Crucible Character Analysis by Taylor Pollard https://padlet.com/99061702/jaxktba6fsl6tg9v en-us 2023-03-21 18:48:04 UTC 2023-05-01 05:50:51 UTC hello@padlet.com Reverent Parris 99061702 https://padlet.com/99061702/jaxktba6fsl6tg9v/wish/2525946589 Details: (add text evidence)

- church leader
ev:
PARRIS: "...for now my ministry's at stake, my ministry and perhaps your cousin's life." -- Line 60, Act One

- took in Abby Williams when her parents were killed by a Native American tribe
ev:
PARRIS (To Abigail) : "I have given you a home, child. I have put clothes upon your back--now give me upright answer." -- Line 62, Act One

- is already anxious about his ego and how the town sees him
ev:
PARRIS: "It must come out--my enemies will bring it out. Let me know what you done there. Abigail, do you understand that I have many enemies?" -- Line 48, Act One

Motivations:

- originally brings in Rev. Hale to disprove witchcraft at first, most likely to make sure his reputation as a church leader is not soiled after Abigail's participation in the ritual
- wants to protect himself from being accused or rejected by the town
- wants respect from his parish

Key Character Moments:

- When he admits he needs the girls to keep lying in order to keep his reputation afloat
- When he openly admits to his ego in act one as a way to keep his niece's affair and tarnished name on the down low

Impact of Character on Others or in Community (How They Are Perceived and How Their Opinions Impact Others):

- Parris ultimately encourages the village to believe in witches and fear them, even when he himself did not have the evidence to back up their existence. 
- He further influences the village's belief in the Devil's presence controlling the girls who were involved in the ritual

]]> 2023-03-21 19:03:50 UTC https://padlet.com/99061702/jaxktba6fsl6tg9v/wish/2525946589 Abigail Williams 99061702 https://padlet.com/99061702/jaxktba6fsl6tg9v/wish/2525949021 Details:

- resentful towards Elizabeth for stealing her love, John Proctor
ev:
ABIGAIL: "[Elizabeth Proctor] hates me, uncle, she must, for I would not be her slave. It’s a bitter woman, a lying, cold, sniveling woman, and I will not work for such a woman!" -- Act One

- has an affair with J Proctor
ev:
ABIGAIL: "I will not, I cannot! You loved me, John Proctor, and whatever sin it is, you love me yet!" -- Act One

- manipulative
ev:
ABIGAIL: "Let either of you breathe a word, or the edge of a word, about the other things, and I will come to you in the black of some terrible night and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you . . ." -- Act One

- accuses MANY people of witchcraft while lying up a confession
ev:
ABIGAIL: "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!" -- Act 1

Motivations:
- Seeks revenge against Goody Proctor, the woman who won over her lover's heart
- Wants to feel loved and needed by Proctor
- Wants to save herself from being hanged and accused of witchcraft

Key Character Moments:
- When Abby tells people that Goody is a witch, going as far as sticking a long needle into her stomach and blaming it on her vengeful spirit
- Abby decides to sail away on a boat when she realizes her plan to win Proctor backfires, leading to his death instead.

Impact of Character on Community:
- She manipulates the girls into lying and accusing others of witchcraft to safe her reputation in the village
- She tries to get Goody hanged and convinces the jury with a lie and presentation
- She ultimately convinces almost everyone in the village that witchcraft is what caused their personal problems and justified their reasons to take it out on others]]> 2023-03-21 19:05:45 UTC https://padlet.com/99061702/jaxktba6fsl6tg9v/wish/2525949021 Mr. Putnum 99061702 https://padlet.com/99061702/jaxktba6fsl6tg9v/wish/2525954507 Details:

- concerned for Betty and convinced of witchcraft
ev:
THOMAS P: (To Parris) "Let your enemies make of it what they will, you cannot blink it more" -- Act 1

- has only one surviving child, Ruth Putnum, driving his care for children
ev:
THOMAS P: "There be children dyin' in the village, Mister!" -- Act 3

Motivations:

- He wants more land to own
- He wants to gain trust, respect, and authority from the village
- Succumb to his greed through the lives of those he accuses

Key Character Moments:

- In act one, he convinces Parris to carry out the witch trials in order to keep Parris liked by the town, shady motivation.

