The Crucible Conformity Analysis

In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible a town starts massacring townspeople because a group of girls are pretending to be possessed by witches.  John Proctor, a character in The Crucible, is a Non-conformist who stubbornly avoids following the crowd and is honest by not being able to lie to the court. John Proctor’s character may revealed through his refusal to sign his name on a false confession, his inability to believe in the witches in the town and his honesty when confessing to the affair with Abigail.

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.

In the book The Crucible there is a struggle within to have one have a sense of belonging to society. They want to be loved by that society no matter how much they may seem that they don’t belong. But they do want to show that to everyone, everyone that may not think that.

Irving Wallace, an American author and screenwriter, once stated: “To be one’s self, and unafraid whether right or wrong, is more admirable than the easy cowardice of surrender to conformity.” Wallace admired those who were not afraid to be the “lone wolf” and stick to their own individual ideas and character, no matter the consequences. People often view submission as the one and only route; they see a majority of the population following one another and figure it is the best option. Unfortunately, conformity does have its consequences. In The Crucible, Miller reveals that the overwhelming pressures to conform causes one’s rationality to be diminished, resulting in the destruction of their morals and ultimately a society through his use of situational and dramatic irony.

Another inner quality that defines John Proctor is the value he holds to his good name. Proctor is a firm believer in the fact that one’s name is the only thing that remains after death, and what is done with it while living can affect one’s posterity for generations. This is the driving force behind his actions in the final act of the play. At first, he felt no shame in lying to the court about his accusation of witchcraft because he felt there was no more damage he could do to his reputation and that one more sin would not make any difference. His attitude changed when he realized his confession would mean blackening the name of those who already had died, and his sons would have to live with that mark on their names. He knew he could not teach his sons “. . . to walk like

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. 

Conformity is a belief that has conflicted people since the beginning of time. Conformity is the inner feeling that will make you second guess everything you do: should I go to my friends party or should I resist temptation and stay home and study, should I change my beliefs or stand alone in the crowd. Conformity is all around you and it is up to you to make the right choices. In Arthur Miller’s 1953 drama, The Crucible, Miller uses conformity by forcing the people of Salem to choose between being an outcast or being accepted but forced to live a life not true to themselves. Conformity plays a key role in the play because it shows the reader that everyone is hiding something and it gives a deeper meaning to some of the characters

To begin, Abigail’s background story must be explained for anybody to truly understand her character. Abigail is an orphan who witnessed her parents’ brutal murder as a young child and was taken in by her uncle Reverend Parris (148). Abigail has grown up without a proper mother and father figure to guide her through the trials of life. When Abigail is first introduced into the scene, the narrator uses an intriguing choice of words to describe her. Some literary analysts may argue that Abigail’s childhood living situation is the reason that she behaves the way she does; however this is not the case. Abigail has a tendency to victimize herself to gain and receive attention whenever she pleases. Throughout acts I and II, Abigail has made herself the victim in a multitude of different ways. For example, Reverend Parris accuses Abigail of having a blemished reputation around the town of Salem. She denies this statement; however, when Parris calls her bluff, she blames the

Conformity is the compliance with standards, rules, or laws, or more simply the modification of oneself to satisfy the wants of society. The Crucible, play by Arthur Miller, utilizes this concept through an excellently written depiction of the events of the Salem Witch Trials in 1692. The play demonstrates the fear that was created in the society and how people utilized that fear to keep the town somewhat on the same page, by forcing conformity onto the citizens. The concept of conformity in the crucible and in the world today, pressures citizens within a society to induce personal change in order to satisfy the society.

In the play the Crucible by Arthur Miller we are met with many different characters all with values. Although they are Puritans they have different values ranging from honesty to their name/reputation. Reading this play has made me question what my own values are and why I stand up for them as well as what some of the others in the play value and how they stand up for them.

How Does Miller convey his Message through The Crucible? In this essay, I will explore the message communicated through 'The Crucible' to its audience, and the way in which its author, Arthur Miller, attempts to convey it, especially through one of the play's main characters, John Proctor. The main issues raised by the play are the role of the individual within society, the value of one's name and perceptions of justice and truth.

Humans act and react for a variety of reasons based on the context and their motivations. There is some part of human nature that prompts people to think, feel, and act in certain ways. This facet of the human condition transcends both time and place; it crosses all cultures. Moreover, human motivations transfer to the fictional world. For example, the characters found in Arthur Miller’s classic American play The Crucible provide a poignant and timeless commentary on human behavior. Act III in particular highlights the best and worst of human nature. This best and worst is equally seen in every day life, even at middle school. The character motivations in The Crucible effectively mirror those found in middle school.

In The Crucible, Miller too created a character that would stand against authority; John Proctor. When Proctor is questioned as to why he has not been to church in so long, he admits that he has ill feelings towards Parris and the way that Parris gives sermons. Proctor does not like authority, and since Parris talks as though he is an authority figure, Proctor has an issue with this. Proctor is very critical over representatives of authority. Proctor changes from a timid character held in bondage by his sin, to a strong, righteous man who will die for the truth. This drastic change in his character is the basis of his significance to the outcome of the play. When faced with the prospect of either confessing to something he didn’t do, or dying, he tells judge Danforth that he cannot have his confession and name nailed to the church door because it would betray his friends who have already died for the truth. When Danforth refutes this, John says, “Beguile me not! I blacken all of them when this is nailed to the church the very day they hang for silence!” (143). Proctor seizes the power back from those who are misusing it, simply by refusing to be a part of the false confessions. The unyielding faith of Proctor’s wife, the influence of the people who share his beliefs and his triumph over an inner struggle help him make a decision that he believes will finally set him free from his past.

John Proctor’s decision to die for his name was the wrong one because despite his attempt to die an honest man, his name would remain tainted by his sinful affair regardless of whether he decided to live or die. The reality of Proctor’s decision is that he abandoned his wife, their three sons, and their unborn child for an ultimately futile act of self-sacrifice made for the approval of the townspeople. Throughout the course of the book, Proctor’s guilt from his affair with Abigail continuously guides his decisions and the moment it came time to decide whether to confess and live or maintain his innocence and hang was no different. Proctor decided that he would rather die than taint his name, but this decision stems from the guilt which constantly

Conformity, the definition in the dictionary is “behavior in accordance with socially accepted conventions or standards.” Conforming is a way to blend in with the crowd and to not be an individual, it also can in the sense force someone to change. If someone does not conform to the socially acceptable standards they are considered an outcast and therefore shunned by all that are conforming to the rest of the crowd to not be labeled as an outsider themselves. In the playwrite “The Crucible”, by Arthur Miller, demonstrates ways in which conforming can be the difference between life and death itself. In the play, a young woman by the name of Abigail who is madly in love with a married man named John Proctor, was set on eliminating Elizabeth Proctor