Hysteria In The Crucible Essay

John Proctor is a key character in Arthur Miller’s play and book The Crucible, facing moral struggle, and undergoing human development. Proctor is portrayed as a flawed but “morally upright” farmer, but he undergoes a dramatic transformation which is influenced by shame, morality, and selflessness. Proctor’s character growth throughout the narrative displays his capacity to overcome conflict between moral judgment and social expectations. Throughout Act 1, John Proctor appears as a complex and conflicted character with both strength and flaws. As a farmer with a strong sense of independence and integrity, Proctor is respected throughout his community, but also bears a dark secret.

During the previous trials, Proctor admitted to his sins. As Proctor is faced with the decision of lying to save his life, he decides that dying is worth the sense of moral redemption. Proctor’s act of courage represents his courage and symbolizes the resistance to temptation. Furthermore, Proctor’s decision to protect his name can be seen as noble due to his sense of morality. Despite him knowing that lying would save his life, Proctor chooses to commit to the truth.

In order to keep one's dignity, one must first lose their pride and take responsibility for one's actions; regardless of the outcome. In the beginning of “The Crucible,” by Arthur Miller, Protagonist John Proctor is an evidently damaged yet strong willed character. However, after laying his life down for the justice of his wife (Elizabeth Proctor), his friends, and himself, he brings a positive tone back to his name. Proctors honesty, strong will, and brokenness greatly contributes to the overall message of this play: Have faith in the truth, and don’t let lies fog what that truth is.

Miller enlightens us about the importance of staying true to our morals, even when it’s difficult. As a result, in the middle of the play, Proctor works hard to fix his mistakes and finds forgiveness, He also stands up against the unfair witch trials in Salem. At the end of the play, Proctor exhibits fearlessness and dies with integrity, refusing to falsely confess to witchcraft and choosing to stick with his principle even in the face of death. John Proctor refuses to sign a false confession, he declares,“I have confessed myself! Is there no good penitence but it is public?

to Danforth who needs his confession paper. Proctor in the quote above struggles for Danforth to spare his name, he is desperately trying to appeal to Danforth’s emotion and hope for the best. Miller formulates these quotes above to give the scene life because it instills distress, a feeling that people would experience in a real court. Without tone, Proctor’s struggles would not be as impactful to the readers as them did in the

In The Crucible, Miller too created a character that would stand against authority; John Proctor. When Proctor is questioned as to why he has not been to church in so long, he admits that he has ill feelings towards Parris and the way that Parris gives sermons. Proctor does not like authority, and since Parris talks as though he is an authority figure, Proctor has an issue with this. Proctor is very critical over representatives of authority. Proctor changes from a timid character held in bondage by his sin, to a strong, righteous man who will die for the truth. This drastic change in his character is the basis of his significance to the outcome of the play. When faced with the prospect of either confessing to something he didn’t do, or dying, he tells judge Danforth that he cannot have his confession and name nailed to the church door because it would betray his friends who have already died for the truth. When Danforth refutes this, John says, “Beguile me not! I blacken all of them when this is nailed to the church the very day they hang for silence!” (143). Proctor seizes the power back from those who are misusing it, simply by refusing to be a part of the false confessions. The unyielding faith of Proctor’s wife, the influence of the people who share his beliefs and his triumph over an inner struggle help him make a decision that he believes will finally set him free from his past.

In Arthur Miller’s play “The Crucible,” John Proctor undergoes a significant moment where he faces the vital choice between confessing to the false accusations of witchcraft or maintaining his integrity at the cost of his life. Reverend Hale interprets Proctor’s decision to be hanged rather than admit to being guilty as a final act of ultimate pride, which is considered to be a major sin according to Puritan beliefs. However, upon further inspection, Proctor’s choice can clearly be seen as an act of courageous honor rather than egotistical. According to Reverend Hale’s views, he believes that John Proctor’s refusal to falsely confess was an act of excessive pride, which can be considered understandable. Proctor’s devoted resistance to admitting

To the court Proctor cries that he has,“given you my soul; leave me my name!” (Miller

Silence is just one element of hysteria within Miller’s The Crucible. Belonging is another element to hysteria within this book. Belonging is universal needs of human beings, the connection to another living being. The sense of belonging was a (thing) that many of the Salem citizens feared losing, for example, the servant of John and Elizabeth Proctor, Mary Warren. Being accused would cause her to be exiled from the community because she had no mother or father she had no family, Salem was the closest entity that resembles a family for her.

