John Proctor In life, everyone goes through something that changes who they are. In The Crucible, by Aurthur Miller, the reader gets a chance to meet John Proctor. He was a man who was quite sure of himself and was emotionally strong. Although John seemed like a trustworthy man he was not faithful to his wife Elizabeth. As the story of the play develops and the truth about his secret relationship with Abigail comes out to his wife he begins to get lost within his guilt. He no longer is a man who is strong and respectful but is now a sinner. By the end of the play he is motivated to change and he does. John Proctor was eaten up by his guilt but soon found his old strong and trustworthy self. John Proctor was a man who was well respected …show more content…
But as soon as Hawthrone tells Cheever to write his confession down John gets hesitant. A written confession has to be signed and John is in no position to sign his name away. By signing his confession he is giving his name a bad reputation. After all the confession will be posted on the church door for everyone in the village to see. Everything was a lie and it was hard for him to say such things. He tells Elizabeth, “It is hard to give such lies to dogs” (IV. 204). John says this to her because he does not want to tell lies to the court but he must so he can save Elizabeth's life, while hopefully still be able to keep his. Once the confession was done and written and was asked to sign, John refused. He thought there was no reason for him to sign his name. He thought his word and them as witnesses was enough but it was not. John knew that by signing his name everyone will judge him and that is not what he wants. John Proctor had a good name and he was not about to ruin it over such lies. With everyone getting impatient two choices were given to him: sign or be hanged. John signs it but once it is signed he takes the paper away form Danforth. When Danforth questions why he will not give it back John cries out, “Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies!..” (IV. 207). John exposed the truth that his testimony was all lies. He couldn’t bare having his …show more content…
Yes, he committed the sin of adultery, but he confessed and proved his love to Elizabeth by going to court and confessing about the things Abigail had told him and even lying just so he can save his wife's life. He had proven himself to everyone and God that he was a good man, he had just lost his way for a while. Death should not have been his outcome. Even though he went against his morals and sinned he was still John Proctor. His name was safe and he had cleared his conscious of all the sinful things he had done. Elizabeth even says, “He have his goodness now. God forbid I take it from him!” (IV. 208). She says this because she know John left with his good name. Nothing was left behind to be shamed of. John kept his name from being put to shame and he was able to reconnect with his old
People’s true character is revealed through their actions. Their morals and ethics can be told from how they choose to act in a situation. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible; the character of John Proctor is an honorable man despite having committed wrongful acts. He was able to redeem himself through acts that is considered courageous, such as when he refuses to contribute to the lie of witchcraft in Salem, when he fights for the people who were convicted of witchcraft and when he regrets being a dishonest man.
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
Another inner quality that defines John Proctor is the value he holds to his good name. Proctor is a firm believer in the fact that one’s name is the only thing that remains after death, and what is done with it while living can affect one’s posterity for generations. This is the driving force behind his actions in the final act of the play. At first, he felt no shame in lying to the court about his accusation of witchcraft because he felt there was no more damage he could do to his reputation and that one more sin would not make any difference. His attitude changed when he realized his confession would mean blackening the name of those who already had died, and his sons would have to live with that mark on their names. He knew he could not teach his sons “. . . to walk like
Throughout the entire play of The Crucible, John Proctor truly grew as a person, while later fixing his sins and making moral decisions. John Proctor had truly gone through a lot in the play, both emotionally and physically, being that he was wrongfully accused of witchcraft. Although some might contradict this statement, John Proctor loved his wife, Elizabeth, because even though he may have questioned her worth in the past, he always confesses his sins and does what he can to make it right, which is a true quality of a man. Along with this, John Proctor portrays characteristics of a Puritan because he always remains true to his family, alike he must stay true to God, therefore proving to him that John Proctor always stays true.
The definition of tainted is to corrupt morally, what makes someone tainted though? In Arthur Miller’s book The Crucible, someone can be tainted just by being accused of witchcraft. The protagonist of the story, John Proctor, is an exceedingly humble and holy man. Although he is quick tempered, he is not a witch and does not deal with the devil, he does not even believe in such blasphemy. In 1962 Salem, Massachusetts, people used witchcraft as a tactic to achieve certain goals. In John Proctors case, Abigale Williams used witchcraft to accuse Proctors wife of witchcraft because in her mind, with Elizabeth Proctor gone, she could have John all to herself. Motives like these are the reason the Salem Witch Trials occurred. In the story, John Proctor has a chance at saving his life by confessing to have made deals with the devil. He ends up confessing, but eventually tears it up. It is believable for John Proctor to tear up his confession due to
Identify a character in The Crucible that undergoes a major change. What is this change? Explain the importance of this change.
