Examples Of Integrity In The Crucible

John Proctor sought his wife’s forgiveness to regain her trust and to entitle him to die an honest man. He recognized his actions; he simply wanted his wife to recognize them too. “Let you look sometimes for the goodness in me, and judge me not.” (Miller 55) Proctor’s appeal to his wife reveals his hope for her forgiveness and for her to see the goodness in him. He wants his wife to recognize him as an honest man, because to him that is the only substance that made him feel like a good person. Later in the course of the play, Elizabeth forgives Proctor for his mistakes. She states, “John, it come to naught that I should forgive you… Whatever you will do, it is a good man does it… it needs a cold wife to prompt lechery.” (Miller 136-137) Elizabeth’s statement to her husband exhibits an understanding of his mistakes and acknowledgement of the good man Proctor truly is. Elizabeth’s forgiveness allows Proctor to forgive himself as well. After being forgiven, John Proctor can now die an honest man, a tragic hero - a man with integrity and goodness.

Integrity and honesty are virtues that are highly valued within the society we live in today. Society honors those that do the right thing and those that show integrity. Most of the population perform acts of righteousness in the hopes that they would be rewarded for their actions. However, there are some who still perform good deeds and maintain their integrity, knowing they would not be rewarded for their actions. In the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller, John Proctor is the most admirable character because he always does what is right, damaged his reputation to end the witch trials to save others, and stayed true to himself in the name of human dignity and justice even if it meant his death.

John Proctor regrets of breaking his marriage vows, now his wife Elizabeth is being accused of witchcraft by Abigail Williams. Based on the statement by

John says, “Why, I-I would free my wife, sir” (Miller 90). John is now trying to find any proof and evidence to free his wife from the court. John shows how much he truly by not giving up and acting as if nothing else matters. Elizabeth also shows her deep feelings for John and that she would do anything to protect him or benefit his well being. John yells “Elizabeth, tell the truth!” (Miller 113). Elizabeth was willing to lie to the court in order to help her husband John Proctor and keep his name good. The two relationships strengthen from these events that occur in

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

In acts four of, The Crucible, John Proctor had lost everything by then and he was being forced to confess his sins. While Danforth was trying to get Proctor to confess to being a witch, roctor stated, “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!” (Miller 4.4).  He had integrity by speaking the truth and by sticking by his values. He wasn't about to confess to something that he didn't do just to please someone and that took a lot of courage for Proctor. Another example that can be found in the play would be when Giles Corey would disclose the name that gave him the information on Thomas Putnam and his scheme to throw people in jail and take their land to gain wealth for himself. While Giles was being pressured to cough up the name, he stated, “You know well why not! He'll lay in jail if I give his name!” (Miller 3.3). Giles Corey chose death over condemning his source. He sacrificed his life for the life of another person and that is a great example of integrity. People who are spurious have no integrity while people who are adamant carry a great load of

     John Procter is a strong man, who thrives at the chance to be right and known. But by the end of the play he questions himself saying, “Who is John Proctor, Who is John Proctor?” (act 4). The trials to John Proctor are a time of change. When Reverend Hale enters the town John leaves in disgust, he knows the girls are lying. John’s pride springs from his feeling of being smarter then the rest of the town. He was constantly found bickering with Reverend Parris about unnecessary expenses. He is worried to speak at the trials for he would condemn himself as a lecher. His wife has her finger on his button though because after the affair, she uses his guilt so he will promise to accuse Abigail. As soon as John steps into the trials he is labeled as a witch and condemned to death. But from his own pride is unable to confess. But at the same time he does not want to die for such an absurd reason.

Personal integrity is the morals and ethics people live their lives by. In the play The Crucible there are two characters Abigail Williams and John proctor who could represent how peoples personal integrity differ. In the story we see how someone with morals vs someone with no morals functions and can hold themselves in situations when trying to save themselves or someone they love.

Within Act II, scene one opens with John Proctor walking into the kitchen. His wife is absent but there is stew cooking. He lifts the ladle from the pot, tastes it, and adds a pinch of salt. The significance of this short scene may justify his affair with Abigail and a contradiction of Puritan society. Elizabeth embodies the ideal of a Puritan woman, but her Puritan husband does not desire it. After she has spent a few months alone in prison, Elizabeth comes to this realization: she was a cold wife, and it was because she did not show love to her husband that her marriage suffered. She comes to believe that it is her coldness that led to his affair with Abigail. Additionally, it is with this situation that builds up to her telling a lie to save her husbands reputation.

