John Proctor The Crucible Analysis

The Crucible is a historical play by Arthur Miller, and is set in the town of Salem during the late 1690s. The main characters are John Proctor, the protagonist, and Abigail Williams, the antagonist. The conflict occurs when Abigail falsely accuses others of witchcraft. This leads to hysteria in the town, with people turning in innocent people for witchcraft. Many people including John and Elizabeth Proctor are arrested and put on trial, despite their innocence. John Proctor is sentenced to death after refusing to denounce his friends as witches, forgiven by Elizabeth for his affair with Abigail, and restores his reputation of being a good man. The Crucible delves into the extent people will go betray others in order to benefit themselves

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.

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.

One of his plays “The Crucible” was based on the true event that happened in Salem, Massachusetts during the spring of 1692. During this time religion was really strict on what you can and cannot do in the eyes of the lord. This group of girls claimed that the devil possessed them; due to this accusation a wave of hysteria was placed. Due to the hysteria being placed hundreds of people got slaughtered in fear that devil would slaughter the rest of them. According to (Miller, 1996) Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible” was an act of desperation due to his fears of being name a covert communist during the red hunt during 1950s. While researching the events of the Salem witch trial he found himself relating to John Proctor because “in spite of an imperfect character,

The Crucible is a lengthy theatrical that delves into the time of the Salem witch trials. The author, Arthur Miller, depicts a dark time in which no one is safe from the questionable accusations of a few girls caught in a lie and trying to save their own skins. Miller introduces the protagonist, John Proctor, as a “sinner,” while some critics view him as a Christlike figure. John Proctor is a good man because he supports his family, practices his religion, and never fell for the witchcraft insanity that the rest of Salem fell for.

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 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.

“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.

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

Most people, when they value something, will go great length to protect it. They will make sacrifices in order to obtain it. In the play The Crucible written by Arthur Miller, a character named John Proctor showed what he valued the most by what he sacrificed to protect it. Proctor kept his mouth closed to protect his reputation and later sacrifices it to protect his wife and finally tries to save it.

Arthur Miller wrote the play The Crucible in 1953. The Crucible takes place in the late 1600`s around a town called Salem in Massachusetts. Miller went to Salem and acquired historical documents about the Salem witch trials and used the real people's diaries and other writings to gather information on what happened and how it happened. He also used the information to create interesting and real characters that would grab and hold audiences attention. His most memorable characters, Abigail Williams and John Proctor, are really the center pieces of the play. Although Abby and Proctor in The Crucible seem like polar opposites, they are however one in the same as they use different methods to reach an unlikely bet yet common goal proving how in common they really are.

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.

I pray this finds you in good health. My letter concerns the town of Salem and the opinion of the court ruling on John Proctor.