The Crucible is a play written by Arthur Miller, which takes place in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692, it is about a Puritan town during the well-known Salem Witch Trials. Miller wrote this play to mimic the main conflict, the red scare, which was going on in his time. John Proctor is a prominent character in the witch trials; he is a poor protagonist with traits of the common tragic hero: without any intention he ends up causing the whole town despair as his old mistress will destroy anything in her path just to have him back. John tries to fix the situation the town is in by uncovering the truth of the witch trials but ends up getting himself in trouble with the chaos. When the witch trials start, his pride and dignity with be tested, and he will go through changes and sacrifices to save himself and the people he cares about. John Proctor started as …show more content…
John says the court, “How may I live without my name?”(IV.729). John Proctor is conflicted with the choice of pride or life. When he says this to the court he shows how he cannot make a great decision so easily. He needs to choose to die or confess to witchcraft, he wants to keep his good name but also to, live. In the end he chooses his pride. The main conflict that made him struggle between choosing life or death is his relationship with Elizabeth. With confusion, Elizabeth says to John, “John you are not open with me. You saw her in a crowd now you-”(II.165). John lies to Elizabeth and this starts more distrust in John and Elizabeth’s relationship, which causes conflicts. John and Elizabeths relationship is already unstable because of his adultery, and many months have passed and they still let it way their relationship down. When Elizabeth says this to John, his guilt for cheating on her overwhelms him and he is sick of it. This motivates him to make changes in his
John Proctor has a dark secret, He possesses a major flaw he has had an affair with Abigail Williams, and eventually he realizes what he has done to Elizabeth, He has committed adultery against his wife. Due to the fact that Proctor has committed adultery against Elizabeth, he becomes a tragic hero, and Abigail Williams shows that when she says “I know how you clutched my back behind your house and sweated like a stallion whenever I come near” (Act I, lines 423-425). John broke his marriage vows, but even though he regrets he has become a tragic hero. It’s too late to regret he has sinned, he has ruined his marriage with Elizabeth and now she is not pleased with him. Due to the fact that he has cheated on Elizabeth, his outlook in life is negative, when He tells her “I have not moved from there to there without I think to please you” (Act II, lines 159-161). The affair also caused Elizabeth to distrust John, who for seven months was trying to get into her good graces and is tired of her suspicion. Because of John's inability to control his desire and resist temptation, his life is being turned upside down by the jealousy and need for revenge of Abigail, marking the beginning of his downfall and path to becoming a tragic hero. As a result, the need for revenge of Abigail marks the beginning of John downfall.
After being tried and condemned to death, John refuses to confess. But he doesn’t want to die because of some witches that are just making lies. So he signs the paper that is going to be nailed to the church door saying he has committed sins. He asks himself “God in heaven, what is John Proctor, what is John Proctor.” He is asking if John Proctor is considered honest or a liar. Because he knows he did nothing wrong in his life but he is accused and no one wants to believe him. But he shortly takes back his claim and refuses to sign it because he doesn’t want his friends being condemned for his actions, “I speak my own sins, I cannot judge another. I have no tongue for it.” So by doing so he answers part of the question “What is John Proctor” by coming forth on his own view of himself. John Proctor cannot live with the lie if he had signed that confession, so he will die by his own honesty.
The Crucible, a play written by Arthur Miller, is a chronological narrative including a large cast of characters with a constantly moving setting.* The Crucible is a dramatization of the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 and an allegory of the McCarthyism period. Throughout the play, Miller explores the destruction of freedom by the ignorant and tyrannical society in which his characters live.* By exhibiting how easily a member of the community can become an outcast, Arthur Miller displays social criticism in the Puritan society as well as in today's society in The Crucible.
The Crucible by Arthur Miller is an interpretation of the Salem witch trials of 1692 in Puritan Massachusetts in which religion, justice, individuality and dignity play a vital role. These factors define the characteristics of many of the most significant characters in the play. Some of them being John Proctor, Rebecca Nurse, Reverend Hale, Danforth and many others. The Salem witch trials were a result of the lack of expression of individuality and the fact that no individual could expect justice from the majority culture as a result of the deterioration of human dignity in the Puritan society of Salem.
