Analysis Of John Proctor In The Crucible

“Abby, I may think of you softly from time to time. But I will cut off my hand before I’ll ever reach for you again,” happens to be a quote from John Proctor whilst he was speaking to Abigail Williams in Act One of The Crucible. John Proctor happens to be a hard-working farmer from Salem with strong Puritan beliefs. Although John is a religious Puritan man he has some downfalls within the play The Crucible. His first downfall would be him committing adultery with a seventeen year old named Abigail Williams, who was his servant at the time. After committing said adultery with the teenage girl, he keeps it a secret from his wife until she fires Abigail and kicks her out of their house. After that his wife is accused of being a witch by Abigail because of him not wanting to be with Abigail anymore. He finally tells the truth about the affair while in court and is accused of being a witch after screaming “God is dead,” he then was hung three months later. So, if there is one character I can most closely relate myself to it would be John Proctor. Three character traits that I share with John Proctor is that we are both honest, hard-working, and caring.

"A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles." There are many forms of heroes, some are big and obvious, others are small and unidentifiable, but either way, they make a difference in the world. In fact, there are several different kinds of heroes represented in The Crucible. In Arthur Miller's novel, the Crucible, the story takes place in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692 during the Salem witch trials. During this time, several people, men and women alike, are falsely accused of being witches. John Proctor and his wife Elizabeth are both falsely accused of being witches, so both husband and wife need to fight for their lives. In the Crucible, John Proctor goes to great

“As a general rule . . . the tragic feeling is evoked in us when we are in the presence of a character who is ready to lay down his life, if need be, to secure one thing-his sense of personal dignity” (“Tragedy”). Miller, the author of the Crucible and the Tragedy and the Common Man, said these words to prove that a tragic play is not meant to be pessimistic, but more optimistic. In The Crucible, John Proctor, a farmer that proves to be the protagonist, goes through a dramatic change throughout the play; learning to forgive himself for his flaws, and in the end to have pride and stand up for what is right.

During the eight months past, Proctor committed adultery with Abigail who worked in his home at that time. At first, just like any other man, Proctor concealed his sin. However, when confronted by his wife Elizabeth Proctor, he confessed to the sin. Elizabeth Proctor put Abigail out on the street the following day. Proctor truly repented to God and his wife for the sin he had committed. “I will cut off my hand before I’ll ever reach for you again.” (Miller, 1109) Abigail tries to tempt Proctor into touching her, but because of his true repentance he will never touch her in that manner again. A man who can admit to his mistakes and truly repent without repeating the sin is a good and righteous man. However, Abigail is relentless to have John Proctor for

In many texts, the theme of repentance is apparent. For example, a story in the Bible speaks of King David who lusts after his neighbor’s wife, Bathsheba. After learning she is a married woman, the King sends her husband, Uriah, to the forefront of a battle, which results in Uriah's demise, allowing the King to marry her. However, in doing so, King David had displeased the lord, leading him to repent upon his actions. This comes to show that understanding one’s flaws and demonstrating the will to change one’s ways allows a man to be at peace. In Arthur Miller’s novel, The Crucible, John Proctor’s faith is challenged, leaving him with a decision to either lie for his life or die with his name. Proctor decides to admit his sins and repent upon his mistakes, proving he is a good man who is hard-working, loyal, and honorable.

Was John Proctor’s decision right or wrong? Arthur Miller’s The Crucible is a play that is filled with criticism and discrimination because of free will. There are conflicts due to lies, affairs, and disputes about freedom causes havoc throughout the town. After people start being ostracized for their crimes, other criminals to society like John Proctor realized that the authorities are not joking and grow some sense of conscience. Throughout the play, John Proctor is given the choice between keeping his reputation, pride, integrity, or saving his life.

