The Crucible - Conscience

The word “crucible” is used to describe purification or truest essence; in Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible this definition is appropriate because throughout the trials John Proctor’s true nature is shown. For example in act 3 John admits to his affair with Abigail. He intended to keep the affair a secret, but when he needs to have leverage against Abigail he admits to his sin. His act of admitting lechery shows how much he wants to take down Abigail and save the people accused of “witchcraft”. Due to his wife trying to protect him she declines him being a lecher when she was brought in. In reality she made Proctor in a worse situation. Proctor wanted to confess his sin, but Elizabeth made it look like he's making up rumors. John’s true nature

“Never mistake law for justice. Justice is an ideal, and law is a tool” - L.E. Modesitt Jr. Justice, the pursuit of the righteous path, is often misunderstood and vaguely defined. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller dives into this particular topic that demonstrates how justice becomes perceived differently by the characters. Through their actions or words, prominent characters like John Proctor, Judge Danforth, and Abigail Williams, show that they have their own skewed perspectives on how justice is accomplished or forfeited.

John Proctor’s affair affects his conscience and therefore influences his character. “He blushes for his sin”. Arthur Miller is concerned with the question of conscience being an organic part of an individual or a collective conscience of a community. The conscience of the court is repressive and hypocritical and John Proctor rejects it in favour if his own vision of a decent personal conduct.

The deterioration of justice in Salem was well represented by the unjust sense of guilty until proven innocent that defined the court’s process of determining the outcomes of the trials. “I have no witness and cannot prove it, except my word be taken” (56). John Proctor’s reluctance to tell Hale what was discussed between him and Abigail portray the fear of being labeled as a guilty individual and losing a precious amount of dignity due to the unjust procedures in court. In order for him to maintain his dignity and innocence, he would have to have a witness and proof of his declaration, which he

A tragic hero must have tragic flaws as well, which John Proctor does not have a lack of. It is arguable that his affair with Abigail Williams is the root of the witch trials. He tries to fix it by attempting to silence her. “Abby, I may think of you softly from time to time. But I will cut off my hand before I’ll ever reach for you again. Wipe it out of mind. We never touched, Abby” (Miller 15.) This affair he has with Abigail is an extremely deadly flaw. Abigail starts all of the witch paranoia because of her desire to get rid of Elizabeth Proctor because she falls in love with John. When John discharges her from his home and his life, she goes on a blood buzz for Elizabeth and the rest of Salem, causing the entire tragedy of the witch trials. A broader point that Miller depicts through the effect the affair has is all of the damage that lying and unfaithfulness causes.

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

The girls at the beginning of the play, avoided punishment by accusing others of the very things they were guilty of themselves. This desperate act of self-preservation resulted in the mass paranoia and atmosphere that gripped Salem for the continuance of the witch trials. By allowing audiences to see how dark desires and hidden agendas subsequentially drive people, Miller explores human motivation and the behaviour that results from it. Ironically, it is desire, sexual, material and physical desire that drives the people of Salem. For example, Abigail, full of desire for Proctor, seizes an opportunity to reverse fate and eliminate Elizabeth Proctor, by accusing her of witch craft. Elizabeth was the only person in Abigail’s eyes that was preventing her from marrying Proctor. In addition, Abigail’s status within the community is elevated and she gains power a young woman of her social status could have only dreamt of. Furthermore, the Putnam’s also seize the opportunity the witch trials create. Putnam has a hidden agenda, namely, land lust and his desire to elevate himself within the

In the play, The Crucible, John Proctor had various opinions about the Church he attended and Salem, the town he lived in. He didn’t agree with the situations happening in the world around him, so he decided to rise against Judge Danforth and

The Salem witch trials were an event that made people act in new ways and realize new things about themselves, as we can see through John Proctor, who went from hating his actions to changing for the good, Elizabeth Proctor, who was mad at John for adultery but forgave him in the end, and with Reverend Hale, who went from accusing the good people of the town to fighting for the good. John Proctor acts as a strong man with good morals. At the beginning of the book John closes himself off and lies to Elizabeth about Abigail. After John cheats on his wife with Abigail Williams, the leader of the “so-called” Salem witches, his morals are tested. John would get mad at Elizabeth not forgiving him shown in this quote, “Spare me!

