“I have given you my soul; leave me my name!”, John Proctor said in Arthur Miller’s book, The Crucible. Proctor was one of the main characters in this play and throughout this play he experienced some horrific tragedies. It all leads down to the themes of The Crucible. There was guilt, sacrifice, and hysteria all throughout the play, that all of the characters went through. As said, characters experienced a lot of guilt in the play, some characters like, Proctor, Elizabeth, and Reverend Hale. Proctor experienced guilt when in the beginning of the play, the reader finds out that Proctor had committed adultery on Elizabeth and all leading down to the end of the play, the reader could see that he had guilt the entire time. Then when Elizabeth got arrested because all Abigail wanted was Proctor so she did anything in her power to get Elizabeth out of the picture. Proctor thought it was all of his fault that Elizabeth was convicted of witchcraft and would be hanged. Adding on to that situation, Elizabeth also had guilt because she thought she wasn’t doing enough for Proctor. So she couldn’t blame him for committing adultery on her with Abigail. At the time he committed adultery, she was sick so she thought she was pushing him away and letting him basically cheat on her. With all these people being hanged, Reverend Hale thought it was all okay and he thought he was getting rid of the witchcraft. Really, innocent people were just dying and others were lying just to stay alive. He
How Does Miller convey his Message through The Crucible? In this essay, I will explore the message communicated through 'The Crucible' to its audience, and the way in which its author, Arthur Miller, attempts to convey it, especially through one of the play's main characters, John Proctor. The main issues raised by the play are the role of the individual within society, the value of one's name and perceptions of justice and truth.
Logically, John is at fault for the affair, because nobody held a gun to his head and forced him to cheat on his wife, and middle-schoolers aren't really practiced seductresses. However, Arthur Miller was using the events of the Salem witch trials to make a point about contemporary society, so he leveled a certain amount of guilt Elizabeth's way (for not holding her husband properly) and Abigail's way (for being the source of all evil). The text gives you room to make any argument you choose. Truth won't hold all of them, but that's fiction for you…
He commits adultery by cheating on his wife with Abigail. Although this may be true, he atones for his sin by sacrificing his own reputation, something he highly values to save his wife. In addition, he stays true to himself and does not confess, so that the same sacrifice others had made would not be in vain. In addition, he shows a crucial emotion that is needed for redemption. The emotion he shows throughout the play is guilt. Guilt displays remorse, and remorse is only felt when the afflicted acknowledge their wrongdoing and feel the need to redeem themselves. Those who do not regret their actions do not feel guilt. Because John Proctor is an admirable character, he becomes trapped in his own cage of guilt, determined to save his wife and atone for his sin, even when he knew he would be executed for
“I do not judge you. The magistrate sits in your heart that judges you.” The Crucible is written around the theme of sin and guilt. The girls dancing naked in the forest, the affair of John and Abigail, and John refusing to sign the agreement about the affair to be hung up on the church doors are all examples of sin and guilt.
“Justice is not always just” can be the essence of the dramatized Salem Witch Trials in Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible. One of the most dramatic and mesmerizing scenes in the play involves John Proctor. Proctor is a farmer in his thirties who is married to Elizabeth Proctor and has three boys. He does his best to avoid the Salem Witch Trials hysteria driven by Abigail Williams until his wife is accused for witchcraft by the court. Unfortunately, Proctor finds the same faith as his wife in an attempt to free her because Mary Warren, his servant, accuses him for manipulating her through witchcraft.
When we are younger we used to get our brother or sister and pick on another sibling. When mom or dad comes to yell at the person who started it we tend to pin it on someone else or you are the person who gets left with all the punishment. At one point in our lives we were blamed for something we didn't do or we were the person that pushed it onto someone else. Arthur Miller expresses a lot of scapegoating or being the scapegoat in The Crucible.
Has guilt ever caused you to change your perspective on how you are as a person? In “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller the audience is introduced to a character by the name of John Proctor who is a fellow citizen of Salem. Throughout the play John Proctor struggles to deal with his guilt about his affair, but he realizes he's still a good man, reminding the reader that one sin doesn't determine one’s fate.
