John Proctor Mentality In The Crucible

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

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.

John Proctor is portrayed throughout the play to be a man who has high moral values that he must abide by. He

Another inner quality that defines John Proctor is the value he holds to his good name. Proctor is a firm believer in the fact that one’s name is the only thing that remains after death, and what is done with it while living can affect one’s posterity for generations. This is the driving force behind his actions in the final act of the play. At first, he felt no shame in lying to the court about his accusation of witchcraft because he felt there was no more damage he could do to his reputation and that one more sin would not make any difference. His attitude changed when he realized his confession would mean blackening the name of those who already had died, and his sons would have to live with that mark on their names. He knew he could not teach his sons “. . . to walk like

The importance of reputation in Salem is illustrated through John Proctor’s personal struggle. Proctor is conflicted with the two options he encounters- telling the truth, or confessing to a crime he did not commit. This opposing conflict is displayed through ethos within the play The Crucible. Arthur Miller establishes this fundamental concept of reputation by applying anaphora as well as characterization to his writing.

He takes great pride in his name and will not sign it over to the court. He is a strong character who will do anything it takes to get out of the predicament that he got himself in, but he refuses to give up his name. Proctor shouts at Danforth that the court "will not use me...I am John Proctor!...I have three children-how may I teach them to walk like men in the world, and I sold my friends?" (1231). Proctor finally figured out what his name means to him and now he is determined to do whatever it takes to keep it. Proctor wants to set a good example for his children and wants to leave the good family name for them. When Danforth questions Proctor about why he will not sign his name to his confession, Proctor retorts "because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life...I have given you my soul; leave me my name!" (1232). Proctor worked so long to create a good name for himself and his family, he believes that signing his name to the court will ruin his whole life-time achievement. Proctor makes a point in saying that he only gets one name in life, meaning that you only get one chance to prove your worthiness to God and the court system. Names are part of a person's identity; without them, people are lost. Proctor has great pride in his identity and the life that he has created for himself, so he refuses to willingly sign his name off to the

When Proctor confessed to adultery to the judge to save his wife showed he was very honorable. “I thought of her softly. God, help me, I lusted, and there is a promise in such sweet”(193, line 865-866)...”My wife is innocent, except she knew a whore when she saw one.”(193, line 876-877). Even though John Proctor knew adultery was a big and very bad sin he still confessed. He knew it was wrong to let Elizabeth get into trouble when she had done nothing wrong. His actions

The word “crucible” is also used to describe a severe test or a hard trial. In the town of Salem, Massachusetts chaos erupted with witchcraft. Many were accused, hanged, and jailed by this phenomenon. Unfortunately, various people faced difficult trials throughout this episode, one of them being John Proctor. John, a married Salem-born Puritan who owned his own piece of land, encountered many tragic events during the witch trials. He faced the internal conflict of remorse due to his dishonorable crime. Not only did he face an internal conflict in the play The Crucible, he faced a variety of external conflicts, such as the continuous reminder of his sin directed by his wife; also, John experienced the religious disagreement with the minister of Salem.

John Proctor starts off the play being selfish. Miller shows this when Proctor says, “My lumber. From out my forest by the riverside," and Putnam replies, "Why, we are surely gone wild this year. What anarchy is this? That tract is in my bounds, it’s in my bounds, Mr. Proctor" (15). They cannot agree on who 's lumber is who 's. Even though John is rich, he still insists on having more land rather than sharing with Mr.Putnam. John proctor is also sinful. Miller shows this when Mr.hale says, “In the book of record that Mr. Parris keeps, I note that you are rarely in the church on Sabbath Day." Proctor replies, "No, sir, you are mistaken." Mr.Hale says, "Twenty-six time in seventeen month, sir. I must call that rare,”(33). Mr.Hale is questioning John about why he does not spend much time in church, as a man in his town should. Not coming to church on Sabbath day (Sunday) is a sin, and he rarely went, making him a sinful man. John Proctor also started out as a lier. He says “Wipe it out of mind. We never touched, Abby" (11). John is not admitting to have slept

"I would say that John Proctor is both flawed and honorable. Proctor had an affair with Abigail when she was a servant in his house. His wife has been unable to forgive him for this, and their marriage is unhappy until his wife, Elizabeth, is accused of being a witch by Abigail. Abigail even tells Proctor what really happened on the night the girls were discovered in the woods, but Proctor doesn't share this news with anyone until it's too late. Once Proctor is arrested for witchcraft, he's willing to admit to the charge, eveon though it's false, in order to save his life. These are all examples of Proctor's flawed character.

Proctor rips up his confession for his family. At first Proctor confessed so he would be able to live but then he realized it wasn’t worth it. “I have given you my soul; leave me my name” (143). If Proctor would let them have his confession then the whole town would think he was associated with the Devil. Proctor did not want anyone to think differently about him or his family. “I have three children-how may I teach them to walk like men in the world, and I sold my friends” (143). John did not care about his life anymore, he wanted his kids and his wife to have a good life. If John would have signed the confession then people could have judged him and his family. John also does this because he wants to do something good for once. “I do think I see some shred of goodness in John Proctor” (144). Proctor knows that he has made mistakes in his past and he regrets them. He had to tell the court about his affair and had to lie. By doing this John Proctor believes he is finally doing something good for himself and his family. This shows how courageous John Proctor is because all he wanted was for his family to have a good life. He did not want his kids to suffer and everyone look at them

He cares what people think about him. He knows that the Proctor name has weight in the town, and he does not want to ruin his name for the rest of his family. John ripped up his written confession because they told him they would hang it on the church door, and he didn’t want his children seeing that so he ripped it up. He wanted his children to think highly of him. Proctor said "Because it is my name! 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

In this story john proctor was a man of great respect but to get his

John Proctor is a man of integrity who stands for his reputation. He cares about his reputation till the fullest measures. It was proven when it was stated that “Confessing a lie is the new institutionalized type of social adjustment as well as a safeguard for life. Those opposing it are inevitably endangering their lives, and Proctor's courage lies precisely in his rejection of a society which institutionalizes falsehood. For him his 'name' does not only mean reputation, but truth to oneself and others. When he refuses to give away other people's names it is because he 'likes not to spoil their names'; and when he refuses to 'sign his name', it is to save his

Near the end, Proctor struggles with his own morality because of his affair with Abigail. When reciting the ten commandments, Proctor is able to say each commandment except adultery. Towards the end, he is told to confess to the village but he does not want to ruin his reputation and confess in front of everyone. At his execution, he begins to question whether or not he should confess and save himself, or, be hanged. Ultimately, he chooses to be hanged.