Crucible Review

Going on an expenditure requires someone to go with who you know you’ll be able to

depend on and feel secured around. A good companion should be a representation of you and

your values so the person that is chosen to be by your side has that responsibility. Although

Miller presents many excellent characters in his play “The Crucible” a 3 month expedentire

requires a specific character whom you can connect to. From Arthur Miller’s book “The

Crucible” the best character to go on an expenditure would be Elizabeth Proctor because she

shows faithfulness, courage, and honesty amongst others.

Firstly, Elizabeth Proctor’s faithfulness quality is seen towards her family by using

honesty. “You will never believe, I hope, that Rebecca trafficked with the devil” (Miller, 64).

Elizabeth stands up for what she believes in and this includes when Rebecca Nurse is charged

with witchcraft and Elizabeth quickly defends her because she is her friend. Elizabeth knows that

sticking up for Rebecca could be used against her and she could also get accused of witchcraft.

Elizabeth tells Hale that this accusation is ridiculous in order to keep Rebecca out of jail. This

proves that Elizabeth is extremely strong and this is only the beginning of her loyalty being

tested. When Elizabeth is called into court to prove that John indeed did have an affair with

Abigail she feels scared because she knows she could easily tell the court of this horrifying secret

her family has been hiding that has been slowly killing her. Instead of telling the court of what

her husband did she lied and told the court that he never had an affair knowing it was dangerous

to lie in front of court. “She only thought to save my name!” (Miller, 113). Her husband said as
he was convicted for fidelity and realized the loyalty his wife had for him and how he took her

for granted. This proves that Elizabeth

Elizabeth’s second quality was courage. She showed this when Abigail accused her of

witchcraft to purposely send her to jail in order to take her husband John Proctor. When

Reverend Hale comes to her house to question her of her Christian Values she keeps her beliefs

with her and continues to say the truth being that she has nothing to do with witchcraft. “If you

believe I am secretly bound to Satan, then I must tell you, sir, I do not believe it” (Miller, 70).

Elizabeth gets upset that people would even believe that she did witchcraft when she knows she's

innocent. Telling that statement to Reverend Hale was risky was she wasn’t afraid because she

knew that her values were straight. Even though she has the courage to say that to Reverend Hale

she still gets condemned but she has peace knowing she told the truth. When Abigail accuses her

again Elizabeth gets furious because she knows Abigail was the one behind the absurd

accusation. “The girl is murder! She must be ripped out of the world!” (Miller, 76). Elizabeth

says in frustration knowing it was a risk to call out someone who has been accusing everyone in

the town. She continues to stay true to herself even if she has to pay consequences because she

knows how much her courage is worth.

Lastly, Elizabeth shows honesty. In the book she lies once to defend her husband which

she is well aware of the consequences that would come with it but as a Christian woman she was

devoted to her husband and she used that as her excuse. “ I cannot think the Devil may own a

woman’s soul, Mr. Hale, when she keeps an upright way, as I have. I am a good woman, I know

it; and if you believe I may do only good work in the world, and yet be secretly bound to Satan,

then I must tell you, sir, I do not believe it” (Miller 70). She wants to be as honest as possible to
the point where she begs Reverend Hale because she knew she was a righteous woman of God.

She also knew it was embarrassing to constantly try to prove her innocence when everyone knew

her as a Godly woman before, and as soon as a girl who accused everyone in town goes against

her she feels that it's her job to prove to everyone that she has never participated in witchcraft.

Another example where Elizabeth proves her honesty is when she is sent to jail for witchcraft

and finds out she is pregnant. She tells Danforth and he responds with “There be no sign of it- we

have examined her body” (Miller 92). But deep down she knows and she wouldn’t lie about it,

when her husband asks “The child?” (Miller 134) she responds with “It grows” (Miller 134) and

that proved that she kept her honesty in jail.

In conclusion, Elizabeth Proctor is the best companion for the expenditure because she

proves her devotion to people even when they don’t deserve it. She is someone you can trust and

that is a quality you need when being stranded with someone for three months. Elizabeth proving

she is true to herself is comforting because she isn’t afraid even in the worst situations. Her

qualities make her one of a kind and there aren’t any other characters who would care about

anyone other than themselves especially when it involves death but Elizabeth will always have

courage.