend John Hale__ - An expert on witchcraft and the demonic arts. He is sent for by Reverend Parris concerning the "bewitched" state Betty appears to be in. He is about forty and very eager. He truly believes in the underworld having once encountered a possessed child whom he was able to help recover. HIs goal is to preserve goodness against the Devil himself. __Elizabeth Proctor__ - The wife of John Proctor. She fired Abigail for the affair with her husband. __Reverend Parris__ - The town's leader due to the theocracy. He is moving up in Salem, but sees his neice dancing in the woods with the other girls and fears what it will do to his reputation if the Devil is in Salem. He likes to have complete control over all the citizens, especially in church. __Rebecca Nurse__ - A seventy-two year-old woman and wife of Francis Nurse. People greatly respected her, yet the rivalry with the Putnams caused Ruth to name Rebecca as her attacker. __Francis Nurse__ - This man was the unofficial judge for Salem due to his large amount of wealth in land. He was called on to settle disputes. He was known to have a dispute with the Putnams and had a 2-day battle with them for the land. These were the clan opposing Putnams' brother-in-law for taking ministry. __Giles Corey__ - An eighty-three-year-old man who is still rather canny and sharp, but he was blamed for almost every mishap in Salem. He didn't care much about the church until he married Martha. He was rather harsh. __Thomas Putnam__ - Father of Ruth Putnam. He was the eldest son of the wealthiest man in Salem. He felt himself eligible for one of the town's most important offices as he saw himself as intellectually superior. His brother-in-law was rejected to becomming the minister and sought to avenge this however he could. He was also a bitter character in that he was shortchanged in his father's will, who left some land to a stepbrother. Many accusations against people are in his handwriting and he was a witness several times throughout the trials. __Ann Putnam__ - Mother of Ruth Putnam. She asked Tituba to contact the souls of her 7 deceased children. She felt her children were murdered and wanted to know if the Devil had committed these acts. __Ruth Putnam__ - The Putnam's daughter and one of the girls who were dancing in the woods. She also falls "ill" after the girls are seen by Reverend Parris. __Tituba__ - A slave of Reverend Parris. She was with the girls and attempted to contact the souls of the lost children of the Putnams (who lost 7 out of 8 children within one day of being born). She confesses to witchcraft to avoid being hanged and names others who were supposedly involved (Sarah Good and Osborn). __Mary Warren__ - A seventeen-year-old girl. She is the servant (to replace Abigail) of John Proctor. Characterized by loneliness, she seems to be the most uncomfortable (other than Betty Parris) with hiding the truth from the town and showing remorse. She didn't actually take part in any of the "disgraceful" acts. __Betty Parris__ - Reverend Parris' daughter. After the night in the woods, she falls under a spell in which she is mostly in an unresponsive state. Occasionally she wakes up to say certain lines like calling for her dead mother and naming others to have been involved wit the Devil. She seems to be deeply disturbed by what the girls did, yet partakes in sending many citizens to jail. __Martha Corey__ - Giles Coery's wife. She is arrested in the court for witchcraft due to her unusual reading habits. __Ezekiel Cheever__ - The clerk during the trials and the man whom Elizabeth keeps urging Proctor to inform that there was no witchcraft being performed. __Judge Hathorne__ - Another judge presiding over the trials. __Herrick__ - A man in his early thirties, __Judge Danforth__ - The presiding judge duirng the trials who is entirely commited to rooting out witchcraft. __Mercy Lewis__ - The Putnams' servant. She is a young, fat, and merciless eighteen-year-old. She was the naked girl Reverend Parris saw in the woods.

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