In the play "The Crucible" by Arthur Miller, excessive pride greatly influences some of the characters. Pride is a sense of one's dignity and worth. Excessive pride is being overly confident of one's own self worth. Throughout, pride influences the actions, reactions, and emotions of the characters in such ways to establish the outcome of the story. Three characters in particular are driven by their pride. Hale, who takes pride in his ability to detect witchcraft; Elizabeth Proctor, whose pride makes forgiving her husband difficult; and John Proctor, whose excessive pride causes him to overlook reality and the truth.
             Hale is an intellectual man who prides himself in his ability to expose witchcraft. He was called to Salem to analyze their possible witch situation. Hale is introduced in the play with the following statement: "This is a beloved errand for him; on being called here to ascertain witchcraft he felt the pride of one specialist whose unique knowledge has at least been publicly called for" (842). Miller clearly states that Hale is one of great pride. Hale takes this job to a personal level when the Salem crisis takes a turn for the worse. He pleads with the people convicted of witchcraft to confess, for he feels as though he is responsible for their lives. This is because his purpose was to rid the town of witchcraft, not innocent lives. He regards himself a failure when he cannot convince the accused to confess; his well justified pride is broken. 
             Another main character in "The Crucible", Elizabeth Proctor, is also seen to have excessive pride. She is an astringent woman who has been hurt deeply by her husband, John Proctor (also referred to as Proctor), and her pride adds more strain to the already unstable relationship. Her husband only wants her to attain her complete forgiveness and wishes she would put the incident behind her. It is until she tells him, "John, it come to naught that I should forgive you, if yo...