John Proctor's Confession In The Crucible

The Salem witch trials was a story of envy, lies, and the danger of the people. Others wouldn’t defend those accused, and if they did, they themselves were eventually charged as witches. In many ways, defending others was condemning yourself. Such was the case for John Proctor in “The Crucible”. John Proctor was someone who had made mistakes, but through his own crucible made peace with himself and defended the honor of himself and the others that would not admit to witchcraft.

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.

The play The Crucible by Arthur Miller is set in Salem during the infamous witch trials. Near the end of the play, the protagonist, John Proctor, is in detained on suspicion of witchcraft. During his imprisonment, John Proctor is given an ultimatum—confess to witchcraft, or be hanged. While he originally intends to confess the sin he has not committed, he becomes resolute against it because he cannot, in good conscience, lie, and therefore sacrifice his character. Furthermore, he cannot betray anyone he loves or help perpetuate the ideologies of fear and blame that persist in Salem. Even though it will cost him his life, Proctor refuses to make a written confession because he will not let the Salem official to use his testimony for their

Proctor 's decision to tell the court about his affair ironically demonstrates his goodness. He also spoke up for the innocent girls that had their names branded. He willingly sacrifices his good name in order to protect his wife and others who are wrongly accused. Only through his public acknowledgment of the affair does Proctor regain his wife 's trust. At the end of the play, Proctor refuses to slander himself by allowing the court to make him make a false confession. The court told him to lie, and that if he lies that he would not be sent to the gallows. He did the right decision by telling the truth about his affair with Abigail. He honestly told the truth about the affair, and that he was not part of the witchcraft. His response further exemplifies Proctor 's integrity. But John was not guilty. He had nothing to do with witchcraft, he admitted to his own mistakes. Proctor knows that if he confesses that he will be damned himself, yet again, if he agrees to confess, he will also be free from the torment from the demon inside him and set others free too. This realization, along with Elizabeth 's forgiveness, enables Proctor to forgive himself and finally regain his good name and self-respect. As the court

In the play, The Crucible, MIller allows the reader to learn something about the world by showing us that the sins that we have committed will keep weighing us down, until we confess them. John Proctor commits adultery with Abigail Williams, and keeps this affair a secret from Elizabeth. Proctor starts to feel guilty, and mad at himself. He attempts to pretend that the affair never happened. “But I will cut off my hand before I reach for you again. Wipe it out of mind, we never touched, Abby…..Proctor, angered--at himself as well: You’ll speak nothin’ of Elizabeth!” (24) This piece of textual evidence proves that Proctor is unable to forgive himself for what he has done to Elizabeth, and what he has done to himself to lose his goodness.

He overcomes these conflicts by deciding to testify against Abigail and confessing to the crime of lechery. It is at this moment that he realises that he must participate in the community and that his individual needs might have to be sacrificed for the good of all. Another motivation for Proctor could have been that he wanted to replace his wife's alleged guilt with his own and that he wanted to be redeemed of his sin.

In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, various characters, whether it is from physical trials or unseen personal struggles, experience some kind of major conflict. There are those who spend every day in fear, wondering whether or not they will be falsely accused of witchcraft. There are others who struggle with more internal trials, such as forgiving those who have hurt them. The protagonist, John Proctor, was a man of strong moral constitution, and held himself to a high standard for the sake of his good name and family. As a result of this, he struggled with a major internal conflict throughout the play.

p;    When Proctor was first faced with the decision of living with a lie or dying with the truth, he chose life.   He decided that a lie was a minute sin in comparison to voluntarily giving up the life with which God blessed him.   After signing his confession, he was notified that it would be hung above the church entrance for all to see.  Besides believing that publicity was unnecessary to a valid confession, Proctor did not want to blacken his name.   Because of committing adultery, he knew what it was like to live with a bad reputation and did not want his sons to have to live with a name marked by witchcraft.  Proctor crumbled up the paper in front of his accusers and chose death rather than advertise a lie. 