John Proctor is a well respected farmer during the Salem Witch Trials. In The Crucible, Proctor faces many conflicts. An external conflict that Proctor faces is when he gets caught having an affair with Abigail Williams and he loses all of his wife’s trust. When Elizabeth found out about the affair between John and Abigail she kicked Abigail out and had lost all trust of Proctor. Proctor became more faithful to his wife Elizabeth and he wanted to earn her trust back, but she has a hard time because she thinks his feelings are still alive for Abigail. An internal conflict that Proctor faces is when he has to decide if he would admit to the court to committing adultery with Abigail to get Elizabeth out of jail. Although he knows that he wants his wife out of jail and he knows that it would make Abigail look bad, he knows that admitting it might get him in trouble as well.

Questionable morals that later reveal themselves to be admirable in the actions of an individual encases the overall meaning of moral ambiguity. The character may display traits that suggest they are merciless to start; however as their story progresses the character’s true, good nature is exposed. Moral ambiguity is significant to Arthur Miller’s The Crucible because through the character Reverend Hale, it develops prominent themes of theocracy and fear through the corruption of a higher power. The themes are currently displayed in contemporary society, resulting in Miller’s play being incredibly relevant to the modern reader.

John is a very happy prideful man until he commits adultery with Abigail Williams which at the time was John and his wife, Elizabeth Proctor’s housekeeper. Elizabeth catches Abigail sleeping with John and fires her. Abigail is jealous because she is not John’s wife so she lies and says that Elizabeth Proctor is involved in witchcraft. While Elizabeth is in jail, John tries to get Mary Warren, one of the girls that is lying about witchcraft to confess but soon betrays John and continues to lie with girls. John soon confesses about sleeping with Abigail. “A man may think God sleeps, but God sees everything, I know it now. I beg you, sir, I beg you—see her what she is. . . . She thinks to dance with me on my wife’s grave! And well she might, for I thought of her softly. God help me, I lusted, and there is a promise in such sweat. But it is a …... vengeance. . . “. Miller, A. (n.d.). The Crucible. Retrieved December 3, 2014, from http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/crucible/quotes.html. Judge Danforth brings in Elizabeth Proctor to confess if John is telling the truth but she lies and says John never committed Adultery to try and save John but it is too

John Proctor was a “farmer in his middle thirties… strong, even-tempered, and not easily led” (20). Proctor’s reputation was good and he was a well respected man around Salem. The play shows that Proctor’s past involved him having an affair with Abigail. Now in the present, Proctor is conflicted with the fear of being labeled as an adulterer for his past. Proctor’s fear weakens his morality in the court when he has to explain the situation to Judge Danforth. Proctor tells Danforth that he “has known her” (110) and that Abigail wishes to “dance with me (Proctor) on my wife's grave” (110). Although the fear of being labeled as an adulterer and being charged of lechery, Proctor believes that telling the truth is the right thing to do. Proctor realizes that the Salem witch trials have gone to far and are merely just attempts from Abigail to get Proctor all to herself. Proctor’s fear initially holds him back from telling the court the reason why Abigail is accusing everyone and acting strange. Later on the unveiling of his affair with Abigail results in the trials being questioned but it also fuels the deadly fate of

But I know the children's sickness had naught to do with witchcraft.”, shows John Proctor is in stage four of his moral development (Miller 857). John is trying to explain to Judge Danforth that the girls are all lying about who is a witch and who is not one. He is trying to convince the judge that the whole witchcraft thing is a big hoax. The quote shows that Proctor is in stage 4 of his moral development because it portrays to the audience that John is trying to “uphold the law” no matter the cost. There are laws in Salem, those mainly being the “Ten Commandments”, that prohibit people from “bearing false witness” (Act 2). John is clearly trying to uphold this law by telling the truth himself and also trying to stop others from lying. By doing this, John is definitely exhibiting behavior of “authority

The Crucible by Arthur Miller is an interpretation of the Salem witch trials of 1692 in Puritan Massachusetts in which religion, self- preservation and self-dignity play a vital role. The three factors I listed played a huge role in John Proctor, Rebecca Nurse, Reverend Hale, Danforth and many other lives. Many other characters such as, Abigail Williams and her friends can be characterized by being greedy, bitter, and selfish. In the play, Miller reveals how people can go against their own morals, therefore they can protect themselves. In Arthur Miller's play, The Crucible, he reveals to readers how fear escalated in Salem because of people's desire for personal gain.