John Proctor: Noble Or Ignoble

The Crucible is a historical play by Arthur Miller that reviews the Salem witch trials which occurred during May of 1693, increasing the play’s profoundness through dramatization. Starring various characters, there are two main female characters: Abigail Williams and Elizabeth Proctor. Prominently, these two characters are compelling. Abigail Williams, the teenage adulteress who’s antagonistic and vengeful ways start the beauty and destruction of the Salem witch trials, like a wildfire her lies spread and create the story we have today. While Elizabeth Proctor remains the virtuous wife of John Proctor and victim of adultery. Both characters seeming equally important could not be any more different.

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.

John Proctor expresses his honesty and blunt personality throughout the story, however when time did come to the end of the tragedy, he exposed another trait until his last breath of air. There is such thing of honor and it can be argued that John Proctor died without it. Or that he wasted his breath fighting for his and Elizabeth’s life. But, John Proctor expressed himself as an upright man. He proved many things with the case and even was awarded a second chance to live before he be hanged. Such a thing would not come of any honor but come of disgrace and embarrassment. He chose to die a man of his name with honor and pride because he knew what was right and knew he would not win” I say- I say- God is Dead!” (Page: 198: John Proctor). This quote means John has changed and come to conclusion of things in the story. Although he is portraying things as if Abigail was not lying, he knew he could not fight a losing war. As to him, it was better to die the man he knew himself for and a man of his own name. Even to the moment of impact, John felt peace and change with himself before he was hanged because he died and honest, upright, and blunt-spoken

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

Purist Salem, Massachusetts in 1692 suffered from a rapidly increasing phenomenon: witchcraft accusations and trials. The Crucible is a play that recounts the times of this incident. For the most part, it follows a man known as John Proctor. He is a sensible, honest, and hardworking man who made the mistake of succumbing to lust which sets off a chain of events that leads to the witch trials, and to his own demise. Arthur Miller’s The Crucible’s protagonist John Proctor proves to be a flawed human being who struggles to make sense of his past relationship with Abigail, his love for his wife, and his pride.

Second, John Proctor evokes our pity. He committed adultery with his servant and tried to hide this fact. This is his mistake for sure. But he had to suffer dead as a result, which is uncommon suffering. Let’s see the process why he had to die. Abbigail, who is partner of Proctor’s adultery, entraps as a witch because he never thinks about Abby. He only cares about Elizabeth. So, Abby entraps Proctor as a witch and he had to die. He had a big mistake, but death is too harsh for him as a result. And it makes readers to feel pity for him.

In the early pages of The Crucible, Arthur Miller conveys the Salem authority’s executions of innocent citizens accused of witchcraft: “The witch-hunt was a perverse manifestation of the panic which set in among

In 1692 in the tight-knit town of Salem, Massachusetts, honor and morality were important aspects of the lives of the religious townspeople. As depicted in Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible, the dishonorable acts of one young girl lead to a series of events that test the moral fiber of the community and leave the town of Salem in despair as hysteria threatens to overwhelm its people. Once accused of practicing witchcraft, a person has the option of lying to save his/her life and living with the stigma of being a witch, or telling the truth and being condemned to death. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller emphasizes the necessity of personal sacrifice in order to restore social order in theocratic Salem.

In Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible, John Proctor- the protagonist-is captivated by lust and commits adultery with an adolescent girl, whose actions paved the way for the infamous Salem Witch Trials in Puritan New England. Towards the end of the play, he conceitedly sacrifices his own life in the name of truth, instead of falsely confessing to consorting with the devil. He believed that his death would serve as a suitable punishment for his previous wrongdoings. However, Proctor’s last act was solely one of excessive pride because he does not consider his role as caretaker for his family, nor does he heed Hale’s advice about the sacredness of life.

In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, Abigail Williams, John Proctor, and other characters feel guilty about their acts and deal with their feeling in different ways. It’s the story of a village where people believed in witchcraft, they want to find a responsible. It’s the Salem Witch Trials time period in America.

Thesis: In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, the small town of Salem is engulfed in hysteria due to the accusations of children that many of the townspeople partook in witchcraft. Among the accused is John Proctor, a strong, steadfast farmer. John Proctor fulfills the requirements of a “tragic hero” by his actions throughout the story. His “tragic hero” status is illustrated by his efforts to save his wife from being put to death, his attempt to prove the afflicted girls are making fraudulent claims, and his unwillingness to confess to practicing witchcraft when accused.

In Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible, Miller examines the startling nature of humans when faced with mass hysteria as represented by the Salem Witch Trials. Not only is The Crucible a story of the heinous acts committed during the Witch Trials, but it is an allegory for the state of America during the Red Scare. Because of this, The Crucible continues to be a relevant piece of literature due to the multidimensional nature of the writing. Miller’s striking commentary of the human equation portrays several characters who are forced by circumstances to undergo personal changes. Miller shows the greatest transformation in John Proctor, Mary Warren, and Reverend Hale in order to convey the idea that individuals during this

Many years ago in 1692, the citizens in the colony of Massachusetts were hysterical over the notion that witchcraft was plaguing their town. They went to the extent of killing over twenty people and jailing at least fifty. Arthur Miller’s playwright, The Crucible, is based on these events. In this script, the protagonist, John Proctor is not only a local farmer in his middle thirties who lives just outside of the town of Salem, but also the play’s tragic hero. He is a stern, unrelenting man who’s name is synonymous throughout the town with honor and integrity. However, he is also a sinner, and at some parts of the story he struggles with his guilt. As The Crucible continues, other sides of John Proctor are revealed, demonstrating his transformations.

One of the many works written and driven by Puritan influence, The Crucible by Arthur Miller has continued to influence life and thinkings. Its story tracing the 1692 Salem Witch Trials has been widely read, received and understood, along with influencing the reader and their ideals. The play has manifested into more than words on a page and has become of the greatest influences, even sixty years after its publication. Though its story has not changed and is merely a retelling of the original itself, its themes have greatly impacted its universal and enduring state.

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