The Crucible John Proctor shows himself to be a very powerful and charismatic person right. From the time he first appears in Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible, he is presented as an intelligent, sharp-tongued man with a strong independent mind. These traits would seem to make him a good person to question the motives of those who cry witchcraft. However, his guilt over his affair with Abigail makes his position problematic because he is guilty of the very hypocrisy that he despises in others. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller portrays John Proctor as a decent man because he fights for his own dignity and the freedom for others. Throughout the story, John expresses qualities of an honest man by defending his wife Elizabeth when she is …show more content…
Elizabeth, I have confessed it!" (Miller 113). He confesses his sin, and speaks those words, only because he is looking out for the good of the community, and others around him. He hates that his name is tarnished, but feels that God will forgive him for it. Proctor's decision to tell the court about his affair ironically demonstrates his goodness. Saying ”I want my life” (137) shows that he is willing to sacrifice his good name in order to protect his wife. Only through his public acknowledgment of the affair does Proctor regain his wife's trust. Proctor refuses to slander himself by allowing the court to nail his false confession to the church door. This action further exemplifies Proctor's integrity. John declined to give the names of innocent community members. He is taking a hit for the team. Proctor realizes that if he gives the names of innocent citizens they will be hanged. So instead he feels he has no choice but to do the right thing, and die for the good cause. Proctor respects and stands up for his fellow neighbors Rebecca Nurse by proclaiming the difficulty “so pious a woman be secretly a Devil's bitch after seventy years of such good prayer" (64). Proctor's decision is not an easy one to make. John is saving others lives, saving his name, keeping his pride, and his integrity. Proctor's desire to preserve his good name earlier keeps him from testifying against Abigail, leading to disastrous consequences. Now,
John Proctors Fatal Flaws The play The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a fictional interpretation of the 1692 Salem witch trials. John Proctor is one of the plays most dynamic and tragic characters. John commits the sin of adultery and this causes the other main character, Abigail Williams, to star rumors of witchcraft within the town. During the play John tries to correct his mistake; however, the play still ends in tragedy. John Proctors pride, integrity, and hotheadedness lead him to his unavoidable but necessary demise.
John also decides that it is better just to start telling the truth since he is already in enough trouble. Throughout the affair between abigail and john they had a few ups and downs. Elizabeth ( Johns Wife) knows that Abigail and John are having an affair but is trying to stop the rumours about her that Abigail is starting. If Abigail can get these rumours going and make it so they are unstoppable then she could have John all to herself. I don’t think she realizes that she will be affecting their family. This paragraph was to explain why he told Elizabeth to stop lying. It also shows on how Abigail would’ve ruined their
Elizabeth has to make the decision to convince Proctor to confess to witchcraft so he will live or let him do what he wants. Elizabeth chooses to let Proctor do what he wants and he confesses to witchcraft but does not sign the papers which lead to his death. Elizabeth is very respectful now of Proctor in the end of Act IV and shows forgiveness for him now that she sees how good of a man he is.. For example, when she is speaking to her husband John Proctor privately, she says, “ I cannot judge you, John, I cannot!” (138). Elizabeth is saying that she will respect his decision of if John Proctor decides to confess to witchcraft or not. Elizabeth shows her respect for John proctor when she tells him she will not judge him. In addition, Elizabeth tells Proctor during their conversation, “Do what you will. But let none be your judge. There be no higher judge under Heaven than Proctor is! Forgive me, forgive me, John - I never knew such goodness in the world!”(137). Proctor's wife is telling Proctor to let no one judge him for his decisions. Elizabeth is showing forgiveness in Proctor and finally seeing him as the man he always wanted her to see him as. Convincing Proctor to confess or let him do what he chooses is one of the hard choices Elizabeth has to make in Act
He wanted Mary Warren to prove that Abigail was a fraud, but he was not planning on confessing to adultery. In the end he was no longer worried about saving his good name and would do whatever it took to protect his wife. He even agreed to confess to witchcraft to save himself, but he could not go through with it. He could not sign the written confession. He decided to save his name for religious reasons, even if it meant that he would die for it. He was not willing to lie. Hale did not believe that Proctor should die, and tried to get Abigail to convince him to confess. Abigail refuses and says, “He have his goodness now. God forbid I take it from him!” (Miller 134). In this quote, Abigail is saying that he is a good man and has earned his entry to
Plays have been used as a method of storytelling and form of entertainment for hundreds of years. A tragedy is one type of play where the audience pities the characters and fear the same consequences that the characters face. In addition, tragedies often include a tragic hero who has a tragic flaw causing his or her downfall. One example of a play that is a tragedy and includes a tragic hero is the The Crucible. John Proctor in The Crucible is a true tragic hero because he possess the four characteristics of goodness, superiority, tragic flaw, and realization of his downfall.
