John Proctor's Pride and Reputation in The Crucible Essay

Because he confesses, he dies as a hero of the village. After John confesses to Witchery and signs a confession, they hang him as a result of not confessing to the public. Proctor: I have confessed myself? Is there no good penitence but it be public? God does not need my name nailed upon the church! God sees my name; God knows how black my sins are! It is enough!”(969). John’s last words were, “Proctor, his eyes full of tears, I can. And there’s your first marvel now, that I can. You have made your magic now, for now I do think I see shred of goodness in John Proctor. Not enough to weave a banner with, but white enough to keep it from such dogs. Elizabeth, in a burst of terror, rush to him and weeps against his hand. Give them not tear! Tears pleasure them! Show honor now, show a stony heart and sink them with it! He has lifted her, and hisses her now with great

In 1692, Salem Massachusetts was overridden with mass hysteria. Allegations of witchery were widespread and people were killed for crimes they never committed. It seemed as if the theocracy no longer upheld the principles of Heaven, but rather submitted to the wild impulses of the New England mobs. Arthur Miller delivers a heart-wrenching account of these trials in his play The Crucible. Amidst the struggle is Miller’s protagonist, John Proctor, a well-respected man who staunchly chooses to live against the grain; his views and lifestyle differ from those accepted in Salem’s theocracy. John is conflicted and confused. He has previously had an affair with a seventeen-year-old named Abigail. John looks to move on from this incident and make amends with his wife. John cannot believe one thing and do another, yet he desperately wants to protect his life. John struggles to choose between what he believes is true and what society tells him is right. He ultimately chooses to do what he believes is noble, even though it means death. John’s decisions reflect his motives and his change in character. John Proctor, driven by his search for self, attempts to mend his ways and defies Salem’s theocracy, causing him to tell the truth and ultimately find redemption.

John Proctor changed his mind and tore up the confession because he didn’t want to ruin his good name, for him or for his kids. He was just looking out for his kids, he wanted them to have a better life, he said he couldn’t deal with the fact that the guilt from commiting adultry was eating him up on the inside. He couldn’t live with himself anymore, hated the fact that he kept it in, he even told the court that he commited adultry, also told the court that Elizabeth knew about it. At first, all he was going to do was give his statement on what his guiltyness was, but the judge wanted

He made the choice to not “confess” to witchcraft, even though it would have saved his life. He felt that it would dishonor his friends who had remained silent, and had been consequently killed, saying, “I have three children – how may I teach them to walk like men in the world, and I sold my friends? . . . I blacken all of them when this is nailed to the church the very day they hang for silence!” (page 144). The scene ends with Proctor being led off to be hanged, while Reverend John Hale prompts Elizabeth to convince John Proctor to change his mind. She simply responds, “He have his goodness now. God forbid I take it from him!” (page 146). His last actions were, decidedly, the most apparent testament to his charismatic personality and his

John Proctor is a tormented individual. He believes his affair with Abigail irreparably damaged him in the eyes of God, his wife Elizabeth, and himself. Unsurprisingly, his relationship with Elizabeth remains strained throughout the majority of the play. Also, while they were together, Abigail told John Proctor what happened in the forest, still John does not tell anyone about it until it is too late. Moreover, Mr. Proctor was arrested for witchcraft. He was willing to admit to the charge, even though it is false. Yet, John has been a fair man plus hardworking, he is also an honest man who regrets breaking his marriage vows with wife, Elizabeth Proctor. Ultimately, John Proctor is just a fine guy that made uncommonly poor decisions.