John Proctor In modern society, humanity is viewed as arrogant, sinful, and unwilling to change. As people continue to behave in that manner, humanity has forgotten about the possibility of change. Unfortunately, some people are simply afraid of change because they are frightened about who they will become. Although, if humanity decides to undergo change, they may become brave, affectionate, and admired.
In the play The Crucible, the events that occurred in Salem sparked much change within all the characters involved. Each of the three following characters, John Proctor, Giles Cory, and Reverend Hale, went through his own crucible - a situation of a severe trial - which put his character’s to the test. Through these trials, each character had a choice of sticking to his beliefs and keeping true to his good morals or choosing to turn over a new leaf and changing his focus to staying alive, rather telling the truth. Throughout the play, John Proctor’s character had changed after enduring the malicious trials of Salem. Reverend Hale’s character changed due to his bearing witness to the effects of the treacherous trials.
One reason that John Proctor changes in The Crucible is that he gives up his reputation to try to resolve an issue. At the beginning, we learn that he had an affair
Proctor exposed himself and gave up his good name just to prove what is right. He told the whole court that he committed the action of adultery. “I have known her sir. I have known her.” (Miller 115), he said to judge danforth. He shamed his own name in front of everybody. John knowingly did this to convince the court of the truth because it was the right thing to do. This only failed to prove the townspeople's innocence because his wife Elizabeth wanted him to keep his good reputation as he said, “She only thought to save my name.” (Miller 119) This made john look like a liar which he is not. He is only put in the wrong
But you’re not, you’re not, and let you remember it!”(1940) Throughout the play, he goes from not caring one way or another to trying to save people from being wrongfully accused, even when their innocence would not personally affect his life, “These are all landholding farmers, members of the church. If you’ll notice, sir-- they’ve known the women many years and never saw no sign they had dealings with the Devil”(212). In The Crucible John tried to redeem himself in many ways, through confessing to Elizabeth to trying to save the others from being accused and hanged, but it is not till the end when he realizes his way to self forgiveness and is hanged with the rest of the innocent, refusing to give into the hysteria anymore, “You have made your magic now, for now i do think i see some shred of goodness in John Proctor. Not enough to weave a banner with, but white enough to keep it from such dogs.
In The Crucible by: Arthur Miller John Proctor one of the main character is dealing with the hard truth of his past sins. He decided to commit lechery when his wife was ill and now he has to deal with this till the day of his death. Once believed that there was no good to come from himself and it seemed to be true until an Impending doom dramatically changed his relationship with himself.
In the novel by Arthur Miller, the “Crucible”, Proctor confesses orally to witchcraft, but refuses to implicate anyone else. Danforth informs him that the court needs proof of his confession in the form of a signed, written testimony. Proctor confesses verbally to witchcraft, and Rebecca Nurse hears the confession. She is shocked by Proctor's actions, and she still refuses to confess to witchcraft. Proctor signs his name to the confession, but destroys the document when he learns the court will post it on the church door. John Proctor changed his mind and confessed for two reasons, first, after the confession is signed, Danforth tells one of his court marshals to hang it on the church door so that john can be used as an example to the people
The Crucible Essay Questions 1. Many of the characters in the crucible change throughout the play, one of these characters is John Proctor. For most of the play, John Proctor’s personalities and morals stay consistent. For example, he wishes to stop the village girls’ reign of false convention and wants his family life to go back to go back to normal after his affair with Abigail, who is leading the crusade of false witchery. Although John’s intentions stay the same, the very end, when he is accused of witchcraft is a much different story.
John Proctor admits to doing the devils labor, but will not sign his name to be posted on the church wall, because he has already confessed to God and the judge, so he doesn’t see the point in writing his name to be hung on the church door. His reasoning for this is that he has raised three children and is supposed to teach them to do the right thing. He has done the devils work and has repented; he believes the only people that need to know this are God and the judge. Proctor doesn’t want his name to be known around the village as the man who signed with the devil. He wants to be known as the farmer that worked hard for what he had, and wants to have his good name, because his name is the only thing he can take with