After having an affair with John Proctor, she couldn’t accept not being without him. Abigail also admires “how such a strong man may let such a sickly wife” like Elizabeth be unaware of the affair she had with John Proctor(act1pg#). As a result to the affair, Proctor is trying to rebuild his marriage with his wife. Abigail continues to intervene in John Proctors marriage and attempts to manipulate Proctor so he would confess his love for her. Proctor admits his love for her, but does not continue his affection because Abigail seeps of vengeance for other individuals. He portrays her “as a lump of vanity” who thinks to dance on his “wife’s grave!”(act 3). For her own selfish desires, Abigail accuses Elizabeth of witchcraft and tries to intentionally sabotage her. She does this for the purpose of her own selfish and fictitious relationship that she has with Proctor. Abigail believes she has the capability to influence Proctor, but her egoistic actions to win his undefining love makes her appear as the criminal in the

“The arrogant are wise in their own eyes, but the wise will recognize their lies” (Anonymous). This quote accurately describes how the events in the Salem Witch Trials unfolded. The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, places the reader into the city of Salem, Massachusetts. Arthur Miller tells a fictional story based on real events of how people who were wise in their own eyes used others to better themselves in a community based on honesty. Three characters from the story stand apart in their arrogance. Abigail Williams, John Proctor, and Reverend Parris were conceited and cared only about their personal gains. These characters used their power to blame, but not to be blamed or accused of alleged witchcraft which resulted in the deaths of several townspeople. Arthur Miller used these characters to illustrate how simple lies and rumors can spread and become an unstoppable force. With these simple but powerful accusations, well respected citizens soon became the targets of these characters manipulation.

Proctor ultimately confesses his sins to the court in an attempt to save his wife but alas, his confession comes too late and he is not even able to save himself. When Abby speaks of leaving the court after Proctor successfully accuses her of witchcraft, he is floored and insists that he "made a bell of [his] honor" and ran "doom of [his] good name" (1207). Proctor cannot believe how quickly Abby can take control of the court and instantly demands Danforth's attention to his proposals that declare his wife innocent. Realizing that it is more important to save wife's life than to keep his good reputation, Proctor is able to successfully entrust his evidence to the court in an attempt to free his wife. Proctor is willing to forfeit his life's achievements in order to protect his wife which shows how he his dominating pride is not invincible. Unaware that Proctor confessed his sin of adultery, Elizabeth leaves the court without presenting the evidence that she witnessed John cheating on her with Abby. As Elizabeth begins to leave the courtroom, Proctor shouts "Elizabeth, I have confessed it!" (1208). When Proctor finally decides to confess his adultery to the court, it is too late. Since Elizabeth did not know wether or not she should confess to the court, she chooses to try and save her husbands reputation by not directly accusing Proctor of adultery. Proctor's pride oppresses him from admitting the truth for too long, and as a result, he hangs on account of witchcraft. Proctors flamboyant arrogance ultimately brings him to ruin in the

John Proctor from The Crucible represents integrity in Act 1. John Proctor embodies integrity because he knows his affair with Abigail was morally wrong. He tries to make up his wrongdoing by not socializing with Abigail anymore. On page 23 he states ‘Abby I may softly think of you from time to time. But I will cut off my hand before I’ll ever reach for you again’(Miller 23).

With both David Merrell and John Proctor, their true integrity came out when trouble was brought into their different lives. John Proctor shows his integrity by being honest. This play presents a number of conflicts, external and internal. The crisis faced by John Proctor in the final two acts of the play embody both of the external and the internal conflicts of the story as he is forced to confess to a moral transgression then accused of another. In The Crucible, John Proctor states, “Because it is my name! Because I can not 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” (Miller 143). In other words, he does not want to be seen as a sinner due to already being a sinner in the past by cheating on his wife. So he refuses to lie to same himself in order to keep his name clean. This shows that he is willing to give up his life in order to stay true to himself and his values. In Guilty by Suspicion, the protagonist David Merrell shows his integrity by standing up to the House Committee. This shows his pride and that he is proud of who he is and he isn’t going to let these people change that. David exclaims to the committee “I was raised to stand up for what i believe in and i’m going to raise my son in the same

Elizabeth remains very forgiving towards her husband, but Abigail tries to get him by putting some doubt in his mind. Elizabeth is talking to Proctor about if he should confess or not “I can not judge you, John, I cannot!”(Miller 138). Elizabeth knows she can not be the judge since she was not always a there and a good wife to him. To put doubt in Proctor, Abigail pretends to be angry at Elisabeth “Oh, I marvel how such a strong man may let such a sickly wife be”(Miller 23).