The primary dramatic focus in the play The Crucible is the moral struggle of its protagonist, John Proctor. Certain characteristics of John Proctor's character and also the environment of the Puritanical Salem alleviated this problem for him. The main issues running through out the play are a series of dilemmas that John Proctor faces. The first and foremost of these is his guilt over his adulterous affair with Abigail Williams, the second his hesitation to testify against Abigail to bring out the truth and the third, his final decision to make the ultimate sacrifice.
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
The Crucible is a lengthy theatrical that delves into the time of the Salem witch trials. The author, Arthur Miller, depicts a dark time in which no one is safe from the questionable accusations of a few girls caught in a lie and trying to save their own skins. Miller introduces the protagonist, John Proctor, as a “sinner,” while some critics view him as a Christlike figure. John Proctor is a good man because he supports his family, practices his religion, and never fell for the witchcraft insanity that the rest of Salem fell for.
The Crucible is a play that takes place in Salem, Massachusetts during the year 1692 and in short contains Abigail the Reverend’s niece accusing several women of practicing witchcraft. This leads to a witch-hunt. John Proctor and his wife Elisabeth realize that Abigail, with whom John once had an affair with, started all this in order to get Elizabeth hung in order for her to be able to get back together with John. Trying to save his wife’s life John testifies in court about the affair. Elizabeth trying to save her husband, and not knowing he admitted to it, denies it causing John to be accused of witchcraft. John was offered the chance to sign a confession and save his life but refuses to do so as he is concerned over the innocent citizens
The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, is a intense play about the Salem witch trials in Massachusetts set around 1692. The play consisted of the people in Salem being accused of witchcraft. Causing the whole town to question each other's faith. Arthur Miller is the best author who used writing craft to convey meaning because of irony, characterization, and foreshadowing in his play The Crucible. Arthur Miller uses irony to show disagreement between characters.
In the book “The Crucible” is about The Salem Witch Trials that took place in 1692 and ended in 1693. Arthur Miller wrote the book about the trials that were so hateful. His book was made a play and stared John Proctor who was affected greatly by the crucible. He tries to keep his “name” and morals end up forcing him to surrender. The act of vengeance of one girl's, Abigail, made the towns people choose sides.
The Crucible Essay In The Crucible and life there are many examples of how human failures has lead to tragic consequences. The Crucible is a play written by Arthur Miller and takes place in Salem, Massachusetts 1692. John Proctor is going through a very hard time dealing with the Salem Witch Trials, and person issues. Their town has supposedly been taken over by black magic, and the pressure has caused people to break.
The play The Crucible is a play written in 1952 about the Salem witch trials and compares it to the McCarthyism communist hunt of the 1950s. John proctor was just a simple farmhand in the town of Salem but when word spreads of witches in Salem John eventually gets accused like those in the McCarthy communist hunts, and is hanged for witchcraft. Arthur Miller uses John to portray all of the people that were wrongfully accused during the McCarthyism era. John proctor has many defining attributes throughout the play The Crucible. some of which are Noble, Courageous, Religious, and Caring.
The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a work that presses the issue of man versus society. One character who opposes the will of society is John Proctor, due to his moral and ethical values. The main conflict was his struggle to get his life back after his affair. John is faced with ethical issues that go against his values, but with society’s. John’s will to go against society is extreme.
Arthur Miller's The Crucible was written in 1953 and is set in the year 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts. It all began when several young girls were stricken with witchcraft starting with Reverend Parris's daughter Betty. The girls began choosing townspeople that either them or their families didn't like, to be accused. The most admirable character in The Crucible is John Proctor, because he is complex in his beliefs about what the witch trials mean. He also is one of the reasons that many people survive the trials.
There were many conflicts present in The Crucible but basing it off of pure interest, the most obvious conflict is between John Proctor and Abigail Williams. They've had problems since the story started. The first conflict was John Proctor's ignoring of Abigail's attempts at reconciling their relationship. For example, when Abigail said ¨Give me a word, John. A soft word.¨ and John replies with ¨No, no, Abby.