John Proctor Persuasive In The Crucible

Who committed the greater evil? Hester Prynne or John Proctor? In The Crucible, John Proctor had a wife who was extremely ill. He committed adultery with the house servant, Abigail Williams, for that reason. Hester Prynne from The Scarlet Letter, was a beautiful woman living without her husband. The lonesome woman had an affair with Dimmesdale, the town’s reverend. Both John Proctor and Hester Prynne both went against the Puritan beliefs. However, John Proctor is guiltier of committing adultery compared to Hester Prynne and if John Proctor were to meet Hester Prynne, he would respect her.

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.

“That John Proctor the sinner might overturn his paralyzing personal guilt and become the most forthright voice against the madness around him was a reassurance to me, and, I suppose, an inspiration: it demonstrated that a clear moral outcry could still spring even from an ambiguously unblemished soul,” Miller says this about Proctor. Procter the “sinner” was unfaithful to his wife Elizabeth; during the beginning of the play we see Proctor as a cheater and hot-headed adulterer. Throughout the play he truly tried to seek redemption for his wrongdoing towards Elizabeth. He later on changes from this cheater, hot-headed adulterer to a saint who tries to save the lives of the falsely accused by admitting to his sins and fighting for the truth until his very last breath.

John Proctor is one of the main characters in the Crucible. He was indicted of witchcraft because of he violated the law several times. Examples that helped the church assume he was a witch was him stating that the girls who were “possessed” were liars & frauds, setting everything up to accuse other villagers of witchcraft. He also couldn’t remember the 10 commandments, didn’t attend church regularly, & apparently plowed on Sundays which was considered a high offense back then. John’s trial was extremely unequitable.

In 1692, witchcraft was known as an evil sin to be commited on Earth, if accused of witchcraft, trial and execution was likely to happen and proceeded to happen to many innocent people. One well-known accussal was that of John Proctor. Proctor had committed adultery with Abigail Williams, a previous maid of the Proctor house, and once coming clean for his sin, in turn of events backfires and is accused of witchcraft. John Proctor is seen as a protagonist of the story full of courage and boldness when fighting for his life and good name in court. At the time, all possible outcomes were not at the top of his head but then he had to go through twists and turns to save his wife, Elizabeth, as well as himself. In The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, John Proctor's character traits is shown to be a cheater, fearless, and courageous. Therefore, John Proctor's character can be portrayed through the song "Womanizer" by

John Proctor tried his hardest and went through hell and gave his life to try to save the people of his town in Salem. “ I am only wondering how i may prove what she told me Elizabeth. If the girl's a saint now; I think it not easy to prove she's a fraud the town gone silly., she told me in a room alone, I have no proof for it” (2.127-131). My explanation is by him saying that he means its going to be hard to prove Elizabeth Proctor is guilty and they are going to find out it's a lie. I connected to this because John and his wife are innocent and she never tells a lie, also they can't even prove that they are lying even if they were. Joth talked to Hale about the situation when Hale came to John's home in the middle of the night to ask questions.

In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible it is clear that the development of the play is about John Proctor’s tragic condition. Miller uses this aspect to compel the audience to see why Proctor did what he did and to develop a sense of empathy for him. John Proctor overall is both flawed and honorable. He has a complete reversal of fate brought upon by his own flaw. John Proctor is a tragic hero because he contains all of the characteristics of a tragic hero, such as catharsis and hamartia, despite not being born into nobility, he has many noble characteristics.

“As a general rule . . . the tragic feeling is evoked in us when we are in the presence of a character who is ready to lay down his life, if need be, to secure one thing-his sense of personal dignity” (“Tragedy”). Miller, the author of the Crucible and the Tragedy and the Common Man, said these words to prove that a tragic play is not meant to be pessimistic, but more optimistic. In The Crucible, John Proctor, a farmer that proves to be the protagonist, goes through a dramatic change throughout the play; learning to forgive himself for his flaws, and in the end to have pride and stand up for what is right.

John needs to leave her to run away with me, but I fear that will never happen unless I go to drastic measures. I would be a great wife unlike her. If she really could satisfy a man like John Proctor, John would have never gone and been with me instead of her. Then again, I guess I should thank her then for not being enough for him. Because if Elizabeth had been enough, I would have never known real love. For that is what John and I share. Surely this woman he calls his wife must have threatened him. There is no other reason that John would refuse my bed now. That woman has cursed him. Oh how I hate her for keeping my love and I apart from each other.

Despite outspoken personality and qualities as a critical thinker, John Proctor is far from being a perfect human being. In his notes, Arthur Miller describes him as a sinner, "a sinner not only against the moral fashion of the time, but against his own vision of decent conduct." (P.20) Similar to Jesus who was tempted in the desert and taunted by the pharisees, Proctor's journey is riddled with hardships. He strives to overcome them and to follow his moral compass over the course of the novel. When Abigail Morris seeks him out after being fired, he has the courage to overcome his lust and to end their relationship. He boldly claims: "I will cut off my hand before I'll ever reach for you again" (P.22) Moreover, he spends months trying to regain

As martin king Luther Jr has said “if a man hasn’t found something to die for he isn’t fit to live. In the play the crucible john Procter must make a decision to sing a confession standing that he practices witchcraft, or go to his execution. If he does not sing the confession, he will be hang as many have been also in Salem Massachut in 1692. Ultimately john proctor choose to sacrifice his life in order to stand up for the truth. He makes the right decision in refusing to sing the confession, and choosing to die.

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.

“It is a providence, and no great change; we are only what we always were, but naked now… Aye, naked! And the wind, God’s icy wind, will blow!” The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, is a screenplay following the life of John Proctor during a dramatization of the Salem Witch Trials. Proctor projects himself as a pillar of the community, a simple farmer with iron-clad morals and a steel will. As accusations begin to fly, Proctor is looked up to as a level-headed man, until his facade is broken and he himself is imprisoned for witchcraft. Regardless of what image Proctor fostered, in reality he is not a man of integrity.

A wise philosopher named  Friedrich Nietzsche once said, “even today a crude sort of persecution is all that is required to create an honorable name for any sect, no matter how indifferent in itself.” People who are guilty of nothing spend their entire lives trying to uphold an honorable name, but depending on the circumstances they may have to sacrifice their life in order to do so.  In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, people in the town of Salem, Massachusetts are put through severe trials to see if they are guilty of practicing witchcraft. Many people are falsely accused, but decide to confess to something that they never did to save their own lives. By confessing, they are throwing away their name and reputation. John Proctor is among the many who are wrongfully accused. He must make a challenging decision whether to die honorably or to live with a slandered name that would affect his children’s future. John Proctor’s great dilemma changes throughout the course of the play because he faces having to appeal to Abigail, his wife, and the court all while attempting to uphold his respectable reputation.