What Does John Proctor Symbolize In The Crucible

Furthermore, According to, John Proctor and the Crucible of Individuation in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, Michelle I Pearson, states, “Proctor's hypocrisy surrounds his dealings with and about Abigail. In committing adultery with Abigail, Proctor has sinnednot only against the moral fashion of the time, but against his own vision of decent conduct" (18). He wishes, however, to deny this sin both to himself and to others.” This criticism helps

In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, it is evident that John Proctor is the tragic hero. Concluding through evidence in the play, it is fairly simple to connect him with separate parts of the definition. He makes his share of mistakes, just as many human beings do. John Proctor is fundamentally a good man, with respectable

The first step for Proctor to regain his self-respect is when he goes to the court armed with three main weapons in order to free his wife, Abigail’s admission to him that there was no witchcraft, Mary Warren’s testimony and finally, Proctor is prepared to admit that he and Abigail had an affair. This would blacken Abigail’s now saintly reputation and discredit her in the eyes of the court. Even though Proctor’s goal of freeing Elizabeth and putting an end to the hysteria is not achieved, he takes significant steps towards regaining his self-respect. The first step being that he does not stop fighting the false accusations even after he finds out that Elizabeth is pregnant and therefore safe for the time being. He feels he owes a greater duty to the community and proceeds. The second step is that he has now just openly admitted his adulterous lechery; he is no longer a hypocrite. He has publicly embraced his sin.

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.

John Proctor used his blunt-spoken mind to convey the truth to the courts and showed how he did change with how he saw other people such as Abigail.

Since the times of the ancient Greeks, tragic heroes have been used to enhance the meaning of a play or literary work. Any character cannot be described as tragic hero. Several key characteristics are necessary for the tragic hero to possess in order to be characterized as such. He must be high-ranked or have a high standing in the community. He must have a weakness or a tragic flaw and be involved in a struggle. In the end, that struggle will lead to his downfall. Arthur Miller purposely incorporates these characteristics into John Proctor, one of the main figures in The Crucible. He masterfully portrays Proctor as a tragic hero even though he is a common man.

Throughout the story, John Proctor realizes his mistakes and grows as a person. I believe John Proctor’s best quality is his honesty even though at the beginning he is struggling with honesty. By the end of the play Proctor has nothing left to hide, which we can see in this quote, “trembling, his life collapsing about him: I have known her, sir. I have known her” (Miller 110). This quote shows Proctor is willing to throw out his dignity in order to save the town from this conspiracy.

John Proctor is a symbolic Christ figure in the Crucible. Despite his lustful sin for Abigail, he still is a symbolic Christ figure. As we know it, Jesus was a righteous man. He did everything for the benefit of the people and he came to save the world. Humans have proven to be so ignorant. John Proctor cared for Salem and he wanted to bring justice and truth in Salem. As a well know Christ figure, Proctor epitomizes a being that shows a multitude of characteristics of Proctor. The confrontation of evil in the society, the hanging of Proctor, and resistance to temptation.

Throughout the play, Proctor struggles with his honor as he changes from viewing it as his reputation to believing it is based on his own private moral of truth. The isolated Puritan community in which Proctor lives forces him to try and achieve a pious and perfect lifestyle, which ultimately pressures him into lying about his affair with Abigail in order to maintain a good reputation. This view changes in the courtroom, when Proctor becomes extremely frustrated with the lies and deceit that Abigail is telling the judges, Proctor screams in anger, “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

Proctor portrays his honesty in many ways. First, he confesses to the court about his affair with Abigail. This shows that he is willing to admit his wrongdoings. Secondly, Proctor also denies Abigail when she comes to him again. He knows he has made a mistake in getting involved with her in the first place and does not want to make the same mistake again. John Proctor shows his honesty when he says to

as his beliefs. This paper will discuss Proctor's change in character and his struggle with getting to

When Mary Warren reveals that she knows about Proctors and Abigail’s affair, before Elizabeth is taken away, Proctor is aggressive and prepared to use violence towards Mary in order to stop her from going to the court, Mary says she has to go o the court, this makes Proctor angry so he replies “ I’ll official you! “ Proctor thinks that Mary should be subservient as she’s just a common servant but as Mary knows his secret his attitude changes towards her. At this point in the play Proctor acknowledges that all might have to come public. This is a significant moment as he’s willing to blacken his good name in order to save his wife. Proctor comes to term that Mary may be the answer to their problem.

He lead a life full of guilt though the townspeople known him as a honest respected man. I would say in the beginning you could classify him physiologically as the wound that won't heal his guilt won't go away but a reader couldn't look at him as a guilty man until they have read act1 and act2. His archetype that had changed to over time was to the tragic hero, john had to redeem himself someway and all in the efforts to save his wife. Proctor shows signs of being a tragic hero when he attempts to go into court to save his wife and prove the girls liars. However, he ends up being accused himself.It is evident, that John Proctor is the tragic hero. This is demonstrated by his relentless crusade to free his wife, expose the children as frauds, and not confessing to witchcraft. Arthur Miller chooses John Proctor to be the tragic hero of the story because Proctor had so much too

He used Idealism to try to take people’s suspicion off of him and pointed out other people that looked as if they were witches. Proctor falsely accused several people that were killed as suspected witches, and he was just trying to not be caught and be accused himself. This character flaw that Proctor shows is one of the main flaws just of the fact that he shows it so much throughout the story. The third and probably the least important flaw that Proctor uses is stubbornness that pretty much describes him.

John Proctor initially remains uninvolved in the process of witchcraft allegations and is the only character in the play who clearly sees it for what it is, as ‘little crazy children jangling the keys of the kingdom’. However once his wife is arrested Proctor begins to actively fight the court, voicing his opposing views and clearly stating that he ‘like not the smell of this authority’. In this struggle, the fact that he ‘ploughed on Sunday’ and his absence from ‘Sabbath meetings’ are all seen as adequate proof that he is ‘with the devil’. The courts reaction to Proctors small deviations from standard social protocol are reflective of the way societies all over the globe often condemn those who are different. The consequences of such actions are further highlighted in Proctors refusal to give the oppressive authorities what they want by signing an accusation which is ‘fraud’. While this ultimately signifies his triumph over the court and its leaders and the breaking of the repressive theocratic regime, his impending death shows the price he has to pay for his fight against oppression. Ultimately, Proctor can be seen as a representation of the individuals or minority groups who choose to oppose the repressive nature of humankind. Furthermore, his demise clearly illustrates the dangers that such a society imposes and consequences that one potentially faces when attempting to overthrow this