First, is when he confesses to adultery, he admits to this because it is the only way he can prove Abigale (former maid, fellow adulterer) is a lying, “whore.” It was surprising that John Proctor admitted to his sin because now his name will always be associated with adultery. As shown by his later actions in the book it is clear that Proctor wants to leave his name for his children untarnished. At the end of the book John Proctor is being accused of witchcraft, at this time he also rekindles his love with his wife so he wants to do anything he can to stay alive. To do so he would have to confess to witchcraft, he was to sign a confession and it would be nailed to the court door for the whole town to see. Once Proctor finds out that the all of the townspeople will know he confessed he doesn’t let the judge take the paper and he rips it to shreds. In making this decision he is choosing to die a more honest man than he would if he had confessed. Proctor struggles internally with this decision because he knows that he isn’t a witch, but he also doesn’t want to die. He wants to spend more time with his wife, but he doesn’t want his name to become even more tarnished than it already is. He believes that Goody Nurse and Martha Corey are making the right decision by not confessing because they haven’t done anything sinful in the past. Proctor is

The drama The Crucible by Arthur Miller focuses on the Salem witch trials held in the 1600s. Many of young girls in Salem use the Puritans’ fear of witches to their advantage, and seek revenge on those that they do not like by accusing them of witchcraft. One of the well-respected men in the town, John Proctor struggles with between revealing the truth behind the accusations and his fear of the court knowing his sins. Miller presents integrity as an essential part of a moral person. Proctor later develops this virtue in order to protect not only his name, but also the names of all those that died before him. Proctor demonstrates that integrity is ultimately the most important virtue because he values the truth over ignorance and self-preservation.

Abigail Williams presence and influence in the town of Salem causes a shadow to loom over the villagers of the act in Arthur Miller’s, “The Crucible”. Throughout the Act II, Abigail’s presence influences the Proctor’s marriage and the young girl actions. Prior to the witchcraft accusations in the town of Salem, Abigail has an affair with John Proctor, a married man. Abigail yearns for John Proctor’s affection, and this causes her to disrupt the Proctor’s marriage. Upon confronting John about their forbidden relationship, John dismisses Abigail and refers to her as a child. John is guilt ridden about his act of adultery and feels committed to his wife Elizabeth. In order to further estrange Abigail, John states that he will cut his arm off

Proctor was initially fueled by keeping his wife and a clean name; but, spending time in jail further changed his motives. When speaking to Elizabeth following being accused of witchcraft, he questioned taking the easy way out, stating “I am not a man. My honesty is broke, Elizabeth; I am no good man. Nothing is spoiled by giving them this lie”(137). Proctor sinned previously when performing lechery; as a result of this, he now believes that sinning again would not make a difference. In the eyes of the Puritans, he would already be going to hell due to performing lechery. However, Proctor soon came to the realization that in order to keep integrity he had to be truthful. He no longer wanted to follow in the footsteps of other citizens who

A contemporary, third parallel to Arthur Miller’s play “The Crucible” has taken the form of 14 year old, teenage suicide bomber, Usaid Barho. These parallels elucidate the relevance of classical texts in the 21st century as a source of moral education. Written by Georgia Emms, Brisbane.

In the midst of intense superstition, Reverend John Hale is ready to jump down a slippery

It all changes for the townspeople of Salem when accusations of withcraft arise. The first accusations are made toward the girls of Salem but soon spread like a wildfire with no desrimination. With every problem comes someone to blame and while there was many victims only one seemed to cause it all. The believed reality of a small puritan town is brought to flames by the greed, dishonesty, and pride of a well known farmer, John Proctor.

Arthur Miller wrote a drama named, The Crucible, because he noticed that the common man’s hero had disappeared from society; he invented a character named John Proctor to fill this forgotten role. John Proctor portrays many of the common characteristics seen in a tragic hero including a morally sound trait that leads to his demise, honesty. His inability to break his own morals leads to his execution.

In common vernacular, a crucible is used to heat substances in order to become more pure or perfect; however, when a town with strict theology and no tolerance is subject to the grueling torture of innocent lives dying for a false cause, the result is anything but perfect. Though John Proctor does find some relief in his redemption at the end, by no means does the drama have a happy ending. Though it is somewhat plausible to define Arthur Miller’s drama, The Crucible, as a comedy, there is overwhelming evidence in favor of the drama being labeled a tragedy. John Proctor’s inability to overcome his moral weakness of lust, the town’s tragic flaw of intolerance and jealousy, and Proctor’s inability to rationalize his life and the world around him combine in a heartbreaking way to form a tragedy.