How Is John Proctor Presented In The Crucible

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.

A crucible refers to a harsh test, and in The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, each person is challenged in a severe test of his or her character or morals. Many more people fail than pass, but three notable characters stand out. Reverend John Hale, Elizabeth Proctor, and John Proctor all significantly change over the course of the play.

How many people have you met in your life that is stronger because of a difficult experience they went through? Most people are because we take these difficult experiences and grow from them and become better people. This is the exact case is expressed in the play, The Crucible, by Arthur Miller. The story begins in Salem, Massachusetts 1692 right in the middle of a period of witchcraft hysteria. During this time many people were accused of being witches and wrongly convicted by judges Danforth and Hathorne. The characters in the story are struggling because of a girl named Abigail who gets caught practicing witchcraft and then starts naming and accusing others so that she doesn’t get in trouble; one of these people being a well-respected farmer, John Proctor’s, wife Elizabeth. The title, The Crucible, refers to a test, trial, ordeal, formation by fire, and vessel baked to resist heat, and the entire story is an allegory meaning it has a hidden meaning. John Proctor symbolizes a crucible by embodying the definition of one, as he went through a test and was formed by fire.

A Crucible is a container that can withstand great amount of heat, such as one required for refining gold. It can also mean a severe trial. In the play “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller, severe trails occur throughout the play, not just in the courtroom but also in people’s homes and souls. I believe Arthur Miller named his play “The Crucible” because it shows the trials and hardships people face within themselves, the courtroom and Puritan society.

A crucible is defined as a container made of a heat-resistant substance in which metals may be melted, or a severe test or trial. In the 1953 play, The Crucible by Arthur Miller, the people of Salem, Massachusetts were put through a severe test during the witchcraft trials. Throughout these trials, a few of the characters changed dramatically, due to their experiences. Two of our dynamic characters, or characters that go through an important, inner change throughout the course of story, would be John Proctor and Reverend Hale.

Crucible, a noun defined as; a container of metal or refractory material employed for heating substances to high temperatures, in the traditional sense but, it also means a severe, searching test or trial. The latter of the two definitions is exactly what Arthur Miller had in mind when he wrote the play, The Crucible. The play set in Salem Massachusetts during the start of the infamous Salem Witch Trials, is about the struggle to discover truth within the twisted and brutal lies flying about the little town, started mainly by a young girl by the name of Abigail Williams. Abigail Williams, as we quickly come to know, is the past mistress of the prominent Mr. John Proctor, a local farmer. As the tension rises in the

One definition of  "crucible" is "a severe test of patience and belief, or a trial". This definition pertains to Arthur Miller's four-act play, "The Crucible."  The definition is suiting, because it is during this play that the wills of innocent women and men are put to the test when they are accused of things they did not do. It was the ultimate trial of determination and willpower to withstand such a wretched ordeal. Abigail Williams, Elizabeth and John Proctor, Mary Warren, Reverend Parris and even Reverend Hale had changed drastically because of what they had to go through during the course of the play. However, other characters such as Ezekiel Cheever and Marshall

In life, people make mistakes and karma usually comes back to bite them. But there are people who are willing to risk everything to fix that mistake, as seen in The Crucible, when John Proctor willingly gives his life for his good name and dignity. John Proctor went from an impulsive adulterer to someone who genuinely wanted to redeem himself. As the story progresses, we are able to see his fatal flaw decide his ultimate fate. In The Crucible, John Proctor’s character progresses from a sinful adulterer to someone who gains courage to voluntarily sacrifice his life in order to redeem himself and right his wrongs.

John Proctor was a truly honest man, as his personality continued to remain unwavering, even when confronted with the harshest situation. Honesty can be defined as the pursuit of vindicating the innocent and ending the Salem Witch Trials. Arthur Miller explores Proctor’s honesty and its consequences in his play The Crucible. Aggravated by his wife’s false condemnation for witchcraft, Proctor demonstrates his resolve to help her, which will cause the court to antagonize him. Additionally, his desire to stop Abigail’s rampage leads to his imprisonment for witchcraft. Guilty of lechery, Proctor embarks on his final path to redemption, which will lead him to his death. Ultimately, John Proctor’s honesty leads to his downfall.

In all the witch trials John Proctor is one of the main causes of the witch trials. Although he is considered the opposite. John had tried throughout the entire story to put the trials to an end. He went to court to fight against them because he had enough information to do so. He did everything in his power to show the court it was a fraud, but small things went wrong. Shortly after he died the witch trials ended and that could be because of John but if he stayed alive they may have ended quickly. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, John Proctor was a leading cause to the witch trials.

The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a short story that has characters that I connect with in my daily life. One character I connect with is John Proctor, he shows that following what everyone believes doesn't make it right without proper evidence. In “The Crucible” Danforth calls witchcraft an “invisible crime” which means witchcraft can’t be caught in the act but instead must be solved by talking with the victims affected. The problem with that is almost everyone wasn't being truthful and had revenge to fulfill against other people in Salem. John Proctor was one of the only people that was sceptic of witchcraft even existing.

Affairs, heartbreak, accusations, and death. A tragic hero is a literary character that makes a judgement or choice error that leads to his own destruction. In “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller, we are exposed to the Witch Trials in Salem, Massachusetts. As readers, we are engaged in the hysteria and absurdity disseminating during this time period. Along the way, we are introduced to many characters that help us to grasp the severity of the Witch Trials, one of them being John Proctor.

Often when someone goes outside of their comfort zone and engages in activity they know is wrong, they mislead people and try to fix the problem later, but sometimes it is too late for good results. Throughout the play, The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, John Proctor has an affair with a young, 17 year old girl named Abigail. With being married to another wife, he knows that committing adultery is against the 10 commandments and the belief of his Puritan community, but he goes ahead and does commits it anyway. Proctor definitely misleads Abigail deep into their relationship and soon when she finds out the truth about him not wanting to interact with her again, she is distressed and sets off for revenge to Proctors innocent wife, Elizabeth.

He is faced with extreme conflict due to the fact that he committed one of the biggest sins there is: adultery. Proctor then has to decide whether he wants to confess his sin in order to save his wife or to be selfish and live a slandered reputation. Just as John Proctor makes the decision to save his wife’s life and his family's reputation, so too will any person that believes it is more important to put their family above

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.