The Real John Proctor
Witchcraft was a common but hated word in Salem. In the book The Crucible by ‘Aurthur Miller, you did do witchcraft and you dont get hung, or you say you didnt do witchcraft and get hung for it. Since John Proctors motivated by keeping his family safe and his decision to admit adultry, establishes a twist by the end of the play. One of the few motivations that John Proctor was, protecting his family and keeping them safe. John was willing to do any thing for his family to protect them. (QUOTE) John Proctor was willing to risk anything to save his family and keep them safe. They meant everything to him. Johns will to flight for his family’s safety was a struggle for him but he risked his own life to keep them
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That choice effected him greatly by having to get involved in court. Also has to force being hung or not. All of this was mostly to protect Elizebeth. ‘..she’ll ruin you with it, i know she will’ ‘Good. Than her saintliness is done with(1071) .This is where john told Marry Waren to tell the court twho put the needle in the poppet, but than relizes that Abigail will chage lechery, but he is fine with it as long as her saintliness is over. He relizes that he could get hanged, but he would rather get hanged than his wife. He doesn’t want his wife to die for him. John Proctor is willing to risk his own life to tell the truth rather than lie and lose his pride and his family’s reputation. He would rather die keeping his pride than lie and save his self but lose his family’s good name. John and Abigail’s affair was the worst thing John could have done. But with is fight and will power, he managed to make everything right again for his …show more content…
Later on in the book, he sacrificed his own life to save his loved ones. “...because i lie and sign myself to lie…” “...i am not worth the dust on my feet of them that to hang. How may i live without my name. I have given you my soul, leave me my name” This quote represents John when he didnt want to sign the paper because he didn’t want it to hang on the church door and leave his family with a bad name. In the beginning when John commited adultery with Abigailand gtot put in jail he lost his pride, trust, in many people. But when he ripped the paper many people includi g his wife saw that even tho its hard, he made the right choice. ‘He have goodness now. God forbid i take it frm him) (1112). By the end of the play John’s character has changed drasticlly. He became more truthful and a good man who was willing to give up anything for his
John’s affair created and inner struggle/conflict for him. He was always wanting to what was right but his affair with Abigail constantly held him back. How could he accuse others for doing wrong when he was holding a dirty secret himself? He wanted Abigail’s lies to stop but he couldn’t stop her unless he came out clean. Then finally, one day he couldn’t take it anymore, the guilt was eating him alive and he had to put an end to Abigail’s lies, so he admitted to the court that he had committed lechery. He worked through his fears and struggles and did what was right for a greater cause. But it ended up not doing anything.
First of all, reputation is a huge issue for John Proctor, both internally and externally. From the very beginning, John is extremely concerned about word escaping about his adulterous acts with Abigail. If anyone were to find out, his good reputation as a respectable farmer in Salem would have been cast away by nasty looks. A lack of willingness to give up his good name also stopped John from admitting anything he knew about Abigail to possibly save lives. He cared more about having a clean name than completely halting the trials to begin with. In the end of the play, John Proctor is put to death
Proctor says to her, "You're coming to the court with me, Mary. You will tell it in the court." (Miller 80). This is to prove that he is not in volved in witchcraft. He does not want his name to even be associated with the thought. He there fore makes Mary testify to the court about her doll and therefore clears the accusation that he was doing what we consider voo-doo. Furthermore, at the end of the play Proctor is persistent by saying that no matter what anyone says to convince him differently, he would rather die an honest man and save his name. John Proctor took pride in his name. It took persistency to make his intent clear to others.He eventually dies for his cause. Therefore making him a martyr.
To begin, family life and friendship was very important to John Proctor, husband, and father of three. If he lived then he could not possibly raise his kids to be men in the world if he himself was a fraud of a man. He wanted to teach them that they should stand up for what they believe in and not give into pressure by others in life. By dying, he taught his kids that not only was he a honorable man, but he also was a good example of standing your ground and doing the right thing. John Proctor is not a man known to go to church often, but he must of remembered this quote from the bible: "No one has love greater than this that someone should surrender his soul in behalf of his friends"(John 15:13). This quote means that someone who surrenders his or her soul for their friends has lots of love, and by dying and standing up for what he believed in he taught his kids a valuable lesson.
Proctor states “I say—I say—God is dead!” when he was demanded to confess to witchcraft. Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible” reveals how a hysterical and evil people can use religion as a mask to conceal their true identity. John Proctor has a secret, his affair with Abigail Williams led to Abigail’s jealousy of his wife, Elizabeth, which starts the entire witch hysteria. Elizabeth was persecuted for being a “witch”. However, Elizabeth couldn’t be hanged because it is found that she is pregnant. The children who were “possessed” by witches held grudges against the accused. Proctor knew that Abigail was a fraud, however he couldn’t prove it. Proctor soon realizes that he can end Abigail’s rampage through Salem. It was only if he admit to his adultery.
