In literature, there are some characters that are so well written, that it seems they are taken from real life rather than a work of fiction. On the other hand, there are some characters who are so two dimensional that it seems they are there to fulfill one function, and have no other meaning. One tool that an author has, to create a convincing character is to give the character inner thoughts and feelings. Within the plays The Crucible by Arthur Miller and A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams Miller creates more convincing characters through the internal debate that the individuals have.
Firstly, looking at the alpha characters within the play, Stanley Kowalski and John Proctor in Streetcar and Crucible respectively Proctor can…show more content… The character in The Crucible which demonstrates this the best is Elizabeth Proctor as like her husband she struggles against the witch trials, but in her case, she struggles on whether to tell the truth about her husband’s lechery, and risk him being outcast from the society, but safe from being hanged or to lie and protect his reputation, but run the risk of him being hanged for witchcraft. Although Elizabeth’s debate further emphasizes her status as lesser shown by the stage direction “Starting to glance at Proctor: He –” (Miller 105) the status by no means takes away from the validity of her arguments. In the scene where Proctor is attempting to prove to the court that the witchcraft is all lies, when Elizabeth is brought in to confirm her husband’s word it is clear that Elizabeth is treading softly and does not want to take the chance that she says something wrong, “not knowing what to say, sensing a situation, wetting her lips to stall for time:” (Miller 104) this shows that Elizabeth is calculating what to say next and is carefully planning her next words. Eventually; however, she finds that the decision that she made, declaring that Proctor had not committed lechery, was a mistake and the reader can see the horror that she feels with her actions as she screams, “Oh, God!” (Miller 105). In contrast Stella in Streetcar does not have these same internal
