The Crucible Character Comparison Essay

Crucible essay
    In The Crucible, Arthur Miller portrays the two main characters, John Proctor and Reverend John Hale as "good men". "Good men" in this play have a vague meaning, because the town is struck with mass hysteria. Reverend John Hale was a good man in the sense of being the perfect and good citizen of Massachusetts in the 1600"s.   He was pious, stuck to the laws and beliefs, and a good Christian minister. John Proctor, on the contrary would not be considered the greatest citizen. He was not so religious, nor the perfect Christian, and was not so apt to follow the Puritan"s laws and beliefs. He was still considered a "good man", as a person rather than being an ideal Christian citizen. He was very honest, moral, loyal to his friends and family, and was very generous.   The major difference between the two is, Hale is a Reverend and has more of a reputation on the line than Proctor; plus Proctor has done some things that are immoral, or questionable to the church.

    The most important trait to prove that John Proctor was a good person was his honesty. In every scene in the play that John Proctor is in, his honesty stands out.   It didn"t matter how much trouble he would bring himself into, his idea was "I may speak my heart". Proctor"s honesty eventually leads to his downfall and death. The first incident in the play where we see Proctor"s honesty is after the affair he had with Abigail. He realized his mistake and was honest and admitted it to his wife, Elizabeth. The next time is when Proctor is involved he tells the Reverend Parris why he does not like him, and it also gets him into trouble. He tells him, "Can you speak one minute without we land in hell again, I"m sick of hell! He is honest, yet disrespectful to his reverend. While in court, John Proctor is too honest to the judges. He admits his guilt of not being a religious Christian and says " I have once or twice plowed on Sunday" and he admits not going to church every Sunday. He also...