Miller shows John Proctor's selflessness through a line of the character's dialogue. For instance, in Act Ⅲ, John Proctor verbalizes to court that he has ¨ known her, sir. I have known her¨ (193). As John Proctor confesses that he has broke his vows with Elizabeth to protect her from charges, he proves that his need for a self-sacrifice for Elizabeth drove him to confess his sins openly with the court. Miller reveals John Proctor's guilt clearly though his actions and words at the end of the play. For example, before his death in Act Ⅳ, expresses his feelings of himself as he states he “ cannot the gibbet like a saint. It is a fraud. I am not that man” (208). In saying this, John Proctor reveals that he views himself as a bad man for his sins and that his only possible option for release from his guilt of almost condemning others to death and cheating on his wife is through his death. This view leads to John Proctor's actions of retracting his confession and allowing himself to be hung. Ultimately, these two motivations are simultaneously the most prominent motivations of John Proctor throughout the the course of Miller’s
In that way, Proctor fails his test because later in the story he protects Abigail by not telling the truth about the lies Abigail has told to the town. With the assistance of his wife and his love for her, Proctor realizes what he has done wrong and tries to fix it: “God help me, I lusted” ( The
In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, it is evident that John Proctor is the tragic hero. Concluding through evidence in the play, it is fairly simple to connect him with separate parts of the definition. He makes his share of mistakes, just as many human beings do. John Proctor is fundamentally a good man, with respectable
In the Bible, Jesus Christ is portrayed as a kind, compassionate, understanding individual who is misunderstood and suffers and is persecuted as a result. In Arthur Miller’s novel, The Crucible, John Proctor experiences a similar struggle and shares many traits with Christ. In the novel, Proctor reveals himself as compassionate, logical, and generally resistant to temptation. He carries out his mission, is misunderstood, and is persecuted, although he ultimately achieves renewal. However, Proctor’s name is disgraced when it becomes known that he has an affair with young Abigail Williams.
Proctor later confesses in court to what he has done. He calls Abigail a “whore” then says he has known her, and as his proof he confesses to committing Adultery. However, Abigail does not confess as well so for proof they call proctors wife, Elizabeth. Elizabeth does not know Proctor confesses so she denies the claim that proctor is a lecher. Elizabeth says to Danforth, “My husband is a goodly man, sir” (223) then she denies the claim and says “No sir” (223). This causes the court to claim that proctor is not only of the devil, but is also a liar. If Proctor wouldn’t have committed lechery than confessed later on he wouldn’t be convicted a lair so the blame is on him and he is again, the most blameworthy character in the
His first display of this is shown when the Court officials come to take Elizabeth away. Proctor was so angered by this attack on his house that he ripped the warrant and told them to leave his house. He then tried to bribe Herrick, a court official, not to chain her, but his pleas fell on deaf ears. Proctor recognized that he could save his wife by making his relationship with Abigail public, and therefore expose her motives, but his pride keeps him from doing so. Finally though, Proctor abandoned his concern for his reputation which enabled him to admit his sin in order to save his wife.
Proctor 's decision to tell the court about his affair ironically demonstrates his goodness. He also spoke up for the innocent girls that had their names branded. He willingly sacrifices his good name in order to protect his wife and others who are wrongly accused. Only through his public acknowledgment of the affair does Proctor regain his wife 's trust. At the end of the play, Proctor refuses to slander himself by allowing the court to make him make a false confession. The court told him to lie, and that if he lies that he would not be sent to the gallows. He did the right decision by telling the truth about his affair with Abigail. He honestly told the truth about the affair, and that he was not part of the witchcraft. His response further exemplifies Proctor 's integrity. But John was not guilty. He had nothing to do with witchcraft, he admitted to his own mistakes. Proctor knows that if he confesses that he will be damned himself, yet again, if he agrees to confess, he will also be free from the torment from the demon inside him and set others free too. This realization, along with Elizabeth 's forgiveness, enables Proctor to forgive himself and finally regain his good name and self-respect. As the court
He does this with the intention of exposing Abigail’s spiteful character and her main desire to replace his wife. John Proctor says “I beg you sir, I beg you -see her what she is…She thinks to dance with me on my wife’s grave. And well she might, for I thought of her softly. God help me, I lusted and there is a promise in such sweat. But it is a whore’s vengeance and you must see it. I set myself entirely in your hands. I know you must see it now” (110) John Proctor exposes not only Abigail’s sins, but also the fact that he was infatuated with Abigail. He knows that by doing this he would dishonor his name, but he deems it as the only solution because people were falling into Abigail’s manipulation., John Proctor also fights for everyone not just his wife. John Proctor continues his attempt to voice out the truth even though his wife was exempted from being punished because she was pregnant. He defends other people because he knows their innocence. “The people signing it declare their good opinion of Rebecca, and my wife and Martha Corey...these are all landholding farmers, members of the church, sir- they’ve known the women many years and never saw no sign they had dealing with the Devil” (93) John Proctor protects everyone’s names because he recognizes that they have no reason to be jailed, thus showing his kindness and consideration.
Despite his being an insignificant and non-status-holding member of society, John Proctor is a much-respected man in Salem. However, in determining his fate, he continues to make several critical and irreversible mistakes that harm his reputation. For fear of being exiled in a town where reputation plays such a large role in their daily lives, Proctor initially tries to hide his crime of adultery, but his affair with Abigail triggers a major series of events in Salem, where simple, unproven accusations escalate to a far larger issue: “Abby—you mean to cry out still others?” “If I live, if I am not murdered, I surely will, until the last hypocrite is dead” (Miller 150). In the end, Proctor decides that for the sake of his desperate circumstances, it would be better to admit to his affair, but by the time he decides to reveal his crime, it is too late to reverse all past actions. He is convicted of witchcraft and doomed to be hanged, later, when given a chance to live, he caves in and confesses to seeing the Devil, only to go back even on this last lie, because he does not have the heart to be freed and saved by a lie.
In the book, The Crucible by Arthur Miller, John Proctor is a farmer and a prominent member of society. However, he had an affair with a girl in town, Abigail Williams which leads to his wife being convicted of witchcraft and himself convicted of dealing with the devil. John Proctor is a strong and effective speaker and proves his point with the three rhetorical appeals and devices such as personification, similes, metaphors and tone.