Thoughts and actions were swayed with whatever everyone else was doing. Mary Warren the young girl, dropped all she believed to save herself. Leaving all her values in the dust to save her own neck. Reverend Hale, “ he is a man of integrity who, although at times misguided and overzealous, is willing to change his mind when confronted with the truth. Despite this admirable trait, he lacks the moral conviction to act against proceedings that will condemn innocents to death.”               (“ Crucible”) “He lacks the courage to question the decisions of the court and the prevailing attitude of seventeenth century society. While his fair-mindedness and humanity deserve a measure of respect, Hale’s inability to perceive—and endorse—the power in Proctor’s stand for personal virtue leaves his character ignorant and weak.” (“ Crucible”)  Hale’s morality changed for the better, but he still was not strong enough in those morals to speak out and help people though he had the power. John Proctor, the man who lost his morality at the beginning gained them back. John was the only one with true, honest, morals. He did not blacken anyone else's name instead he chose to die, keeping his good name, finally finding his goodness. “ He have his goodness now. God forbid I take it from him!” ( Miller

The film ‘The Crucible’, directed by Nicholas Hytner was produced at 27th November, 1996.The story is a shocking look into the events of a tragic period early in history that America will not likely forget. The story revolves around the hysteria caused by the Salem Witch Trials. The film focuses around John Proctor and his wife, Elizabeth, who find themselves immersed in the fear that holds them in the colonial town of Salem, Massachusetts, while there was rumors of witchcraft and break out of the devils being worshipped. This hysteria is set off after a group of girls are found dancing naked in the woods at night, and drinking the blood from a sacrificed animal, obviously dabbling in some sort of black magic. Abigail Williams is a cruel,

The theme of guilt is all-pervading in Arthur Miller’s play “The Crucible,” determining the actions of its characters and shaping where the story goes. Guilt becomes a destructive force and a moral compass, from the first accusation of witchcraft to the tragic end. In Salem, Guilt is manipulated by individuals as a tool to control others, such as Abigail Williams’ strategic accusations: “I saw Sarah Good with the Devil! I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil! I saw Bridget Bishop with the Devil!”

The historical play the Crucible, by Arthur Miller explores the ideas of hysteria and the notion of good and evil. I chose to explore these ideas in relation to other events throughout history such as the Holocaust and Terrorism. It interested me that although the Salem Trials were 300 years ago, the ideas of hysteria and good and evil can still be shown throughout other events in history, prompting the idea that we haven’t made many advancements at all. I chose to explore this through a speech as I felt it would be the best way to express all three events in enough detail and sophistication. The audience of my speech was science students, and I wrote from the position of a fellow student.

In his essay, “The Tragedy and the Common Man”, Miller affirms that one of the aspects of a tragic hero is “the underlying struggles that of the individual attempting to gain his "rightful" position in his society (1).” Miller makes it clear that even a man of ordinary status is burdened with the struggle of one’s name in a duplicitous society. Proctor struggles with this when he is faced with the ultimate decision to either confess to witchcraft and give in to the corruption of the witch hunt and Puritan beliefs or keep

In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, various characters, whether it is from physical trials or unseen personal struggles, experience some kind of major conflict. There are those who spend every day in fear, wondering whether or not they will be falsely accused of witchcraft. There are others who struggle with more internal trials, such as forgiving those who have hurt them. The protagonist, John Proctor, was a man of strong moral constitution, and held himself to a high standard for the sake of his good name and family. As a result of this, he struggled with a major internal conflict throughout the play.