Compare And Contrast John Proctor In The Crucible

A Tragic hero is a character who experiences a major downfall as the results of a personal mistake or the workings of fate. There are many tragic heroes in the play The Crucible, But the one that comes to mind is John Proctor for several reasons. It all starts out with the affair with Abigail, when that affair happens John Proctor breaks his wedding vows and violate the moral convictions of the community by engaging in an adultery affair with Abigail. John Proctor is a classic example of a tragic hero in the play, The Crucible for several reasons…

The only way John Proctor can save himself is by falsely confessing to being involved with witchcraft; however, he does not confess. This describes another example of situational irony. Proctor decides to tell the truth and not lie to himself because he now understands the meaning of a good reputation. As critic Richard Hayes says, “The dilemma of man, fallible, subject to pride, but forced to choose between the ‘negative good’ of truth and the morality, and the ‘positive good’ of human life under any dispensation.” Proctor would rather die than live with the town believing untrue statements about him. When Proctor is asked to explain why he decides to tell the truth he replies, “Because it is my name!...How may I live without

John Proctor has a dark secret, He possesses a major flaw he has had an affair with Abigail Williams, and eventually he realizes what he has done to Elizabeth, He has committed adultery against his wife. Due to the fact that Proctor has committed adultery against Elizabeth, he becomes a tragic hero, and Abigail Williams shows that when she says “I know how you clutched my back behind your house and sweated like a stallion whenever I come near” (Act I, lines 423-425). John broke his marriage vows, but even though he regrets he has become a tragic hero. It’s too late to regret he has sinned, he has ruined his marriage with Elizabeth and now she is not pleased with him. Due to the fact that he has cheated on Elizabeth, his outlook in life is negative, when He tells her “I have not moved from there to there without I think to please you” (Act II, lines 159-161). The affair also caused Elizabeth to distrust John, who for seven months was trying to get into her good graces and is tired of her suspicion. Because of John's inability to control his desire and resist temptation, his life is being turned upside down by the jealousy and need for revenge of Abigail, marking the beginning of his downfall and path to becoming a tragic hero. As a result, the need for revenge of Abigail marks the beginning of John downfall.

People’s true character is revealed through their actions. Their morals and ethics can be told from how they choose to act in a situation. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible; the character of John Proctor is an honorable man despite having committed wrongful acts. He was able to redeem himself through acts that is considered courageous, such as when he refuses to contribute to the lie of witchcraft in Salem, when he fights for the people who were convicted of witchcraft and when he regrets being a dishonest man.

"How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave my name!" (Proctor) John Proctor a farmer, and the husband of Elizabeth. He had an affair with Abigail Williams while she worked as a servant in his house. John is a powerful man in both build and character. " John Proctor is a tormented individual. He believes his affair with Abigail irreparably damaged him in the eyes of god, his wife Elizabeth, and himself. True, Proctor did succumb to sin and commit adultery; however he lacks the capacity to forgive himself." (www.cliffsnotes.com) John Proctor goes from being loved and well respected to a sinner and later on becoming a tragic hero which was surrounded by strong feelings and beliefs.

For the majority of the play, Proctor and Parris are often in conflict, either regarding their beliefs or actions. This is best shown near the end of the play when the characters take opposing sides on the court and the witch hunt. Proctor believes that the court is a fraud, and although he is eventually sentenced to death, he states that “You have made your magic now, for now I do think I see some shred of goodness in John Proctor” (Miller 144). By making this statement to the court, he is showing that he has come to terms with who he is, and can see some good in himself by doing so. This is very different from how Proctor acted early in the play, attempting to fix everything that his affair had broken in his life without success, showing how he has grown as a character and understood his mistakes in life. In contrast, the play wraps itself up by including the statement, “Not long after the fever died, Parris was voted from office, walked out on the highroad, and was never heard from again.” (Miller 146). Throughout the play, Parris would often act out of his self interests and the betterment of himself, and continued acting the same way even after he joined the court. Supporting the idea of his self-interests, the stage directions describing Parris’ dialogue at the end of

Many men don't think things through before acting, so it is believed John Proctor was an impulsive character throughout the story. "You can play brand new to all the other chicks out here- but I know what you are". John Proctor did what he felt was right by having an affair with Abigail but he wasn't thinkingof the concequences. Elizabeth knew all along and acted different around her husband. The outcome of John Proctors choices turned out to be a horrible mistake since his reputation and life were put on

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.

“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.

Arthur Miller, the author of The Crucible, is well-known for his interpretation of a tragic hero in his other writings such as the protagonists in the Death of a Salesman and All My Sons. Miller describes a tragic hero as a male unable to deal with his actions and image. This definition contradicted other tragic heroes in novels by other authors. An example of this is F. Scott Fitzgerald, the author of The Great Gatsby. The tragic hero in that novel, Jay Gatsby, is known for his wealth, unlike John Proctor in The Crucible. John Proctor, the protagonist in Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, struggles with his guilt and attempt to regain his reputation within his community of Salem, which in the end, is his downfall.

of the play so it would be easier to write about like the girls in

“Whore!” John Proctor yelled to show how he felt about Abigail. While reading The Crucible I have come to a conclusion that John not only is a sinner, but he is also loyal and an outcast. In some ways i feel like i can relate and see that we are similar. Both John and I are sinners, we are loyal and we are both outcasts.

The consequences of shirking accountability for ones actions are depicted through the tribulations John Proctor faced, in Arthur Miller's, The Crucible. Although John reluctantly became involved in the Salem witch trials, his initial silence proved to be the downfall of not only himself, but of his fellow townspeople as well. John Proctor remained silent for one reason, and that was to protect himself. As a result of his self-serving desires to avoid the consequences of his actions, innocent citizens were put to death.

In The Crucible the characters all show different kind of growth throughout the story. The story is based of a town called Salem and when the Devil hit Salem all the people started to turn on each other. What started of as a little joke between girls turned into a whole game for them to play. The girls accused anyone they saw or anyone that did them wrong and each and every time those same people were hanged. Although, this play is mostly about the witchcraft the people also changed as time went by and they started to understand what was happening and why it was wrong.

Several characters throughout the play, The Crucible, remain the same. However, some did change. One in particular was John Proctor. This character changes a lot from the beginning, even to the end. Some feel that he is the most important element of the play, going from a hot tempered guy who committed adultery, to a man who wants forgiveness from his wife, admitting he did her wrong.