John Proctor Character Analysis

John Proctor is a very friendly man. Everyone likes being his friend. He is open, kind, helpful, upright, blunt-spoken, and just a good, hard-working man. John has lots of faith in God but little in humans. He knows that mankind is good but he also knows that they are weak and imperfect. “Proctor: I’ve heard you to be a sensible man, Mr. Hale. I hope you’ll leave some of it in Salem”.

In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, it is evident that John Proctor is the tragic hero. Concluding through evidence in the play, it is fairly simple to connect him with separate parts of the definition. He makes his share of mistakes, just as many human beings do. John Proctor is fundamentally a good man, with respectable

John Proctor has a dark secret, He possesses a major flaw he has had an affair with Abigail Williams, and eventually he realizes what he has done to Elizabeth, He has committed adultery against his wife. Due to the fact that Proctor has committed adultery against Elizabeth, he becomes a tragic hero, and Abigail Williams shows that when she says “I know how you clutched my back behind your house and sweated like a stallion whenever I come near” (Act I, lines 423-425). John broke his marriage vows, but even though he regrets he has become a tragic hero. It’s too late to regret he has sinned, he has ruined his marriage with Elizabeth and now she is not pleased with him. Due to the fact that he has cheated on Elizabeth, his outlook in life is negative, when He tells her “I have not moved from there to there without I think to please you” (Act II, lines 159-161). The affair also caused Elizabeth to distrust John, who for seven months was trying to get into her good graces and is tired of her suspicion. Because of John's inability to control his desire and resist temptation, his life is being turned upside down by the jealousy and need for revenge of Abigail, marking the beginning of his downfall and path to becoming a tragic hero. As a result, the need for revenge of Abigail marks the beginning of John downfall.

"No, no, Abby. That's done with." And then later, " …I will cut off my

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.

To begin with, Proctor was considered a strong person in the community, and he was respected for it. He was a handsome, hard-working, and

"How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave my name!" (Proctor) John Proctor a farmer, and the husband of Elizabeth. He had an affair with Abigail Williams while she worked as a servant in his house. John is a powerful man in both build and character. " John Proctor is a tormented individual. He believes his affair with Abigail irreparably damaged him in the eyes of god, his wife Elizabeth, and himself. True, Proctor did succumb to sin and commit adultery; however he lacks the capacity to forgive himself." (www.cliffsnotes.com) John Proctor goes from being loved and well respected to a sinner and later on becoming a tragic hero which was surrounded by strong feelings and beliefs.

Despite his being an insignificant and non-status-holding member of society, John Proctor is a much-respected man in Salem. However, in determining his fate, he continues to make several critical and irreversible mistakes that harm his reputation. For fear of being exiled in a town where reputation plays such a large role in their daily lives, Proctor initially tries to hide his crime of adultery, but his affair with Abigail triggers a major series of events in Salem, where simple, unproven accusations escalate to a far larger issue: “Abby—you mean to cry out still others?” “If I live, if I am not murdered, I surely will, until the last hypocrite is dead” (Miller 150). In the end, Proctor decides that for the sake of his desperate circumstances, it would be better to admit to his affair, but by the time he decides to reveal his crime, it is too late to reverse all past actions. He is convicted of witchcraft and doomed to be hanged, later, when given a chance to live, he caves in and confesses to seeing the Devil, only to go back even on this last lie, because he does not have the heart to be freed and saved by a lie.

Antitheical to the course of many other characture’s personal narratives, John Proctor’s downfall ocurs at

In the book, The Crucible by Arthur Miller, John Proctor is a farmer and a prominent member of society. However, he had an affair with a girl in town, Abigail Williams which leads to his wife being convicted of witchcraft and himself convicted of dealing with the devil. John Proctor is a strong and effective speaker and proves his point with the three rhetorical appeals and devices such as personification, similes, metaphors and tone.

John Proctor is an example of a round character because his attitude and character changed throughout the book. At the beginning of the book, Proctor was a man who carried all his guilt and sins on his shoulders and never let them off. For example, he often got angered at his wife Elizabeth for not trusting him since she found out about his affair with Abigail Williams. However, his anger was really associated with his own guilt and how he caused his wife extensive amounts of pain and sadness. Also, he states that “ [he] means to please [her]” (Miller 48). As the book progresses, Proctor is finally able to let go of his guilt and do the right thing. He knows that “[he] will speak his own sins, [he] cannot judge another” (Miller 131). This

The consequences of shirking accountability for ones actions are depicted through the tribulations John Proctor faced, in Arthur Miller's, The Crucible. Although John reluctantly became involved in the Salem witch trials, his initial silence proved to be the downfall of not only himself, but of his fellow townspeople as well. John Proctor remained silent for one reason, and that was to protect himself. As a result of his self-serving desires to avoid the consequences of his actions, innocent citizens were put to death.

John Proctor is a simple farmer, who is respected by all the citizens of Salem. As well- liked as he is, Proctor is “the kind of man… who cannot refuse support to partisans without drawing their deepest resentment” (Miller 19). It is clear that John Proctor isn’t flawless, and he holds a secret, of great importance, which he fears to reveal. It is told that, before the play, John had a relationship with Abigail Williams, his former servant. When Abigail and other girls are caught dancing in the woods and thought to be conjuring spirits, the town begins to cry of witchcraft. Proctor then questions Abigail of these events and she informs him of the truth, stating the events occurring have nothing to do with witchcraft. Proctor then goes home to his wife, Elizabeth and explains how he wants

In the play, The Crucible, Arthur Miller portrays John Proctor, the protagonist, as a tragic hero who has a major flaw which is lust for his teenage servant Abigail.

bigail Williams: Abigail is Reverend Parris’s niece. She worked for the Proctor family, until Elizabeth, finding out about the affair between Abigail and John, throw her out of their house. Abigail is a very smart girl with a vindictive nature who cares only for herself. It is her cries of witchcraft that incite the town into a frenzy and begin the trials. She is the leader amongst the girls who are accusing others of witchcraft and is very persuasive to much of the town.