Martin Luther King, Jr once commented:”Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” The Crucible written by Arthur Miller in 1953 introduces us a story of this kind that injustice brought by a character named Danforth brings the social malfunction of Salem accompanied by a breakdown of humanity and faith which destroys the interpersonal trust, social relationships and even many lives of many Salem residents. Obviously, when the structures become shackles and the judges mute off their voice of the truth, it leads the affliction and misery to the people. In our modern society, the public requires the power and presence of a fair justice system to protect their rights and convince, punish the offenders.
In The Crucible, a drama by Arthur Miller set in Salem, Massachusetts, 1692, John Proctor evolves from a guilt-ridden husband, and though acceptance, and struggle he turn into a man with integrity. In the introduction of the crucible John Proctor was a man with hidden lies and guilt, and he brought it all on himself through his actions and misfortunes, and he took this out on others with anger and threats. His actions with one Abigail Williams have caused the town, his wife, and himself consequences, since Abigail started accusing out of vengeance and others tagged along, in order to fulfill past vengeance against neighbors. “I'll tell you what's walking Salem - vengeance is walking Salem. We are what we always were in Salem, but now the little crazy children are jangling the keys of the kingdom and common vengeance write the lost (2.1283).” Since John felt immense guilt he showed it through anger and distress towards others, such as Mary
Wayne Dyer, a wise doctor who once said, “The ultimate ignorance is the rejection of something you know nothing about but refuse to investigate.” Ignorance can be defined as an uninformed or uneducated condition. How could one reject something they know nothing about without even acquiring information on the matter? Ignorance is clearly shown in Arthur Miller's play, The Crucible, regarding the judges of the Salem Witch Trials. Inspired by the McCarthy hearings of the 1950’s, The Crucible focuses on the Salem witch trials and the hidden agendas of those involved as well as the lack of accountability of those who were truly responsible. The play takes place in Salem, Massachusetts, in a unforgiving colony. The mass hysteria of the town begins with girls in the forest appearing to be practicing witchcraft. This begins a controversy that has detrimental consequences. Judge Danforth is most responsible for the mass hysteria in Salem because he neglected any thoughts of justice and replaced them with only thoughts of ignorance and power.
In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible it is clear that the development of the play is about John Proctor’s tragic condition. Miller uses this aspect to compel the audience to see why Proctor did what he did and to develop a sense of empathy for him. John Proctor overall is both flawed and honorable. He has a complete reversal of fate brought upon by his own flaw. John Proctor is a tragic hero because he contains all of the characteristics of a tragic hero, such as catharsis and hamartia, despite not being born into nobility, he has many noble characteristics.
The McCarthy hearings (The Red Scare) in the 1950’s with the political issues that were happening during those years could be depicted as the 1692/93 Salem Witch Trials. Accusing people of being communists is the same as accusing people of being witches. Arthur Miller, the author of the play,The Crucible, that was based on the Salem Witch Trials is a good example of a morality play. In 1692, there were accusations against innocent people in the town of Salem. In The Crucible, a group of teens accuse others of witchcraft even though, they are trying to cover up their mistakes that had been caused. After John Proctor had an affair with Abigail Williams this had opened a full can of worms throughout Salem. The Crucible displays characterization and bold symbolism and is represented in good and evil morals during the Salem Witch Trials.
pull it down and so denounce God and place a whore in God’s place is
The Crucible, authored by Arthur Miller, captures John Proctor’s sacrifices that ultimately emphasizes the value he places on his reputation. In an effort to preserve the only thing left for himself, Proctor exclaims to those around him that “I have given you my soul; leave me my name” (Miller 130). Once he was met with the realization
The Crucible is a play written in 1953 by Arthur Miller. It is based off of the 1662 Salem witch trials written as a parallel between this time period and the Red Scare, the time period in which he was living. There are many topics explored throughout the play, but the most important is hypocrisy, which can be seen in several characters.