Impact on Other Characters:

- His own greed manipulates people like Parris and the court into accusing others of witchcraft, all to steal their land and increase his wealth, given that he's the richest in the village






]]> 2023-03-21 19:10:05 UTC https://padlet.com/99061702/jaxktba6fsl6tg9v/wish/2525954507 Mrs. Putnum 99061702 https://padlet.com/99061702/jaxktba6fsl6tg9v/wish/2525956741 Details:

- traumatized from all of her stillbirths
ev:
MRS P:
"I'd not call it sick; the Devil's touch is heavier than sick. It's death, y'know, it's death drivin' into them, forked and hoofed.
- accuses Rebecca Nurse of witchcraft because she was her midwife when all but one of her children died" -- Act One

- has one child left, Ruth Putnum
ev:
MRS P:
 "I gave birth to a baby... and she [Tituba] sends her spirit on me in church and makes me laugh at prayer." -- Act One

Motivations:

- She wants to find someone or something to blame for the death of her children, most likely something she would have no fault in
- She wants to strengthen her role in her community
- She wants to follow her beliefs

Key Character Moments:

- Mrs. Putnum blames the most respected woman in the village, Rebecca Nurse, for witchcraft, which raises some distrust in her credibility

Impact on Other Characters:

- She urges Parris to get Hale to conduct a witch trial, ultimately convincing him and stirs up mass hysteria and paranoia in the town, costing many lives]]> 2023-03-21 19:11:52 UTC https://padlet.com/99061702/jaxktba6fsl6tg9v/wish/2525956741 Tituba 99061702 https://padlet.com/99061702/jaxktba6fsl6tg9v/wish/2525961877 - servant from Barbados
- leads the ritual
- claims to be controlled by the devil
- whipped before confessing to witchcraft
- servant 
- friends with the girls at first]]> 2023-03-21 19:16:03 UTC https://padlet.com/99061702/jaxktba6fsl6tg9v/wish/2525961877 Betty, Susanna and Mercy 99061702 https://padlet.com/99061702/jaxktba6fsl6tg9v/wish/2525964138 Details:

Betty:

- timid and fearful
ev:
BETTY:
"I'll fly to Mama. Let me fly!" -- Act One

- scared of witchcraft
ev:
BETTY:
(To Proctor) "You're the Devil's man!" -- Act One

- younger
ev:
(Describing Betty)
"...a little girl, now an orphan" -- Act One

Motivations:

- Stay alive throughout the trials by lying
- Stand by Abigail in order not to be convicted of witchcraft
- Fit in with a group of people, that which was her friends involved in the ritual

Key Character Moments:

- At the beginning of the play, Betty is in a coma-state, seemingly because of the ritual they girls had taken part in. This sets the entire tone and overall event that started the witch trials.

Mercy:

- sly
ev:
MERCY:
(To Mary in court, lying) "Don't lie! To the court, now. We will not be frozen"

- friends with Abigail
ev:
(Being described by the narrator as:)
"a little nearer" to Abby during the ritual -- Act One

- cruel
ev:
MERCY:
"I'll beat you, Mary Warren! -- Act Two

Motivations:

- Did not want to be killed
- Did not want to be seen as an outsider
- Wanted to be part of a group and feel a sense of community
- Wanted to be loyal to her friend, Abigail

Key Character Moments:

- In the end, Mercy flees Salem with Abigail, stealing from Parris and leaving everyone else that she once loved or care about behind in order to live a life without guilt or responsibility. This shows her knowing of the truth, cowardly actions, and selfish nature.

Susanna:

- one of the 'afflicted girls'
ev:
SUSANNA:
"I feel a misty coldness climbin' up my back, and the skin on my skull begin to creep, and I feel a clamp around my neck and I cannot breathe air; and then all at once I remembered all the babies that night were murder" -- Act One

- accuses others of witchcraft
ev:
SUSANNA:
"I saw Goody Hawkins with the Devil! I saw Bridget Bishop with the Devil!" -- Act One

Motivations:

- Did not want to be convicted herself
- Wanted to stay alive
- Did not want Abigail to kill her
- Wanted to stay a part of her tight-knit friend group
- Wanted to belong to her friend group and not disobey them

Key Character Moments:

- Susanna testifies against Proctor in the end, convincing others that he was a witch and proving her loyalty to the group of girls she had done the ritual with.



