Second chances are given to many people. John Proctor is not a perfect human; he was asked to recite the Ten Commandments by Reverend Hale. He missed one of the Ten Commandments , adultery, the seventh commandment. Abigail Williams is the reason John Proctor’s wife is accused of witchcraft. Proctor is an honest man; he ruined his name to his wife whom he truly loves. His heart is for the good, not the bad. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). John Proctor is a good person because he ruined his good name to save his wife, Abigail tried to influence him to go to Barbados but he wouldn’t betray his wife again, and he would rather die than confess …show more content…
He says this knowing Abigail was the one accusing his wife so that she may have him. In order for this to happen, Elizabeth must die, but Proctor persuades Mary Warren to tell the truth. Proctor told Mary Warren to confess that all of the accusations are a lie so that Elizabeth Proctor may be freed. Elizabeth Proctor is accused because she “stabbed” Abigail with a voodoo doll. “Make your peace with it! Now Hell and Heaven grapple on our backs, and all our old pretense is ripped away—make your peace!” (1135). Abigail tries to save Proctor from being executed. She takes all of her uncle’s money, goes to where Proctor is kept and tries to persuade him to elope with her. Proctor refuses, he wouldn’t betray his wife again. Abigail tries numerous times to influence Protector and commit a sin, everybody sins. Proctor loved his children and he was not going to elope with an insane person who accused his wife. He changed himself and put others before him. He knew good from bad. Proctor has morals and standards that he had and followed until death do him part. Proctor chose to die rather than saying he signed his name in the devils book and is …show more content…
He certainly learned not to have an affair ever again. He had honor and was much respected throughout the community. Proctor died a good, innocent man. He died with his name though he did not die with everything. He was devastated whenever he had to leave his wife. He could’ve given up everything but he wanted to keep his name pure. Readers may think that if he had not had the affair, he would not have to worry about any of this madness if he had not committed adultery. They may think he was a bad person because he never considered his wife, but one must consider all of the facts. If the only reason Proctor was bad was because he cheated on his wife, then he doesn’t seem as sinful as people these days. There are worse sins being committed every day. Also, Proctor regrets ever having an affair with Abigail. One could be sure that if he could go back in time, he would stop himself from ever doing a putrid thing such as that. He had asked God to forgive him for his sins. He refrains from Abigail’s influence. Proctor ruined his good name striving to save his wife; in the meantime Abigail tries to persuade him to commit adultery again, and dies innocent. If Proctor was not innocent, then
Proctor’s marriage was ruined the day he decided to step out in his marriage. Proctor was too focused on why Elizabeth could not trust him or forgive him, he forgot to stop and switch the focus of blaming others to understanding himself first. He held a grudge on Elizabeth because she cannot forgive the sins he committed and trust, but proctor is equivalently guilty of doing the same thing. Proctor shifts his mistakes to other people which makes it nearly impossible for him to reconcile with his wife: “Spare me! You forget nothin' and forgive nothin '. Learn charity, woman. I have gone tiptoe in this house all seven month since she is gone. I have not moved from there to there without I think to please you, and still an everlasting funeral marches round your heart” (Miller 36). Elizabeth’s lack of forgiveness escalates proctor’s frustration and guilt: “But it is a whore’s vengeance,
John Proctor sought his wife’s forgiveness to regain her trust and to entitle him to die an honest man. He recognized his actions; he simply wanted his wife to recognize them too. “Let you look sometimes for the goodness in me, and judge me not.” (Miller 55) Proctor’s appeal to his wife reveals his hope for her forgiveness and for her to see the goodness in him. He wants his wife to recognize him as an honest man, because to him that is the only substance that made him feel like a good person. Later in the course of the play, Elizabeth forgives Proctor for his mistakes. She states, “John, it come to naught that I should forgive you… Whatever you will do, it is a good man does it… it needs a cold wife to prompt lechery.” (Miller 136-137) Elizabeth’s statement to her husband exhibits an understanding of his mistakes and acknowledgement of the good man Proctor truly is. Elizabeth’s forgiveness allows Proctor to forgive himself as well. After being forgiven, John Proctor can now die an honest man, a tragic hero - a man with integrity and goodness.
The confession was too late. Proctor ended up being accused of witchcraft himself after his wife lied to the court to save his name from lechery.
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
When we are introduced to his character, it is apparent that he has been unfaithful to his wife (Elizabeth) with a lady named Abigail. Following this, we see that his wife has been accused of witchcraft, and it is Abigail who made the accusation. Proctor realizes that it is because of his actions that his wife has been accused and he
John Proctor is portrayed throughout the play to be a man who has high moral values that he must abide by. He
After having an affair with John Proctor, she couldn’t accept not being without him. Abigail also admires “how such a strong man may let such a sickly wife” like Elizabeth be unaware of the affair she had with John Proctor(act1pg#). As a result to the affair, Proctor is trying to rebuild his marriage with his wife. Abigail continues to intervene in John Proctors marriage and attempts to manipulate Proctor so he would confess his love for her. Proctor admits his love for her, but does not continue his affection because Abigail seeps of vengeance for other individuals. He portrays her “as a lump of vanity” who thinks to dance on his “wife’s grave!”(act 3). For her own selfish desires, Abigail accuses Elizabeth of witchcraft and tries to intentionally sabotage her. She does this for the purpose of her own selfish and fictitious relationship that she has with Proctor. Abigail believes she has the capability to influence Proctor, but her egoistic actions to win his undefining love makes her appear as the criminal in the
Proctor felt guilty about what he did in his past with Abigail he decides that
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”.
To begin with, Proctor was considered a strong person in the community, and he was respected for it. He was a handsome, hard-working, and
He is faced with extreme conflict due to the fact that he committed one of the biggest sins there is: adultery. Proctor then has to decide whether he wants to confess his sin in order to save his wife or to be selfish and live a slandered reputation. Just as John Proctor makes the decision to save his wife’s life and his family's reputation, so too will any person that believes it is more important to put their family above
Abigail is a liar. She immediately rejects all association between herself and witchcraft. When Abigail's uncle, reverend
It’s important to note why and how Abigail inherited her selfish behavior in the first place, and what caused her to act a certain way. Abigail claims that she is in love with John Proctor, and the two characters were discovered to have an affair with each other. John Proctor’s wife, Elizabeth Proctor, finds out about the affair and
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.
At the trial, Proctor no longer tried to protect himself and admits to having an affair with Abigail, explains