The play about a wicked society who are deceiving and vengeful, the town of Salem is impacted by wicked, deceiving men or women as innocent people die in Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible. In this play, a man named John Proctor tries to help his friends after he has an affair with Abigail, who is now trying to kill everyone by hanging them to be with John. After being with Abigail, John then is motivated to try to support not just his wife but his friends this motive is what prompts John to hang and this creates a deeper play and makes John the most important character in the play. But at the end, his pride destroys him because he does not want to sully his name, not just trying to help his friends in an extreme manner that John is prone to doing. …show more content…
John is tested and he replies with extremism. This is seen when he speaks “I say I say God is dead” (Miller, 111). This suggests that God does not live in Salem and that everyone in Salem are immoral people. His extreme nature can also be seen when he says “I hear the boot of Lucifer I see his filthy face! And it’s my face and yours, Danforth” (111). When he says this he is assuming everyone has Lucifer in them that all these people are not genuine people that they are devils. In this play, John Proctor is also a brave man. this is confirmed when quoted “you bring down heaven and raise up a whore” (111). Saying this in front of all the people in the court to Abigail was a brave move for John. John also can be regarded acting brave when he says “I’ll tell you what’s walking Salem, vengeance is walking Salem” (77). This is brave to say because he is calling out all of the people in the court that are upon
John Proctor is a man that everyone in Salem knows. Everyone in Salem has respect for John Proctor because he is a man who has a mind like no others because he is constantly thinks outside the box. John Proctor is always thinking outside the box by taking it to the extreme, and never gives a simple answer. His thoughts provoke the towns people by showing his imagination. John Proctor is a caring man who has great respect for everyone in the town because he doesn’t want to see innocent people sent on a death trial for something that they did not do at all. John Proctor is very unexpressed. The reason why he is unexpressed is because he shows mentally he shows no guilt, but physically he shows guilt toward the towns people. Finally, with false confessions, this leads him to his final breath of life because with Abigail lying this allows the court to go on her
In the second act of the book, Proctor tries to convince Cheever, the sheriff, to not arrest Elizabeth for witchery. He uses a simile to question if the girls are reliable accusers. Proctor questions, “Were they born this morning as clean as God’s fingers” (Miller, 77). In this sentence he also uses logos, he wants Cheever to consider if the girls are reliable and trustworthy. He claims that the people of the town are deifying the girls. John Proctor soon realizes arguing is useless and changes his diction from a persuasive tone to a cautioning tone. He POWER VERB, “ I’ll tell you what's walking Salem- vengeance is walking Salem”(Miller, 77). In this quote, John Proctor personifies the act of vengeance. He is warning them the witchcraft is all a lie and that these accusations are coming from the girls because of spite and vengeance towards other in the town. Although no one knows yet that he has had an affair with Abigail, he wants them to realize that Elizabeth is only being accused by Abigail due to resentment. He personifies vengeance
Life in the 1600’s was arduous for members of Puritan society. Strict social rules, including defined gender-specific roles, mandatory attendance at church, no self-indulging activities, and limited personal freedoms, forced people to repress their feelings and opinions to maintain a good reputation. God was involved in every aspect of life, and punishment fell upon those who were seen as not doing God’s work and deviated from the norm. The Crucible, a play set during the events of the Salem Witch Trials in Massachusetts during this time, focuses on the mass hysteria which plagued the people and their reactions. A group of girls went dancing in the woods, and were caught by Reverend Parris. To avoid getting in trouble, the girls, led by Abigail Williams, claimed being the victims of witchcraft. John Proctor, who previously had an affair with Abby while she worked for his family, refused to believe the accusations of witchcraft. After Abby accuses his wife, Elizabeth, John does his best to prove her innocence, yet ultimately ends up being hanged himself. The events are tragic, and many people died as a result. Abigail’s “in the moment” survival is evident in her disregard for virtue in favor of reputation throughout The Crucible, whereas John Proctor ultimately decides integrity is more important than survival through his admission of guilt.
Arthur Miller's verifiable play, The Crucible, depicts the recorded occasions of the Salem witch trials through a swarm of life-changing characters. Trepidation drives these Puritans to uncover their actual feelings while confronting their informers in the predisposition courts before coldblooded judges. While in the long run all the individuals of Salem get subject to this frenzy, two ladies emerge above the rest. Retribution and disgrace live in the heart of the young adulteress, Abigail Williams, while truth and exemplary nature dwell in the soul of Elizabeth Proctor, John Proctor's dedicated wife. Although they both elevate the strain and tension of the play, Abigail William's and Elizabeth Proctor's disparities lead to turmoil because
John Proctor lived and died as an honorable man in Salem. He was not a perfect man and admittedly some of his decisions were not right. However he won the battle against his conscience and righted the wrong to the best of his ability, motivated by protecting his family’s name from shame. He paid for these convictions with his life. Throughout the play The Crucible, John is motivated to tell the truth even though it ruins reputation, and contributes to the theme of someones reputation. Although he lived and died in the seventeenth century his example is timeless as we are faced with situations similar to
In the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller, John Proctor, who is a highly respected individual in Salem, consistently shows his honorable character, which proves his actions at the end of the play to be believable. Proctor is a compassionate, honest, and strong willed man, especially toward his wife and true love, Elizabeth Proctor. Not only is he great to his wife, he is an upstanding citizen and respected by most. In the end, John confirms his goodness by sticking to his beliefs and not lying to save his own life.
