Who is actually responsible for John Proctor’s death? The answer to that isn’t so cut and dry. There are alot of factors that lead up to causing Mr.Proctor’s death. Those factors are the affair he had, Abby williams, Mary Warren, John Proctor himself, Elizabeth, Parris, John’s children,and Mr.Danforth. John is, at the end of the day, the reason he’s dead. Everything else is what influenced him.
John really only has himself to blame for him dying, because he made the choice to turn from his wife and sleep with Abby. Abby thought John actually loved her, when in all reality she was just a fling. This caused tensions between John and his wife Elizabeth. John cannot forgive himself for what he’s done so the whole play he’s playing with the guilt inside of him. Later in the play Abby accuses Elizabeth of being a witch, with the alternative motive of her dying and Abby can be with John. This causes John to relay on Mary and go to court. John’s only hope to get her free was Mary Warren. The reason Mary Warren is a factor in John’s death was because she flipped on him and called him out as a witch in court which got him condemned. She put him in the position to lose his life. Her character has showed that she gives in when there is a chance she will get
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Mr.Danforth gave John a chance to sign a confession to save his life, but John wouldn’t let them post it in town for the sake of his kids. He told Mr.Danforth that his name was the only thing he had left and he had given Danforth his soul, then asked if it was enough. John didn’t want his kids to be looked down upon because he signed his confession. He tore up the confession and was finally ready to die for what he believed in. He was willing to die for his kids so they didn’t have to be looked down upon as the children of a
The Salem witch trials was a story of envy, lies, and the danger of the people. Others wouldn’t defend those accused, and if they did, they themselves were eventually charged as witches. In many ways, defending others was condemning yourself. Such was the case for John Proctor in “The Crucible”. John Proctor was someone who had made mistakes, but through his own crucible made peace with himself and defended the honor of himself and the others that would not admit to witchcraft.
Who committed the greater evil? Hester Prynne or John Proctor? In The Crucible, John Proctor had a wife who was extremely ill. He committed adultery with the house servant, Abigail Williams, for that reason. Hester Prynne from The Scarlet Letter, was a beautiful woman living without her husband. The lonesome woman had an affair with Dimmesdale, the town’s reverend. Both John Proctor and Hester Prynne both went against the Puritan beliefs. However, John Proctor is guiltier of committing adultery compared to Hester Prynne and if John Proctor were to meet Hester Prynne, he would respect her.
Proctor had a special relationship with Abigail, who is basically the head master of all the executions. This relationship gave John the advantage of telling whether or not she was lying, which she was and he knew that. Having that bond with Abigail, he was able to know that she was lying nonetheless he kept it to himself until it was too late. Keeping that huge secret caused more and more innocent people to be hanged for a crime they didn’t even commit.
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.
During Act 3, in the courtroom, Danforth asks Proctor if he is willing to drop the charges since Elizabeth’s life is no longer at stake. Proctor responds to Danforth’s question with, “I-I think I cannot.” He says this because he cannot stop when his friends and their wives are also falsely accused. Throughout Act 3, John explains to Danforth, “A man would not cast away his good name. You surely know that.” Here, John confessed to having an affair with Abigail Williams during court and explains to him that he would not lie to him and ruin his good
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.
John Proctor is one of the main characters in the Crucible. He was indicted of witchcraft because of he violated the law several times. Examples that helped the church assume he was a witch was him stating that the girls who were “possessed” were liars & frauds, setting everything up to accuse other villagers of witchcraft. He also couldn’t remember the 10 commandments, didn’t attend church regularly, & apparently plowed on Sundays which was considered a high offense back then. John’s trial was extremely unequitable.
John Proctor is mainly responsible for his own death. He had an affair with Abigail Williams, which led to her becoming obsessed with him. Abigail was so determined to be with Proctor that she accused Elizabeth Proctor of witchcraft in order to take her place as Proctor’s spouse. In
In 1692, witchcraft was known as an evil sin to be commited on Earth, if accused of witchcraft, trial and execution was likely to happen and proceeded to happen to many innocent people. One well-known accussal was that of John Proctor. Proctor had committed adultery with Abigail Williams, a previous maid of the Proctor house, and once coming clean for his sin, in turn of events backfires and is accused of witchcraft. John Proctor is seen as a protagonist of the story full of courage and boldness when fighting for his life and good name in court. At the time, all possible outcomes were not at the top of his head but then he had to go through twists and turns to save his wife, Elizabeth, as well as himself. In The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, John Proctor's character traits is shown to be a cheater, fearless, and courageous. Therefore, John Proctor's character can be portrayed through the song "Womanizer" by
The witch trials in this play were based on actual events that happened in Salem in 1692. Arthur Miller’s 1953 The Crucible is a dramatization of the Salem Witch Trials. His reasoning for writing it was because everyone was hysteric about the Soviet Union and communism trying to make its way over to the United States. It was like a modern day witch hunt. In the play, Abigail Williams and a group of girls get caught in the woods. They were dancing and doing other things that puritan’s looked down upon. The girls were caught by Reverend Parris, and soon after his daughter became ‘ill’. The girls then started saying that witches came to them and told them to do bad things. They sent innocent people to hang. After studying Arthur Miller’s
Throughout the entire play of The Crucible, John Proctor truly grew as a person, while later fixing his sins and making moral decisions. John Proctor had truly gone through a lot in the play, both emotionally and physically, being that he was wrongfully accused of witchcraft. Although some might contradict this statement, John Proctor loved his wife, Elizabeth, because even though he may have questioned her worth in the past, he always confesses his sins and does what he can to make it right, which is a true quality of a man. Along with this, John Proctor portrays characteristics of a Puritan because he always remains true to his family, alike he must stay true to God, therefore proving to him that John Proctor always stays true.
In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible it is clear that the development of the play is about John Proctor’s tragic condition. Miller uses this aspect to compel the audience to see why Proctor did what he did and to develop a sense of empathy for him. John Proctor overall is both flawed and honorable. He has a complete reversal of fate brought upon by his own flaw. John Proctor is a tragic hero because he contains all of the characteristics of a tragic hero, such as catharsis and hamartia, despite not being born into nobility, he has many noble characteristics.
Was John and Abigail’s affair ultimately what ended his life? John Proctor was a good man, but he had not died because of an affair. He died because of his actions and conflict with others. In Salem, 1692, his affair with Abigail was intriguingly what ultimately ended his life, but had it not been what also started the climax, which led to his death. People he had conflict with, such as Abigail and Mary--and his actions, that were mainly what also had contributed. Abigail Williams could be a major component, for her twisted revenge on Elizabeth and her actions for redemption--and as well as Mary Warren, for her cowardice and a change of heart. Even John Proctor’s own actions might had led to his death because that he chose death… over worked
In the play The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, the character John Proctor will not lie and confess to something he did not do. Thus, he is hanged for his principles. Proctor has two main principles he felt were more important to respect and uphold than his own life. The most obvious one was his reputation. In theocratic Salem, where private and public ethics are regarded equally, one’s reputation plays an important role. In such an environment where reputation is regarded so highly many are afraid of guilt by association. Various characters base their actions on the desire to protect their own reputations, in order to keep them in the best light possible. Towards the beginning of the play, John Proctor sought to keep his good name
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.