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Rhetorical Analysis Of John Proctor

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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. In the second act of the book, Proctor tries to convince Cheever, the sheriff, to not arrest Elizabeth for witchery. He uses a simile to question if the girls are reliable accusers. Proctor questions, “Were they born this morning as clean as God’s fingers” (Miller, 77). In this sentence he also uses logos, he wants Cheever to consider if the girls are reliable and trustworthy. He claims that the people of the town are deifying the girls. John Proctor soon realizes arguing is useless and changes his diction from a persuasive tone to a cautioning tone. He POWER VERB, “ I’ll tell you what's walking Salem- vengeance is walking Salem”(Miller, 77). In this quote, John Proctor personifies the act of vengeance. He is warning them the witchcraft is all a lie and that these accusations are coming from the girls because of spite and vengeance towards other in the town. Although no one knows yet that he has had an affair with Abigail, he wants them to realize that Elizabeth is only being accused by Abigail due to resentment. He personifies vengeance
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