The characters from The Crucible each have their own flaws. Some more than others of course. I would like to start out by stating the characters from least to most, I will then go into further detail to explain my opinion and the findings related to each character. The characters from least to most flawed are: Judge Danforth, Reverend Parris, Mr. Putnam, Reverend Hale, Mary Warren, John Proctor, Abigail Williams.
The character that a lot of people mistake for a highly flawed character is Judge Danforth, this is simply for the fact of prosecution and position in court he held. In his situation based off the evidence given (faked or not) he had to reach conclusions, especially during the time period that the trials were held in. In a broader sense, he didn’t show flaw til the end instead of more causation of problems arising in the beginning like other characters such as Abigail or John, both of which are main problems with evident flaws throughout the play.
Next is Reverend Parris and Mr. Putnam, I chose to combine the explanation of positioning between him and Mr. Putnam since I put them under the same flaw rating. However, I put Putnam over Parris due to the fact that Putnam used hard accusations throughout the plot line for power and money. Some would argue that Putnam is a less flawed character than Parris due to the arbitrary side of the greed for money Putnam had. We saw this obviously pointed out by Giles when he said “My proof is there! Pointing to the paper. If Jacobs hangs for a witch he forfeit his property - that’s law! And there is none but Putnam with the; coin to buy such a great piece. This man is killing his neighbors for their land!” This is the killing of people for property, whereas Parris’s greed is greed for god, in the stating of the candles that he wants so dearly.
After this I had Reverend Hale, Reverend Hale was quite flawed and was a large catalyst in the tragedy that proceeded throughout the Plot. Hale lacked clarity and was at large in the accusation front, although he only investigated those who were accused, he was the face of all accusations and their proceedings which gives him a high place on the list. A line of script we can use to show this push for “Justice” is when Hale barrages Abigail with questions further threading her web of lies “Does someone afflict you, child? It need not be a woman, mind you, or a man. Perhaps some bird invisible to others comes to you - perhaps a pig, a mouse, or any beast at all.” This pressure was applied multiple times throughout the play and forced many characters into bad positions in which they were forced to lie out of or die trying.
Finally we have the flaws of Abigail and Proctor. With the two most flawed characters by large. With the most flawed character being Abigail, and the second most flawed being Proctor, they both have their track record. With Abigail out weighing Proctor’s by a decent bit I’d say. This is because of the spread that Abigail had in flaw. She herself was flawed in the compulsive lying, greed, lust, and at a blind glance the collateral damage she caused and stuck with throughout the entire plot line. This was most obvious in her first accusation to Tituba when she said “Abigail: I never called him! Tituba, Tituba… Parris, blanched: She called the Devil? Hale: I should like to speak with Tituba,” This shouldn’t be unfamiliar to those who have read the crucible because not only did she herself include others in the witchcraft accusations, but she spread the ideology to those who were with her(the girls) during the dancing around the fire.
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