John Proctor Conflict

John Proctor is a very friendly man. Everyone likes being his friend. He is open, kind, helpful, upright, blunt-spoken, and just a good, hard-working man. John has lots of faith in God but little in humans. He knows that mankind is good but he also knows that they are weak and imperfect. “Proctor: I’ve heard you to be a sensible man, Mr. Hale. I hope you’ll leave some of it in Salem”.

A Tragic hero is a character who experiences a major downfall as the results of a personal mistake or the workings of fate. There are many tragic heroes in the play The Crucible, But the one that comes to mind is John Proctor for several reasons. It all starts out with the affair with Abigail, when that affair happens John Proctor breaks his wedding vows and violate the moral convictions of the community by engaging in an adultery affair with Abigail. John Proctor is a classic example of a tragic hero in the play, The Crucible for several reasons…

but he is the only one in the entire play who told the truth and his life ends up being taken from him ("PROCTOR: I falter nothing, but I

John Proctor is portrayed throughout the play to be a man who has high moral values that he must abide by. He

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

In the previous winter, John’s wife Elizabeth had become very ill. John Proctor had an affair during

Since John Proctor behaves as an essentially good and upright man throughout the story, his tragic death stirs pity and fear in the audience. The audience cannot help but

Proctor has many character traits that contribute to him being so difficult to figure out. His crime of lechery against his wife and his willingness to save her both are intermixed in a tangle of

We see a profound shift in Proctor’s idea of himself as he faces his death, claiming: “for now I do think I see some shred of goodness in John Proctor” (Miller 144). With his final decision to not confess to a false accusation, he has redeemed himself by preserving his highly revered honesty, reducing his intense internal guilt, and ultimately restoring his personal honor. Despite being given the opportunity to escape this accusation, Proctor’s honor code compels him to give up his life, thus preventing the accusations against other members of his community from gaining any credibility.

After Elizabeth discarded Abigail from helping her around the Proctor’s house, Elizabeth continued to give John the cold-shoulder. However, before they both knew it, Elizabeth was to be arrested for witchcraft and sent to jail. John fought to have her accusations abolished, but little did he know Abigail was the one who brought upon the charges. Abigail not only accused Elizabeth of witchcraft, but she also accused many other

prove to his wife that he should be trusted again. The dishonesty of the betrayal of Elizabeth and his

Johns tragedy to his hero life was his lust for Abigail while married to Elizabeth. Abigail speaks of their affair when John comes to see what has happened with Betty and to send Mary home; “ABIGAIL: I know how you clutched my back behind your house and sweated like a stallion whenever I come near! Or did I dream that? It's she put me out, you cannot pretend it were you. I saw your face when she put me out, and you loved me then and you do now!” (Miller 21), a couple lines later John tries to stop it, “PROCTOR: Abby, I may think of you softly from time to time. But I will cut off my hand before I’ll ever reach of you again. Wipe it out of mind. We never touched, Abby.” (Miller 22). In Act Three, while they are in court John confesses. He says, “I have known her, sir. I have known her.” (Miller 102), that actually means he has had sex with her. After John confesses his ‘good name’ takes a turn for the worse, and he is no longer the John Proctor everyone trusted. “PROCTOR: … I have rung the doom of my good name…” (Miller 103), this is when John, and everyone else know he is no longer the ‘hero’ he is thought to be.

Despite outspoken personality and qualities as a critical thinker, John Proctor is far from being a perfect human being. In his notes, Arthur Miller describes him as a sinner, "a sinner not only against the moral fashion of the time, but against his own vision of decent conduct." (P.20) Similar to Jesus who was tempted in the desert and taunted by the pharisees, Proctor's journey is riddled with hardships. He strives to overcome them and to follow his moral compass over the course of the novel. When Abigail Morris seeks him out after being fired, he has the courage to overcome his lust and to end their relationship. He boldly claims: "I will cut off my hand before I'll ever reach for you again" (P.22) Moreover, he spends months trying to regain

When Proctor makes his decision Elizabeth won’t comment on it. This shows that she now knows her place and knows that its his own decision. Proctor realises that his wife is the only one he’ll ever love. The audience respect proctors decision as they know that this is the right one.

A wise philosopher named  Friedrich Nietzsche once said, “even today a crude sort of persecution is all that is required to create an honorable name for any sect, no matter how indifferent in itself.” People who are guilty of nothing spend their entire lives trying to uphold an honorable name, but depending on the circumstances they may have to sacrifice their life in order to do so.  In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, people in the town of Salem, Massachusetts are put through severe trials to see if they are guilty of practicing witchcraft. Many people are falsely accused, but decide to confess to something that they never did to save their own lives. By confessing, they are throwing away their name and reputation. John Proctor is among the many who are wrongfully accused. He must make a challenging decision whether to die honorably or to live with a slandered name that would affect his children’s future. John Proctor’s great dilemma changes throughout the course of the play because he faces having to appeal to Abigail, his wife, and the court all while attempting to uphold his respectable reputation.