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Character Analysis Of John Proctor In The Crucible

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Arthur Miller’s The Crucible is an unbelievable read that describe the everyday life of people in Massachusetts during the Salem Witch Trials. There are so many characters in The Crucible that all have different character traits and motives that distinguish them from each other. John Proctor is one of the main characters whose character traits help uncover the hidden theme, “Everyone deserves a second chance.” John Proctor is a dynamic character who is stern, authoritative, angry and unfaithful. Proctor develops a reputation in the beginning of the play based off of his past choices. Proctor is talked about within the community as an unfaithful man who needs to go to church. Proctor is unfaithful because he cheated on his wife Elizabeth with Abigail. Proctor and Abigail have a relationship for a while until Proctor calls it off. In act one Abigail says “I know you clutched my back...and sweated like a stallion when I come near”(Miller 14-15). This is an example of John Proctor being unfaithful towards his wife Elizabeth. Proctor tells Abigail “I may have looked up,” Proctor says this because Abigail says Proctor has previously looked up at her window when passing by. Abigail has a sense for heat towards Proctor. He denies that he paid any attention to her after their first interactions. Proctor continues to be unfaithful because he admits to Abigail that he looked up at her window from time to time. This relates to the theme because these are some of his wrong doings that make the people around him uneasy, in which he should deserve a chance to make up for what he has done. Proctor is a stern individual who likes to lay down the law. In a sense, it’s his way or the highway. Proctor is stern towards Abigail when she talks about their encounters. He says “Abigail you’ll put this out of mind” (Miller 14). “Aye but we did not,”(Miller 15) and “You’ll speak nothin of Elizabeth” (Miller 15) are both examples of how Proctor can be a stern individual. He tells Abigail they did not touch or have any relations even though that is not true. He is telling Abigail what happened and it’s all how he sees the issue. He doesn’t want Abigail speaking anything of his wife because that is a touchy subject to Proctor. Proctor

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