What characteristics generate an honorable or dishonorable man? This can be contested in the play, The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller. This play consists of the time period during the Salem Witch Trials. Girls were said to have been witches for their dancing, and were accused of witchcraft. John Proctor was accused, and although not involved with witchcraft, confessed to being part of it anyway. He then took away his confession to keep his good name, but was hanged despite this. John Proctor chose to die in order to preserve his name in the town, and also fought for what he believed in. In The Crucible, John Proctor was portrayed as an honorable man. John Proctor was honorable because he fought for justice for the innocent people involved in the accusation of witchcraft. In fighting for justice for his friends and his wife Elizabeth, John gathered up …show more content…
Proctor shows strong integrity when he has Mary Warren come to court with him and his other friends to have her tell the court that she, along with Betty Parris, and Abigail, were just pretending to be afflicted with witchcraft. “It were pretense, sir”(3.167) Mary says. Mary confessing was Proctor’s idea and was one of his main concerns going into court. Also, Proctor wanting Mary to say this shows that he wanted to be honest with everybody and that he was pushing for people to see the real side of Abigail. Along with Proctor having Mary confess in court, John also shows integrity when refusing to tell Judge Danforth of other people’s sins. Proctor utters, “I speak my own sins; I cannot judge another. I have no tongue for it”(4.653-55). This is Proctor saying that he is not willing to share other people’s sins, as it is none of his business, nor his responsibility to do so. Proctor saying that he has no room to talk shows that Proctor respects and honors his other friends and that he does not want to see them in the same position he is in right
John Proctor has many noble qualities among one major flaw. One such noble quality is expressed when he decides to admit his affair in front of the court in order to save his wife. He had been keeping it a secret, as most probably would, to preserve his honor and his name. However, when he hears that Abby, the woman he had an affair with, has charged his wife with witchcraft, he is fully willing to come forth and admit his sin to save his wife.
During the play, John Proctor’s Protective, Innocent, and Integrity behaviors are revealed. For Example, Proctor is protective over Elizabeth cause he says “We were what we was in Salem, bit now the little crazy children are jangling the keys of the kingdom, and common vengeance write the law! ”. Which means John proves that he and his wife Elizabeth had never changed from who they was in Salem to where they are now, and that since they moved the children have cause trouble in the kingdom not them. John also says “My wife is innocent”. Which that Proctor states that his wife is no lier, and that he has paid much to learn.
Many people can argue that John Proctor was or was not an honorable man. John Proctor was a honorable man, for many different reasons. John Proctor was a man who lived in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. He was married to Elizabeth Proctor. In this time John Proctor showed he was honorable in some ways. Such as him confessing to adultery to try and save his wife and he ripped his confession so he did not blacken his and others in the village names. People can also argue that is is not a honorable man. Because he did not go to church as much as he should have.
Proctor’s act of refusal was solemnly based on Proctor’s conscience battle. Proctor has a hard time dealing with his conscience. The trial only favors honesty, but John is a man of pride. John’s conscience believes that he should be honest and tell the court his righteous justification. On the one hand, John’s pride believes that he should stand firm and don’t need to lie.
For example, when Proctor and Elizabeth are fighting over marital issues, he states, “Oh Elizabeth, your justice would freeze beer” (Miller 55). This shows how a proctor can be seen as an upright, straight to the point, and mean man. After Proctor changes, some may describe him as an honest and righteous man. Evidently, when Danforth is urging Proctor to falsely confess, he states, “You have made your magic now, for now I do think I see some shred of goodness in John Proctor” (Miller 144). This quote shows that Proctor is a honest man who feels sorry for his wrong doing and is willing to die with good people.
Though his wrong-doings come out throughout the play, most people still managed to think highly of him. In the end of the play, Elizabeth states he always was a good man. That quote shows that if his wife that he committed adultery on thought he was a good man, he had to be. She is not the only person in the town that sees John Proctor’s greatness. Giles Corey, the town grump, had a high liking for Proctor which really says something seeing as he hated almost anyone he came in contact with. Though John did wrong, he was still highly favored in Salem.
Proctor committed adultery with Abigail and the guilt and regret overwhelmed him. He could not forgive himself, so when he confessed it showed his goodness. He was so worried about what God would do and what people would say. He ended up escaping death instead of making matters worse by living in a lie. In other words, he, unlike others, respected opinions.
In the 1953 play, The Crucible, John Proctor was portrayed as a fallen hero. Proctor was just an average farmer trying to support his family and make ends meet. He was tempted by a sweet 17 year old girl, or so she seemed; this girl was Abigail Williams. Abigail Williams was sweet and innocent in the eyes of Salem but infamous and cruel to those who knew the truth. She and other adolescent girls accused innocent people of practicing Witchcraft for selfish reasons and Abigail tempted John into having relations with her. John Proctor may have committed lechery but he was not a bad person. He had many flaws which resulted in his own downfall and reversed his fortune, but he indeed was killed for unjust purposes.
In the play The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, the character John Proctor will not lie and confess to something he did not do. Thus, he is hanged for his principles. Proctor has two main principles he felt were more important to respect and uphold than his own life. The most obvious one was his reputation. In theocratic Salem, where private and public ethics are regarded equally, one’s reputation plays an important role. In such an environment where reputation is regarded so highly many are afraid of guilt by association. Various characters base their actions on the desire to protect their own reputations, in order to keep them in the best light possible. Towards the beginning of the play, John Proctor sought to keep his good name
When faced with unfair circumstances, it is important to leave the situation, with your integrity intact, and without breaking trust. John Proctor is a strong representation of a person of great integrity. He would rather be hung, then to have Abigail and the girls continue to accuse innocent
Also, John Proctor was honest to himself, not wanting to represent himself as just another one of the selected “witches” that many of the townspeople accused.
John Proctor is a middle-aged-family-man, he lives in the town of Salem as a farmer with his three children, and wife Elizabeth. In the book Elizabeth once said, “My husband is a good and righteous man. He’s never drunk as some are, not wasting his time at the
John Proctor possesses may noble characteristics throughout The Crucible. Proctor desperately stood up for his wife, intent on protecting her at all costs "My wife will never die for me! I will bring your guts into your mouth but that goodness will not die for
The righteous nature of John Proctor to always seek the truth and denounce those who abuse their given powers is evident as he exposes the corruption that existed in Salem. Proctor exposes that the girls were only acting as if they were possessed by the devil and witchcraft. Unlike many within Salem, Proctor does not see the value of
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