How Is John Proctor Morally Ambiguous In The Crucible

The Salem witch trials was a story of envy, lies, and the danger of the people. Others wouldn’t defend those accused, and if they did, they themselves were eventually charged as witches. In many ways, defending others was condemning yourself. Such was the case for John Proctor in “The Crucible”. John Proctor was someone who had made mistakes, but through his own crucible made peace with himself and defended the honor of himself and the others that would not admit to witchcraft.

John Proctor is easily identified as The Crucible’s protagonist. Proctor was a stand-up man who spoke his mind. His name was synonymous with honour and integrity within the community. Proctor

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.

The primary dramatic focus in the play The Crucible is the moral struggle of its protagonist, John Proctor. Certain characteristics of John Proctor's character and also the environment of the Puritanical Salem alleviated this problem for him. The main issues running through out the play are a series of dilemmas that John Proctor faces. The first and foremost of these is his guilt over his adulterous affair with Abigail Williams, the second his hesitation to testify against Abigail to bring out the truth and the third, his final decision to make the ultimate sacrifice.

Throughout the entirety of The Crucible, the reader is shown all of Proctor's sins, including, but not restricted to adultery and dishonesty. At one point in the play, Elizabeth and John are discussing the situation they are currently in, when this dialogue occurs,

Fast forward to the courtroom, when John is trying to save his wife. Elizabeth Proctor has been accused by Abigail of witchcraft. The Proctor’s new servant, Mary Warren, is supposed to testify against the rest of the girls. The judge, unfortunately, isn’t believing Mary. Ultimately, John is forced to confess his affair with Abigail to the judge and everyone else in the room as a last resort to save his wife. He hopes that this will be enough to convince the judge that Abigail is only trying to get Elizabeth out of the way so that she can have John to herself. It doesn’t work. Mary accuses John of being with the Devil and forcing her to lie in court. In the end, John has one choice. He can lie and sign a paper telling the town that he has broken his ties with the Devil, or he will be hanged if he truthfully denies it. Again, John Proctor must struggle with his soul. It is heart wrenching to

John Proctor is a well respected farmer during the Salem Witch Trials. In The Crucible, Proctor faces many conflicts. An external conflict that Proctor faces is when he gets caught having an affair with Abigail Williams and he loses all of his wife’s trust. When Elizabeth found out about the affair between John and Abigail she kicked Abigail out and had lost all trust of Proctor. Proctor became more faithful to his wife Elizabeth and he wanted to earn her trust back, but she has a hard time because she thinks his feelings are still alive for Abigail. An internal conflict that Proctor faces is when he has to decide if he would admit to the court to committing adultery with Abigail to get Elizabeth out of jail. Although he knows that he wants his wife out of jail and he knows that it would make Abigail look bad, he knows that admitting it might get him in trouble as well.

In the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller, John Proctor, who is a highly respected individual in Salem, consistently shows his honorable character, which proves his actions at the end of the play to be believable. Proctor is a compassionate, honest, and strong willed man, especially toward his wife and true love, Elizabeth Proctor. Not only is he great to his wife, he is an upstanding citizen and respected by most. In the end, John confirms his goodness by sticking to his beliefs and not lying to save his own life.

But you’re not, you’re not, and let you remember it!”(1940) Throughout the play, he goes from not caring one way or another to trying to save people from being wrongfully accused, even when their innocence would not personally affect his life, “These are all landholding farmers, members of the church. If you’ll notice, sir-- they’ve known the women many years and never saw no sign they had dealings with the Devil”(212). In The Crucible John tried to redeem himself in many ways, through confessing to Elizabeth to trying to save the others from being accused and hanged, but it is not till the end when he realizes his way to self forgiveness and is hanged with the rest of the innocent, refusing to give into the hysteria anymore, “You have made your magic now, for now i do think i see some shred of goodness in John Proctor. Not enough to weave a banner with, but white enough to keep it from such dogs.

“Maybe our mistakes are what makes our fate.” -Carrie Bradshaw. Throughout reading The Crucible, flaws within each character, and the actions they made based upon those inner flaws, eventually lead to their “downfall”. John Proctor was a highly respected man by the community of Salem, as well as by himself.

What does John Proctor’s character symbolize within The Crucible? The farmer in his middle thirties is said to represent or symbolize a tragic hero. A tragic hero is someone who meets their demise due to one tragic flaw that they commit. This individual also has admirable qualities and gains sympathy from readers. John Proctor, a straitlaced family man, has accomplished every single one of the qualifications to be the tragic hero in this particular production.

In the Crucible by Arthur Miller, I believe that John Proctor is a bad man because of some of his sins. John Proctor is married to Elizabeth Proctor and they have three sons. John Proctor is a farmer and a respected man. The reason that I believe John Proctor is a bad man is because he cheated on his wife and had a sexual relationship with Abigail Williams, which in this period of time religion was majo and what he did was hugely frowned upon.

1. Title of text (underline novels/plays) & author’s name The Crucible by Arthur Miller 2. Characterization & Character Development (a) 1.

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.

Throughout The Crucible, John Proctor showed immense courage when he stuck to his beliefs. In Act 3, John Proctor confesses to the court his affair with Abigail Williams because he doesn’t want his wife being accused of witchcraft. He further explains Abigail’s plan to kill his wife, Elizabeth Proctor, and dance with him on her grave. (Miller 873). When Proctor calls Abigail a whore, he gives the court an opportunity to end the trials. Additionally, John faces the ultimate test when he has to sign the document that would keep him alive. Proctor is unable to lie, so he shouts, “ Because it is my name!..Because I lie and sign myself to lies” (Miller 886). His action of ripping up the document further represents Proctor’s integrity and courage. Proctor knows he will never forgive himself if he agrees to confess. He chooses to be hanged over living the remaining of his life on a lie. Proctor refuses to name others and tears up the document. Overall in The Crucible, John Proctor is a firm believer in the fact that one’s name is the only thing that stays after death.