“Each time a man stands up for an idea, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope.”(Robert Vienndy) The witch trials had just begun in Salem and several people were trying to fight against the trials but John Proctor fights injustice most effectively in Arthur Miller's The Crucible. John Proctor, a man with a blackened secret exposes himself to save the women he loved showing his honesty to the town of Salem. At the end of the play after Elizabeth Proctor is accused, John goes into the court with Mary Warren in hopes to prove his wife's innocence. He knows he must tell the truth and b doing so he puts himself on the line in court “trembling, his life collapsing about him: I have known her, sir. I have known her(Miller 102).” Proctor just confessed to lechery which during the time of the witch trials was even more frowned upon then now. By doing this his name would be blackened and ruined but by doing this he was showing the truth about the trials, the truth that Abigail …show more content…
John at one point in the play became so frustrated with the court that he says “God is dead.”(111) Saying such a thing during the time of the trials in a Puritan community was nearly unheard of but what John was implying was that the people of Salem had lost touch with God in the foolishness of continuing the witch trials. While fighting injustice by using Mary Warren he says “Mary, God damns all liars.”(108) After making Abby confess to the court to multiple events leading up to, and causing the witch trials Mary is convinced to back out of her previous claim of truth and went back to lies, trying to convince her to once again back him up he says this and even though at that point his claim had nearly dissolved in front of the court he refused to let the court win without a
A great noble person who happen to have some flaws in them, those flaws happen to make them make a bad decision and turns into a mistake very quickly that same mistake happens to become his weakness that makes this person suffer greatly through everything happening. John Proctor comes to mind he fits that description perfectly. John Proctor has made a terrible mistake in his past and it is gonna be part of the cause of the whole accident going on. John Proctor is a very noble person, he helps his town in many different ways. John Proctor built the door of the church, goes into town when he is needed.
In every story there is a hero. Every story has a villain. Every story has good and evil. All good has its flaws. In order for the good to out way the evil the good has to sacrifice something. John Proctor was this hero. Procter had his flaws, but so does everyone else in the book. No matter what's his flaws are,Procter wanted to do good. He say good in people, but also saw bad in people. In Reverend Paris he saw a man who was not ordained by God. In the end he wanted to do good.
Because of John Proctor’s ability to overcome his tragic Flaw and evoke catharsis, he is often considered a tragic hero.
During the Crucible, in the town of Salem, everybody is in fear of witchery. Lots of drama and fear has been going around about people committing witchcraft. In Arthur Miller's play, The Crucible, Proctor, is a rule breaking man who changes from being a cheater to a man who has a change of heart and wants to save people who are being falsely accused of witchery by admitting his own sins. John wasn't always a kind man, trying to do something good for the community. Before he changed, Proctor could be described as a cheater, a narcissist, and a brave man.
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.
In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, the citizens of Salem, Massachusetts in 1692 experience severe court trials where innocent people are sentenced to death because of the expedition of witchery. These persecution events resulted in each individual testing his or her mental stability and morals. One person in particular that was affected by the Salem witch trials is John Proctor. Based on Arthur Miller’s play, He is a sinner against his own vision of decent conduct who has a quiet confidence and an unexpressed, hidden force.
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
Have you ever been told to stand up for what you believe in? If so, you will find that it is not the easiest thing to do. During the Salem Witchcraft Trials of 1692, the people of Salem would believe anything just by having a few words spoken. The Salemites got caught up in the hysteria to the point where they nearly refused to believe anything else. The courageousness needed to be able to stand up to and persuade the high court that the accusations were flawed was indeed very difficult; however one Salemite had the courage to do so. John Proctor never gave up on standing up for what he believed in as well as trying to save his wife and friends for being accused in something that is distorted; thus John Proctor is Arthur Miller’s The Crucible’s
John Proctor lived in Salem, Massachusetts. Salem had been struck with witchcraft rumors that were started by a manipulative teenage girl named Abigail. He knows that the girls were sporting, and blaming innocent people of supernatural crimes that cannot occur. John Proctor’s wife Elizabeth had been accused of witchery, as a form of revenge from Abigail. Abigail had strong feelings for John Proctor, and wanted to get rid of Elizabeth. In the end John Proctor tried to do the right thing by saving his wife from his own sins. Therefore his sins put the love of his life in a great risk of dying. Throughout The Crucible John Proctor was seen as a smart, argumental and brave man. However, the town did not see him as a puritan or a good
Proctor produces a self-inflicted wound, which, only enlarges as Abigail’s jealousy of his wife, Elizabeth, increases. After Elizabeth Proctor, John Proctor 's wife, is taken away by Cheever, the lawman, Proctor has a revelation, which entails, exposing Abigail`s lies with Mary Warren’s testimony. But when Abigail’s and her posse accuse Mary Warren of witchery he soon comprehends that a confession of his adulterous ways
John Proctor longs to protect his name. After being falsely accused of witchcraft, out of spite by Abigail Williams, Proctor could easily save himself at the mere price of his reputation by lying and admitting to committing the crime of witchcraft. John battles with himself between doing the honorable thing and hanging alongside his friends for a lie or saving himself from the gallows and living with the burden of knowing that he dishonored his fellow prisoners.Although Proctor does admit to witchcraft, he refuses to sign over his precious name on it. John explains,
Many characters display acts of courage in Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible. Throughout the Salem Witch Trials, the characters are able to face the truth without the fear of losing. The three characters that show more courage than the others were John Proctor because he is honorable, Giles Corey because he is selfless, and Reverend Hale because he is bold.
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.
After his affair with Abigail, John states that he would never be in a relationship with her again, and that he had entirely moved on. This shows the moral standard he sets for himself as well as his expectations of others. John is honest and strives to reconcile with Elizabeth, and do right by the people he had wronged. He has set a personal moral standard for himself which he strives to upkeep. When asked to sign the statement after confessing to witchcraft, John became angry. After signing it he ripped it up stating, " It is my name, leave me my name!" (Miller XX). Knowing the trials were unjust, John stood up for himself as well as the other people accused, when he ripped up the confession. John knew there was no witchcraft in Salem, and was able to see how fast the situationw as spiraling out of control. The confession being ripped up represents the blind obedience to the church being fragmented. Johns motivation was to keep Elizabeth and those he loves safe from harm and accusations. Admittedly, some may say that John abandoned his family by not following through with the confession, however John's act of courage would come to lead a much needed change in the
Elizabeth finds it difficult to forgive him, as she does not know whether she can trust him. Proctor also keeps it secret from the public of Salem, fearing the town will see him as an outcast for such a sin. However, Proctor reveals his integrity when he states, “Excellency, forgive me, forgive me. 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. My wife is innocent, except she know a whore when she see one.” (102). Fearing what might happen to his wife, or even the town due to these witch trials, John decides to reveal his ultimate sin of his adultery. By doing this, he hopes the town will see Abigail’s wicked ways and turn against her and the witch trials as a whole. By doing this, John reveals his willingness to give up his own reputation in the town, for his wife and all those the trial affects, displaying his true integrity. John reveals his integrity once again when he claims, “I cannot mount the gibbet like a saint. It is a fraud. I am not that man . . . My honesty is broke, Elizabeth; I am no good man. Nothing's spoiled by giving them this lie that were not rotten long before” (126). John displays integrity here by being honest about his mistakes. He gives no justification for