Essay On Verbal Confession In The Crucible

When asked why he will not sign the confession, Proctor dramatically replies, “Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies! Because I am not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang! How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name!” (143, Act IV). John Proctor sees no good coming out of a false confession; even death would be preferable to it. He claims his name is more important than his life and even goes as far as to hold it in more favor than his soul. Proctor implies that his name is what gives him his humanity, “Because I am not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang!” and his sense of self, “Because I cannot have another in my life!” Furthermore, he attests that, without his name, he would not be able to be a proper model for his sons, “I have three children—how may I teach them to walk like men in the world and I sold my friends?” (143, Act IV). Making a false confession would damage Proctor’s self-worth and integrity enough to make him an unfit father. Yet, as he refuses to betray himself, Proctor sees a glimmer of hope in his conscience, “I do see some shred of goodness in John Proctor. Not enough to weave a banner with, but white enough to keep it from such dogs.” (144, Act IV). Proctors sacrifice does more than benefit Salem, it relives his burden of guilt and preserves his identity. That “shred of goodness” in him is enough to give him the principles to stand up to the unjust officials of the

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

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.

His refusal to give up his false signed confession and even going so far as to rip it to shreds, is a religious stand, but also a personal stand as well. Such a confession would dishonor his fellow convicted friends, such as Martha Corey and Rebecca Nurse, who were also brave enough to die as a testimony to the truth rather than satisfy the court with a false confession. Not to mention a false confession would also dishonor him, not just staining public reputation, but also his very essence. Proctor, without reservation, proclaims that the integrity he is showing will convince God to allow him into heaven. Thus when he goes to the gallows to be hanged, he has no fear of death, believing he will be forgiven for previous sins. After Hale begs Elizabeth to continue with trying to convince John to sign the confession, she responds, “He have his goodness now,” and coldly finishes the play with, “God forbid I take it from him!” She realizes that John is now at peace with himself for the sins he committed in the past and feels that he needs to go through with this to get back his goodness and honesty, lost during his affair with Abigail.

John Proctor changes his mind and tears up the confession because like in the act III when he tries to get mary warren to confess because god hates all liers. The other reason he would tear up the confession because if he let rebecca nurse go to the gallows herself after he sign the confession the people who are left in town would call him a coward. Another reason he tore it up was Elizabeth Proctor his wife with her perspective and false hope that it will be alright. Danforth had a hand in this he had john's confession and he could have forged john’s signature but no he wanted to prove he won by making john sign it himself .

Throughout the play, stark distinctions are seen between the upper and lower classes in the village. Proctor, while refusing to sign the confession remarks, “You will not use me! I am no Sarah Good or Tituba, I am John Proctor! You will not use me! It is no part of salvation that you should use me”(143). This is significant due to the fact that John Proctor is a respectable upperclassmen. Signing the confession would save his life, but perpetually denote him as an outcast who would be renounced by society. In addition, this would adversely impact his children and how they perceive him through his actions. Proctor’s legacy as well as his family’s reputation would be tarnished for generations to come. Similarly, this admission to guilt, would also incapacitate the prestige of his friends, who were refusing to confess. As a reply to Deputy Governor Danforth instigation, Proctor replies, “Beguile me not! I blacken all of them when this is nailed to the church the very day they hang for silence”(143). His confession would legitimize all the other accusations in the court, including that of his associates, such as Rebecca and Francis Nurse. As a result, all those refusing to confess would hang for obscuring the truth. These circumstances would traumatize Proctor’s conscience and reputation, leaving him feeling responsible for the confinement and death of his innocent friends. Would it not be a better choice to

In contrast, John Proctor and Materia Piper maintain their goodness as Christians in the eyes of the church which consequently leads to their deaths. In The Crucible, John Proctor is a proud man who places great emphasis on his reputation. He is a member of the Puritan religion whose culture is grounded in values of Christian faith, hard work and self-denial; however, John Proctor is fallible. Despite his strong beliefs, values and integrity, he commits the sin of adultery. Near the end of the play, John Proctor confesses to the court of his adultery with Abigail as an attempt to name her as a fraud. Unfortunately, his efforts fail and he is placed in jail to be hung for witchcraft. John is given the opportunity to live if he signs a written confession of his guilt. He tries to convince himself to lie and confess so that he may continue to live with his wife and children. He knows that he is a sinner and he tries to use that to justify his confession but John decides at the last second that his name, integrity and reputation is more important than his life:

In the novel by Arthur Miller, the “Crucible”, Proctor confesses orally to witchcraft, but refuses to implicate anyone else. Danforth informs him that the court needs proof of his confession in the form of a signed, written testimony. Proctor confesses verbally to witchcraft, and Rebecca Nurse hears the confession. She is shocked by Proctor's actions, and she still refuses to confess to witchcraft. Proctor signs his name to the confession, but destroys the document when he learns the court will post it on the church door. John Proctor changed his mind and confessed for two reasons, first, after the confession is signed, Danforth tells one of his court marshals to hang it on the church door so that john can be used as an example to the people

John Proctor changes his mind and tears up the confession. He does not want to be used as an example of him confessing witchcraft. The first confession is after the confession is signed, Danforth tells one of his court marshals to hang it up on the church doors so that John can be used as an example to the people who refuse to confess to witchcraft. The second reason is that John realizes that signing the confession will ruin his name for his three sons. Proctor’s perception of a morally righteous person is one who is “right with God”.

John Proctor begins by confessing to the court that he has had an affair with Abigail Williams. Proctor's first purposes are to rescue Goody Proctor from hanging and that is ordered as soon as the court found out the Elizabeth was pregnant. However, Proctor tried to criticise Abigail in court in order to rescue his accused friends, including Rebecca Nurse. John Proctor is charged with devil worshipping and arrested. Proctor is promised freedom in return for a written confession and the names other people he sees with the Devil. Proctor claims, "I speak my own sins; I cannot judge another. I have no tongue for it" (Miller 141), as he refuses to answer the questions. Proctor decides to lie again and sign the confession for worshipping the devil in order to save his own life, under a great amount of pressure. The true character of Proctor shows when he rips up the confession and stands by Rebecca Nurse in death instead of accusing them as witches, which is

John Proctor believed that it was better to be hung for witchcraft than lie to live. Proctor would rather die than lie in front of everyone when they know it is a lie and have to live with that for the rest of his life. John would not lie because he knows that God would let him into heaven if he died telling the truth and would not like if he lied just to save his own skin. When Proctor was first questioned he denied being a witch, and he was sentenced to hang in three months time. On the day he was to hang they asked him one more time to confess and he gave in. In doing so the court made him sign a paper saying he is a witch. This made him rethink because he did not want to ruin his name and also he rethought that compromising his principles was not worth living for. “...for now I think I see some shred of goodness in John Proctor. Not enough to weave a banner with, but enough white to keep it from such dogs,” (Miller 1118) Here Proctor explains why he wants to keep his integrity. “He have his goodness now. God forbid I take it from him!” (Miller

John Proctor shows his integrity when he has to make the decision of whether to lie and confess to the court that he is a witch to saving his life, or to tell the truth and be condemned by it. He admits that he has given his soul to the devil, but refuses to also tarnish his name. There is also injustice in the community. Judge Hathorne and Deputy-Governor Danforth do not have any physical proof that the accused people are witches. They only have the words of the group girls.

Trust? Not In This Town It can be argued that integrity is the most important trait in both fictional characters, and in the real world. Integrity is defined as the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles. With ethical uprightness, it is easy to be deemed trustworthy. In “The Crucible," Arthur Miller displays the strain put on town relationships, by testing character's integrity and trust, by pinning them against unjust situations.

The Strongest Individual in The Crucible The philosopher Baltasar Gracian said, “A single lie destroys a whole reputation of integrity.” This statement means a person could easily ruin a good reputation by lying and even if you attempt to cover it up, your credibility is still lost. In Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible, the character John Proctor is most independent and shows the most individualism. The strongest ways he shows this are going against the church, being selfish about his name and having an affair and admitting it.

For John Proctor to ultimately grasp that he has forgiven himself enough to be willing to tell the absolute truth is an immense factor in why he chose to be sentenced to death by telling the truth, rather than save his own life by deceiving the court. The judges decided that John’s word was not acceptable enough to be credible, and chose to believe the very person that is deceiving them, Abigail Williams. In, The Crucible, John Proctor is perceived as a person who is guilty for committing lechery, has forgiven himself towards the end of the act then deliberately refused to sign his testimony, and was sentenced to death by the rope for telling the honest truth.