]]> 2023-03-21 19:17:49 UTC https://padlet.com/99061702/jaxktba6fsl6tg9v/wish/2525964138 Mary Warren 99061702 https://padlet.com/99061702/jaxktba6fsl6tg9v/wish/2526056949 Details:

- worker for John and Goody Proctor
ev:
MARY:
"I'm a servant, John. I cannot help myself. I sign myself to God. I surrender my will to Him" -- Act One
- she is manipulated by the girls from the ritual to confess
ev:
MARY:
"I cannot, they'll turn on me—" -- Act Three
- very scared and a bit of an outsider
ev:
MARY WARREN: [almost in tears]:
"I cannot, they'll turn on me—"
ABIGAIL: "Mary, please don't hurt me!"
MARY WARREN: "I'm only looking for you to be my friend, Abby."  -- Act One

Motivations:

- Mary is driven by fear of persecution and death
- She is easily manipulated because of her desire to be accepted into a community, leading her at the end to side with the girls instead of fighting for the life of John Proctor alone
- She wants to ultimately stay alive

Key Character Moment:

- When Mary tries to testify regarding Proctor's innocence, she feels so threatened by her friends' presence and Abigail's previous threats that she lies about him practicing witchcraft just to be accepted and stay alive.

Impact on Other Characters:

- Mary's lies in court lead to John's death in the end. She convinces the court and jury he's a witch
- Mary's own motives are suspected by Elizabeth throughout her participation in the trial, leading to distrust between the two


]]> 2023-03-21 20:40:54 UTC https://padlet.com/99061702/jaxktba6fsl6tg9v/wish/2526056949 John Proctor 99061702 https://padlet.com/99061702/jaxktba6fsl6tg9v/wish/2526059680 - husband of Elizabeth Proctor
- had an affair with Abigail Williams
- does not fully believe in Rev. Parris' teachings
- does not always go to church and many resent him for that
- hesitant with the idea of witchcraft even existing]]> 2023-03-21 20:43:06 UTC https://padlet.com/99061702/jaxktba6fsl6tg9v/wish/2526059680 Rebecca Nurse 99061702 https://padlet.com/99061702/jaxktba6fsl6tg9v/wish/2526065241 - elder of the group
- very respected for her work and commitment to the church and its theological rule over Salem
- Rev. Hale holds great respect for her good works
- is accused of witchcraft by Mrs. Putnum because she was her midwife and the supposed reason why her babies died
- ^^ this is not widely agreed with, though
- all of her children and grandchildren have lived
- ideal form of traditional womanhood and femininity ]]> 2023-03-21 20:47:59 UTC https://padlet.com/99061702/jaxktba6fsl6tg9v/wish/2526065241 Giles Corey 99061702 https://padlet.com/99061702/jaxktba6fsl6tg9v/wish/2526068349 - farmer
- elder
- comical, outright with his opinions

]]> 2023-03-21 20:51:18 UTC https://padlet.com/99061702/jaxktba6fsl6tg9v/wish/2526068349 Reverent Hale 99061702 https://padlet.com/99061702/jaxktba6fsl6tg9v/wish/2526070572 - brought in to disprove the presence of witches in Salem
- ends up very confused and overwhelmed
- believes in the devil and hates it
- witch expert
- sympathetic to those who are accused
- questions the system many times]]> 2023-03-21 20:53:56 UTC https://padlet.com/99061702/jaxktba6fsl6tg9v/wish/2526070572 Elizabeth "Goody" Proctor 99061702 https://padlet.com/99061702/jaxktba6fsl6tg9v/wish/2526073090 - John Proctor's wife
- fired Abigail after finding out she had an affair with her husband
- Abby drank a charm to kill her out of jealousy
- knows her husband has some feelings for Abby
- quiet, "good Christian woman"
- accused for witchcraft]]> 2023-03-21 20:56:38 UTC https://padlet.com/99061702/jaxktba6fsl6tg9v/wish/2526073090 Judge Danforth 99061702 https://padlet.com/99061702/jaxktba6fsl6tg9v/wish/2538869673 2023-03-30 19:17:32 UTC https://padlet.com/99061702/jaxktba6fsl6tg9v/wish/2538869673 Hathorne 99061702 https://padlet.com/99061702/jaxktba6fsl6tg9v/wish/2538870290 2023-03-30 19:18:12 UTC https://padlet.com/99061702/jaxktba6fsl6tg9v/wish/2538870290