''The Crucible,'' is a 1952 play written by Arthur Miller as an allegory of Mcarthyism. The play follows a theocratic society in which the church and the state are one, and reputation plays an important role in Salem where private and public moralities are the same. In act one, the secret affair of John Proctor and Abigail Williams was revealed that led to conflict between John and his wife. Divorce was not permitted in the late 16th century, hence, the Proctors had to maintain their marriage causing discord within the Proctor household. At the start of Act 2, Miller creates a tense atmosphere of animosity portrayed by John and Elizabeth Proctor in their lack of affection, awkwardness, appraisal and guilt leading to affliction.
John Proctor is also courageous. Proctor confessed to having an affair with Abigail Williams, even though that is a punishable crime. Proctor said this in order to prove that Abby is accusing Elizabeth of witchcraft because Elizabeth fired Abby after Elizabeth became suspicious. He did it to save Elizabeth which shows that he is a very courageous character. John Proctor also refuses to sign a false confession that would save his life. He accepts the consequence of not signing the confession without backing down or without being overtaken by fear. Although he wants to live, escaping death is not worth facing the rest of his life with a bad reputation and knowing it's a lie. John Proctor understood that having a good character and reputation was better than having his life. John Proctor was able to face danger and difficulty without being overcome with fear.
The primary dramatic focus in the play The Crucible is the moral struggle of its protagonist, John Proctor. Certain characteristics of John Proctor's character and also the environment of the Puritanical Salem alleviated this problem for him. The main issues running through out the play are a series of dilemmas that John Proctor faces. The first and foremost of these is his guilt over his adulterous affair with Abigail Williams, the second his hesitation to testify against Abigail to bring out the truth and the third, his final decision to make the ultimate sacrifice.
John Proctor is a very friendly man. Everyone likes being his friend. He is open, kind, helpful, upright, blunt-spoken, and just a good, hard-working man. John has lots of faith in God but little in humans. He knows that mankind is good but he also knows that they are weak and imperfect. “Proctor: I’ve heard you to be a sensible man, Mr. Hale. I hope you’ll leave some of it in Salem”.
In the play, The Crucible, John Proctor had various opinions about the Church he attended and Salem, the town he lived in. He didn’t agree with the situations happening in the world around him, so he decided to rise against Judge Danforth and
The Crucible is a historical play by Arthur Miller, and is set in the town of Salem during the late 1690s. The main characters are John Proctor, the protagonist, and Abigail Williams, the antagonist. The conflict occurs when Abigail falsely accuses others of witchcraft. This leads to hysteria in the town, with people turning in innocent people for witchcraft. Many people including John and Elizabeth Proctor are arrested and put on trial, despite their innocence. John Proctor is sentenced to death after refusing to denounce his friends as witches, forgiven by Elizabeth for his affair with Abigail, and restores his reputation of being a good man. The Crucible delves into the extent people will go betray others in order to benefit themselves
In the play of the crucible by Arthur Miller was about the witch trial in salem, massachute. A teenage girl named Abigail fell in love with a married guy named John Proctor. Abigail is doing everything to win John Proctor heart and be john proctor wife. Everything went wrong and she started to lie by accusing innocent people for being witches. Innocent people are getting hang up because of Abigail and her friends lies. The author's purpose of this play is to inform the audience about what happened during salem witch trials.
The air is warm, sweat dripping down his face. He longingly looks towards his wife with tears in his eyes; knowing the end is nigh. And then, with a bang, a crack, a whimper; his soul left, hoping to be in a better place. This was one man of many who was hung for witchcraft during the Salem Witch Trials. They all were admirable and died for a cause. One of them was an influential man by the name of John Proctor. John Proctor is an admirable man in the play “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller because he is respectable, has a need to protect others in his life, and has integrity/honor.
Arthur Miller has created John Proctor the protagonist of The Crucible to be a 30 year old farmer in Salem, Massachusetts, powerful of body, even-tempered and not easily led. John speaks his mind when he recognizes injustice. He is highly respected, even feared, by some in Salem. His name is synonymous with honour and integrity. He takes pleasure in exposing hypocrisy and is respected for it. However John is a sinner, a sinner not only against the moral fashion of the time but against his own vision of decent conduct, he has come to regard himself as a kind of fraud. After admitting to lechery, John is accused of witchcraft, on this charge he is condemned.