Imagine being accused of something you never did just because someone had something against you. That is exactly what the characters in “The Crucible” were going through. The author, Arthur Miller, used the play as an allegory. He wanted to compare the Salem witch trials to the McCarthyism. McCarthyism, created by Joseph P. McCarthy, was popular during the cold war and it falsely accused people of being a communist with no evidence to support the accusation. It became popular because of the spread of communism in China and Europe. In the United States, anyone could accuse someone of being a communist and could ruin their lives. That is exactly what Miller was trying to portray in “The Crucible.” If someone accused another person of witchcraft their whole lives could be turned upside down. They could even possibly be hanged. Throughout the story there are an abundance of arguments. Most of the arguments come from Act III in the courthouse. The arguments are all different, but they all end up being the same in the sense that people are being falsely accused. The arguments that are like that include Giles accusing Putnam, Proctor accusing Abigail, and Parris accusing Proctor.
In 1962 the penalty of witchcraft was to be hung or smashed. There was a big outburst of witchcraft and spells that were going around among the people of Massachusetts in 1962. Some of the women of Salem began the witchcraft many people started to catch on and fallow them. A lot of these people were hung do to what the bible said about the wrongs of witchcraft. When these women of Salem Massachusetts started to do witchcraft and pass it on to other people they were put on trial for their actions, which at the time was, illegal. It had caught on all over England and was spreading fast. Arthur Miller made a play called the Crucible that was about the Salem witchcraft trials. Arthur miller took the historical
John initially believed his reputation was everything, but once Elizabeth was accused and arrested, his only mindset was to save her, even if it cost him everything. After John decided to confess, he then changed his mind, deciding to take back his confession, and crying out, “Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies! Because I am not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang!”
John Proctor lived in Salem, Massachusetts. Salem had been struck with witchcraft rumors that were started by a manipulative teenage girl named Abigail. He knows that the girls were sporting, and blaming innocent people of supernatural crimes that cannot occur. John Proctor’s wife Elizabeth had been accused of witchery, as a form of revenge from Abigail. Abigail had strong feelings for John Proctor, and wanted to get rid of Elizabeth. In the end John Proctor tried to do the right thing by saving his wife from his own sins. Therefore his sins put the love of his life in a great risk of dying. Throughout The Crucible John Proctor was seen as a smart, argumental and brave man. However, the town did not see him as a puritan or a good
In William Shakespeare's Macbeth, we see contradiction and ambition where Macbeth will kill all to protect himself. Compared to Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, John proctor, a local farmer, who will do anything to protect his name in Salem. Both of these characters are in the process of self-questioning but they are very different people when it comes to making decisions. In the following, you will note that the two characters have opposite morals, influential wives who changed them differently, and the way they end their lives.
This however lead to problems with John committing adultery with Abigail. Abigail then uses the witch hunt as an outlet to have John all to herself and try to kill Elizabeth. John acts as though he has a higher social status than women and cannot fathom when his power is
John is rational and reasonable with his arguments but fear and paranoia swiftly swept into the town of Salem and soon nobody could trust anybody. After John finds out Abigail is out for his wife he starts to become a little more panicked and frantic too. The thought of losing his beloved wife would have broken his heart and he would never be
Initially, John displays the steady manner of a troubled soul. He is a flawful man who considers himself to be undesirable. This opinion of himself is prominent because he had an affair on his wife Elizabeth with Abigail Williams. He feels he is not worthy of a ritual for forgiveness; He is upset with himself for committing adultery. John promised to himself that he would end this type of behavior and vow his life wholly to Elizabeth. John firmly tells Abigail, “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” (Miller 23). He states this in order to make it clear to Abigail that he no longer wishes to be affiliated with her in such a way. John resents his old ways and looks at himself with disdain. Although John is a respected man in Salem, he “has come to regard himself as a kind of fraud” (Miller 21). He
He is faced with extreme conflict due to the fact that he committed one of the biggest sins there is: adultery. Proctor then has to decide whether he wants to confess his sin in order to save his wife or to be selfish and live a slandered reputation. Just as John Proctor makes the decision to save his wife’s life and his family's reputation, so too will any person that believes it is more important to put their family above
With having three children and a wife, in an all puritan society, one could see why he is being defensive of committing adultery. It is at that point unearthed that the reason John is regretful of his actions is because Elizabeth, his wife, caught them herself committing the sinning, as Abigail states “she put me out” (Miller 23). The onlookers of play must then make their own ruminations of John’s feelings concerning Abigail; questioning, if he actually loves her. The circumstance in which we are presented the evidence reasons that John, did in fact, have feelings for Abigail; however, only because his own wife wouldn’t give him the “attention” he thought he deserved. As well as Abigail claiming Elizabeth to be “sickly” (Miller 23). Nonetheless, this inquiry follows through the excess of the drama as Proctor begins to acknowledge his own wrong doings.