John Proctor first confessed so that he may live with his wife and their upcoming child. Judge Danforth pushed him to sign a confession after the accusation against him. This is when John realized that he did not

He originally chose to confess, but when he was told he has to sigh a certificate to he hung on the wall of the church, he couldn’t do it. He tried to convince the man that his word was good enough but in the end, decided not to go through with confessing and was executed. Proctor was put under so much pressure and was torn between his good name and his life that he couldn’t take it. the panic was obvious at that point and all the drama caused is what revealed the most about proctor- that he is an honest man. The drama revealed his true self, and also lead him to his

Character Analysis John Proctor is an angry man. His affair with Abigail destroys his relationship with Elizabeth. John and Elizabeth eat dinner and they talk about the farm, crops, and the house. Although they seem normal, tension still occurs in the house. Proctor said, “You ought to bring some flowers in the house” “It’s winter in here yet”

Proctor now ready to hang, Abigail runs away as she sees she will not be able to get what she wants. Hale does not want this to happen so he tries to get Proctor to confess to witchcraft to save him from hanging and thinking that the others will do so. Proctor eventually confesses as they have brought Elizabeth to talk to him and he does it because he wants to be with his family. He signs the paper confessing to witchcraft but suddenly regrets. He feels as it is unfair from him to live as a sinner and for other to die because of an injustice. Proctor also does it because the

John Proctor was a handsome man in his mid-thirties married to Elizabeth Proctor a housewife in her early-thirties. John was a short-tempered farmer who thought himself to be a fraud. John Proctor’s principles were demonstrated very clearly throughout the play. What John believed was right and what he believed was wrong were set in stone. Despite that, knowing what is wrong and what is right does not prevent one from doing the wrong thing with full knowledge of what they are doing. John Proctor found himself guilty of having an adulterous relationship with a promiscuous teenage girl named Abigail Williams. As a Puritan man, John was in a monogamous marriage, nevertheless, he still cheated on his wife Elizabeth. John continuously beats himself up over his temporary faltering of judgment with no means to justify his actions. This further demonstrates his morals because

Reputation is the belief or opinion that are generally held about someone. In the play “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller preserving one’s respectable reputation is a common theme. This novel took place in 1692 in Massachusetts in a town called Salem. They are all known as good citizens, for one reason or another, and they all would like to keep their good name. People like John Proctor, Judge Danforth, and Reverend Parris would do anything to save their reputation.

John Proctor is a man living in distress after cheating on his wife Elizabeth with a former servant Abigail. He believes that him committing adultery is a sin big enough to damage his character, Elizabeth becoming less trusting of him and publicly exposing his infidelity would only add insult to injury.

Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible” depicts the horrors and hysteria that swept through the town of Salem in 1692. The events in the town, now known as the Salem Witch Trials, resulted in brutal and unjust executions under the false pretenses of witchcraft. John Proctor, the main character of the play, embodies the essence of a tragic hero with the tragic flaw of his affair and his excessive pride. These traits also evoke feelings of pity from the audience.

John Proctor being an ethical and willing to do his best, face many trials and tribulations throughout The Crucible but he faced him the way he thought seemed fit. John Proctor throughout the play had to try and forgive himself for the sin that he had committed with Abigail. “I may think of you softly from time to time, but I will cut off my hand before I reach for you again. We never touched” (Miller I. __). He knew that what he did with Abigail was wrong and when she tried to tempt him again, he would refrain from falling into the trap of adultery again. Equally important, is Proctor’s self-respect. In the Crucible, Proctor was being taken to go hang because he was accused of witchcraft, but he had a chance be redeemed. Danforth had put the offer out that if he signed the confession saying that he committed an adultery that he would not hang. Hale was trying to convince him, he even tried to get Elizabeth to help so that another innocent soul wouldn’t be lost to the ignorance of the justice system. Proctor, at

John Proctor has strong opinions that he firmly believes as correct and has never budged from those beliefs. John always seems to value his own personal thoughts over others’, however the extent of this superior sense of sense of self remains hidden for most of the play. The final act reveals the extent of his excessive pride after he claims himself above the actions of Sarah Good and Tituba in saying “[they] will not use me [because] I am no Sarah Good or Tituba, I am John Proctor!”(1231) In saying this to the court and the audience, he effectively portrays that he believes himself better than those who have lied and falsely admitted to witchcraft. Proctor then proceeds to shout that he does not want his confession and “his name” displayed in front of the church. (1231) Although he is aware of his current danger, Proctor’s pride will not allow him to have his name plastered all over town and used as fraudulent evidence of witchcraft in Salem. After his receiving his sentence, death, for not complying to his