Analysis Of John Proctor 's ' The Crucible '

When the play sets in action, John has had a past affair with his servant, Abigail Williams. His wife, Elizabeth Proctor, is very forgiving of his sin, but John has his mind set that he will not confess to anyone else, in fear of ruining his good

“I am not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang.” John Proctor is the protagonist of the Crusible, though for the first two acts, he does little to effect the flow of the story as the reader is introduced to their setting. One is thrown into Salem village as the sparks of accuzations begin to fly setting ablaze paranoya in the name of witchcraft. Abigail Williams, our antagonist uses a lie to cover up her mistakes and decides to get something out of it when she discovers that people are ignorant enough to believe her. She takes the chance to throw allegations of witchery onto John’s innocent wife, Elizabeth. The thrust behind this action comes from the fact that a year earlier she had found her way into John Proctor’s arms and with his wife out of the picture, they could dance together on her grave… though Abigail had been in his arms, she had never been in his heart. Abigail would loose complete control of her seemingly simple scheme as she would loose her only purpose she had left in life- John. John Proctors downfall occurs before our story ever begins.We watch his once stregnths become his weaknesses. The standards he held for himself were shattered and he fumbled in picking up the pieces. His downfall did not end his story, but began it as he would have to rebuild his honor and self respect when it mattered the most.

Proctor produces a self-inflicted wound, which, only enlarges as Abigail’s jealousy of his wife, Elizabeth, increases. After Elizabeth Proctor, John Proctor 's wife, is taken away by Cheever, the lawman, Proctor has a revelation, which entails, exposing Abigail`s lies with Mary Warren’s testimony. But when Abigail’s and her posse accuse Mary Warren of witchery he soon comprehends that a confession of his adulterous ways

John Proctor - A local farmer who lives just outside town; Elizabeth Proctor’s husband. John hates hypocrisy. Nevertheless, he has a hidden sin; his affair with Abigail Williams; that proves his downfall. When the hysteria begins, he hesitates to expose Abigail as a fraud because he worries that his secret will be revealed and his good name ruined.

John Proctor and Elizabeth Proctor had reached a downfall in their relationship after Proctor’s affair with Abigail Williams. Ever since, Proctor had tried to gain back Elizabeth’s respect which proved their deep rooted love for one another. This angered Abigail since she was in love with Proctor, which lead her to accuse Elizabeth of Witchcraft. Throughout the court trials, Proctor continuously defends Elizabeth and himself, yet realizes he must tell the truth on how he committed adultery. Elizabeth, renown for her honesty, lies in the court to try and save Proctor, however, she is ultimately contradicting the truth Proctor had previously told. Elizabeth’s false confession led Proctor to his death, even though Proctor had cried out, “She only thought to save my name!” (Miller 113). Proctor’s confession signifies that he was protecting Elizabeth to help her get out of jail which also would have proved that Abigail was making false accusations. On the other hand, Elizabeth’s fabricated confession could have saved Proctor’s name, and would allow him to keep is high esteem. Proctor and Elizabeth’s twisted situation suggests that the truth would not always set one free. In this case, all the truth that had been confessed was enough to prove Proctor and Elizabeth innocent, yet one lie tore it all apart. Even though Proctor confessed all his truth to prove innocence, the

John Proctor is a noble, honorable man. After being falsely accused of being a witch, he refuses to rat out any of his other friends for compacting with the devil. “I speak my own sins; I cannot judge another. I have no tongue for it”. (Miller, 141). Proctor’s reasoning shows that he is an honorable man that has the decency to not betray his friends. According to the crucible, “Proctor, respected and even feared in the community” (Miller, 20). John Proctor has admiration from the townsfolk for not confessing to a lie, and speaking his mind about the witch trials and how the girls are frauds. Even though John is respected and loved in the community, he has flaws that we cannot ignore. A tragic hero must have a tragic flaw, and for John Proctor, some of his flaws are his pride, and lust. “I know how you clutched my back behind your house and sweated like a stallion whenever I came near! Or did I dream that? It’s she put me out, you cannot pretend it were you. I saw your face when she put me out, you loved me then and you do now!” said Abigail (Miller, 22). I see both of John Proctor’s flaws in this quote from Abigail because he refusing to admit that he has any feelings for Abigail or even speak of their affair. “Wipe it out of mind. We never touched, Abby” (Miller, 23). His lust leads him to his affair with Abigail and his pride in his good name is what makes him keep it a secret. Although keeping this secret will have costly consequences for John Proctor..

