Crucible Thomas Putnam Character Analysis

In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, it is clearly evident that Thomas Putnam’s accusations in the Salem witch trials were undoubtedly for self benefitting purposes and it ended in vast catastrophe. In essence, Thomas Putnam was a man who seeks revenge for self-satisfaction.. Prior to the hysteria, Putnam was described as a bitter man whose “vindictive nature was demonstrated long before the witchcraft began”(Miller 14). Not only did he have the traits of a resentful man, but he also put these traits to legal action. As a matter of fact, “it is not surprising to find that so many accusations against people are in the handwriting of Thomas Putnam”(Miller 15). In one incident in particular, Thomas had a man named Burroughs jailed for “debts the man did not owe”(Miller 14). The only reason for Putnam doing this is that Burroughs had taken his brother-in-law’s job. Furthermore, when Putnam makes an accusation, “the motif of resentment is clear”(Miller …show more content…
First of all, Giles mostly displays his mindless behavior. For example, he accuses his wife of “reading strange books”(Miller 40). Of course, this was not such a good idea since there are assumptions of witchcraft and this would only make people accuse her of witchery. Like other villagers in Salem, Giles was just another confused person who made assumptions on little to no information. On the contrast, he also displays some smart behaviors. For instance, he was able to deduct that Thomas Putnam had only been accusing people of witchcraft for their land. Although he was smart enough to indicate this, unfortunately he was not smart enough to back up his argument. As an effect, he only confused the courtroom and eventually his argument was deemed invalid for lack of proof. Overall this situation shows how Giles has grown as a character but still has the same foolishness he started the book