Redemption is defined as atoning for a fault or mistake. Therefore, the idea of a redemptive character emanates from that character committing a perceived wrong and then overcoming the subsequent consequences with his actions. The Crucible, a famous play by Arthur Miller, incorporates this idea of redemption into its plot through the personal journeys of major characters in the Salem Witch Trials. One such character that displays these qualities of redemption is John Proctor. In the beginning of the play Proctor presents himself as a man full of honor and integrity with a loathing towards hypocrisy. Eventually though, his adultery is revealed and he

“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 was a truly honest man, as his personality continued to remain unwavering, even when confronted with the harshest situation. Honesty can be defined as the pursuit of vindicating the innocent and ending the Salem Witch Trials. Arthur Miller explores Proctor’s honesty and its consequences in his play The Crucible. Aggravated by his wife’s false condemnation for witchcraft, Proctor demonstrates his resolve to help her, which will cause the court to antagonize him. Additionally, his desire to stop Abigail’s rampage leads to his imprisonment for witchcraft. Guilty of lechery, Proctor embarks on his final path to redemption, which will lead him to his death. Ultimately, John Proctor’s honesty leads to his downfall.

Proctor’s marriage was ruined the day he decided to step out in his marriage. Proctor was too focused on why Elizabeth could not trust him or forgive him, he forgot to stop and switch the focus of blaming others to understanding himself first. He held a grudge on Elizabeth because she cannot forgive the sins he committed and trust, but proctor is equivalently guilty of doing the same thing. Proctor shifts his mistakes to other people which makes it nearly impossible for him to reconcile with his wife: “Spare me! You forget nothin' and forgive nothin '. Learn charity, woman. I have gone tiptoe in this house all seven month since she is gone. I have not moved from there to there without I think to please you, and still an everlasting funeral marches round your heart” (Miller 36). Elizabeth’s lack of forgiveness escalates proctor’s frustration and guilt: “But it is a whore’s vengeance,

His refusal to give up his false signed confession and even going so far as to rip it to shreds, is a religious stand, but also a personal stand as well. Such a confession would dishonor his fellow convicted friends, such as Martha Corey and Rebecca Nurse, who were also brave enough to die as a testimony to the truth rather than satisfy the court with a false confession. Not to mention a false confession would also dishonor him, not just staining public reputation, but also his very essence. Proctor, without reservation, proclaims that the integrity he is showing will convince God to allow him into heaven. Thus when he goes to the gallows to be hanged, he has no fear of death, believing he will be forgiven for previous sins. After Hale begs Elizabeth to continue with trying to convince John to sign the confession, she responds, “He have his goodness now,” and coldly finishes the play with, “God forbid I take it from him!” She realizes that John is now at peace with himself for the sins he committed in the past and feels that he needs to go through with this to get back his goodness and honesty, lost during his affair with Abigail.

He is faced with extreme conflict due to the fact that he committed one of the biggest sins there is: adultery. Proctor then has to decide whether he wants to confess his sin in order to save his wife or to be selfish and live a slandered reputation. Just as John Proctor makes the decision to save his wife’s life and his family's reputation, so too will any person that believes it is more important to put their family above

Throughout The Crucible, John Proctor showed immense courage when he stuck to his beliefs. In Act 3, John Proctor confesses to the court his affair with Abigail Williams because he doesn’t want his wife being accused of witchcraft. He further explains Abigail’s plan to kill his wife, Elizabeth Proctor, and dance with him on her grave. (Miller 873). When Proctor calls Abigail a whore, he gives the court an opportunity to end the trials. Additionally, John faces the ultimate test when he has to sign the document that would keep him alive. Proctor is unable to lie, so he shouts, “ Because it is my name!..Because I lie and sign myself to lies” (Miller 886). His action of ripping up the document further represents Proctor’s integrity and courage. Proctor knows he will never forgive himself if he agrees to confess. He chooses to be hanged over living the remaining of his life on a lie. Proctor refuses to name others and tears up the document. Overall in The Crucible, John Proctor is a firm believer in the fact that one’s name is the only thing that stays after death.