In court after his wife was accused of witchcraft John Proctor chose to admit his affair to everyone to prove that his wife was correct in accusing Abigail. “Excellency, forgive me, forgive me. She thinks to dance with me on my wife’s grave! And well she might, for I thought of her softly. God help me, I lusted and there is a promise in such sweat. But it is a whore’s vengeance, and you must see it; I set myself entirely in your hands. I know you must see it now (Miller, 189). In this scene the Proctor loses all credibility, he goes from being seen as a well respected and honest man to a liar and a lecher. He forfeited his social status and put himself in danger to protect his wife from being accused of

At this point, John has given up on all of his lies and began to tell the truth. Not only for his own good, but his wife’s as well. He had realized that all of his lies were building up on him and making many problems much worse. He changed. He told the entire court about his affair with Abigail, and explained to them that Abigail was only trying to get revenge on him and Elizabeth, which is why she was falsely accusing all of these people of witchcraft. After this point, John Proctor was a completely new man. He told the truth, kept his anger under control, and no longer caused such terrible

John Proctor is an anguished character. He committed adultery against his wife, Elizabeth, and could never come to forgive himself. John states in front of the court that he committed adultery in order to save his wife’s life. He willingly sacrificed his good name to save his wife from death. As we will find out John Proctor is a tragic hero. Proctor makes a decision in an attempt to save his wife which will inevitably in the end cause him his life.

The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, which takes place in Salem, Massachusetts, has examples of gossip, lies, adultery, and sin throughout the whole play. John Proctor and Elizabeth Proctor, a married couple, were at a point in their relationship that was slowly diminishing. Their maid, Abigail Williams, had been disengaged from her job by Elizabeth Proctor. Though John and Elizabeth Proctor’s marriage was diminishing, they both loved each other dearly. Abigail has been charged for witchcraft by the courts and has confessed to witchcraft.

The court decides that those who confess shall be spared their lives and those who do not will be hanged. This reversed mentality irritates Proctor and he refuses for his wife to confess to witchery only to save herself. Instead, he asserts (in court) that Elizabeth has never told a lie in her life, “In her life, sir, she have never lied. There are them that cannot sing, and them that cannot weep- my wife cannot lie. I have paid much to learn it, sir” (Miller 103). Only when Judge Danforth questions her about John and Abigail’s affair, she lies to protect her husband’s reputation putting both her and her husband behind bars. Not only does Proctor’s physical being deteriorate while in prison, but so does his will to live. When he is brought out of jail and given the opportunity to confess one more time, he struggles with truth and deceit. Proctor and his wife are well aware that if he does not confess, he will be hanged. Yet, if he does confess, he will continue to raise his growing family through confession of a lie. The fatherly persona inside of Proctor justifies his will to live, but it pains him to even consider the idea of confessing to a lie. Once he brings himself to confess, John Proctor struggles to allow the court to document the evidence. Proctor questions “with a cold, cold horror at their efficiency: Why must it [his

John Proctor and Abigail Williams do not see each other the same way in The Crucible by Arthur Miller. Proctor is rejecting Abigail as she is desperately trying to convince him to come back to her. Abigail thinks that Elizabeth Proctor is acting as a wall so that Abigail can not come back to Proctor. Abigail's relationship with proctor is also keeping them from telling the truth about what happened in the forest.

To begin with, when Proctor confesses to his affair with Abigail while in court, he does so because his sense of integrity demands it. His wife has been sentenced to die. Proctor has a choice to make either maintain

Arthur Miller writer of the book and play “The Crucible.” That relates back to the Salem witch trials. Focusing on one of the main character John Proctor, who betrayed his wife lies and had an affair. The man who told the truth about seeing the devil, and was hung much after his confession. He had some strong hatred against Salem’s theocracy, and how the ran show back then. But Arthur Miller shows how John reacts with his beliefs on the trials; with a willing statement throughout the book on his thoughts.

In the play John Proctor had an affair with Abigail Williams and he believes that it damaged him in the eyes of God, his wife and himself. True he did commit adultery but he lacks the capacity to forgive himself. He resents Elizabeth because she cannot forgive him and trust