Crucible: The Crucible and Proctor Essay

Submitted By NOTNICE11
Words: 787
Pages: 4
Open Document
The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a classical tragedy, with John Proctor as the play’s protagonist. Honest, upright, and blunt-spoken, Proctor is a good man, but one with a secret, fatal flaw. His lust for Abigail Williams led to their affair. This created Abigail’s jealousy of his wife, Elizabeth, which sets the entire witch frenzy in motion. Once the trials begin, Proctor realizes that he can stop Abigail’s rampage through Salem but only if he confesses to his adultery. Such an admission would ruin his good name. He eventually makes an attempt, through Mary Warren’s testimony, to name Abigail as a fraud without revealing crucial information. When this attempt fails, he finally bursts out with a confession, calling Abigail a “whore” and proclaiming his guilt publicly. Only then does he realize that it is too late, that matters have gone too far, and that not even the truth can break the powerful frenzy that he has allowed Abigail to whip up. Proctor’s confession succeeds only in leading to his arrest and conviction as a witch. What is the “Shred of goodness,” that Proctor discovers. At this point in the play Proctor is really conflicted. He was indecisive whether or not to confess and consults with his wife on what he should do. Proctor asks Elizabeth “I have been thinking I would confess to them, Elizabeth what say you,” (Miller, 236).He explains to Elizabeth that he holds out because he wants his persecutors to feel the weight of guilt for seeing him hanged when they know he is innocent. Elizabeth responds to John, “Whatever you will do, it is a good man that does it” (Miller, 236). After wrestling with his conscience for a long time, Proctor agrees to confess. Proctor tells Hathorne, “I will have my life” (Miller, 237). Proctor agrees to confess because for the first time in a long time, John and Elizabeth are being honest with each other. John realizes that by living, he will have an opportunity to start over in his marriage and to raise his children. Elizabeth admits to John that not only does she forgive him for his affair, but she also admits that it is partially her fault. Both John and Elizabeth have much to live for and look forward to it in the future. They know what's important, and this makes John want to live. Proctor begins to change his mind about confessing when he sees the shame that Rebecca Nurse has when she finds out Proctor has "sold out." Rebecca asks Proctor, “Why, John,” (Miller, 237). Later she states, “Oh, John. God send His mercy on you,” (Miller, 237). John recognizes that even though he might want to live or he might have the feeling of guilt and shame, he is not going to be held captive by these feelings. Danforth demands that he physically sign, permanently linking his name to it, he realizes what is going on. Great tension builds up between Proctor and Danforth. They argue about Proctor physically signing the confession. Proctor in response to Danforth yells, “Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another
Show More

Related Documents: Crucible: The Crucible and Proctor Essay

John Proctor In The Crucible

John Proctor and His Motives in The Crucible Proctor was predestined to die. It was inevitable. Reading through The Crucible by Arthur Miller, one might see how this is true. The Crucible is formatted as a play, but the emotional aspects are described well enough to be a novel. As hero of this novel, Proctor must overcome his obstacles, and defeat the villain. The only way for these things to happen while Proctor is in jail is for him to die without confessing. To find this element, a reader truly…

Words 2043 - Pages 9

John Proctor In The Crucible

The book The Crucibles takes place in 1692 at Salem,Massachusetts. It’s about these crazy lunatic people claiming and blaming others and saying that they are witches.Then the judges of Salem would decide if they would get hanged or burned to death if they don’t confess to being a witch. and then they wouldn’t be killed but they would lose their property and it wouldn’t go to their family but to other people.There are many characters in the Crucible but John Proctor is one of the main characters.Procter…

Words 578 - Pages 3

The Role Of Proctor In The Crucible

Miller point out as if Proctor is the main hero if “The Crucible “. Proctor goes threw a lot of tragic obstacle, same for all the other characters, but for Proctor everyone knows he is innocent. Proctor was being loyal to god and not admitting he “seen the devil”, he knows this whole witchcraft and Abigail with all her exaggerated devil signs she has, is all a lie. Each character were all accused of witchcraft and most of them were hanged. Proctor was the main character who showed everyone he was…

Words 252 - Pages 2

John Proctor The Crucible

In The Crucible written by Arthur Miller, John Proctor is portrayed as a wealthy farmer living in Salem, Massachusetts. Well-respected amongst the townsfolk, Proctor worked hard to provide for his family. Though, when the notorious witch trials began in 1692, bits and pieces of Proctor’s spirit began to wash away into the depths of hysteria following the false accusations being made. In Puritan society, if someone was accused of witchcraft, that person would be immediately condemned to death. Several…

Words 599 - Pages 3

Elizabeth Proctor In The Crucible

If a husband cheated on a wife would the wife forgive him? Elizabeth Proctor is a dynamic character in The Crucible. During the era of the Salem witch trials people wanted to keep their reputations clean and not have others think of them badly. If you had a bad reputation then you would be ignored or worse get accused of witchcraft. Elizabeth Proctor loved her husband but she was blinded by his mistakes.In the end she looked past his mistake and found that she truly loved him and didn’t want anything…

Words 820 - Pages 4

The Role Of John Proctor In The Crucible

Could John Proctor be considered an honorable man? John Proctor is a real person that was involved in the salem witch trials. He also had a big role in the crucible, which is based on the salem witch trials. considering he died for his friends and family, he could be considered an honorable man to many people. John proctor was one to stick to beliefs. On page 158 line 736 giles corey says that john doesn't believe in witches and proctor sticks to that belief all throughout the story. John says and…

Words 317 - Pages 2

The Crucible John Proctor Essay

John Proctor is an important character in The Crucible and is the husband of Elizabeth Proctor: one of the many women accused of witchcraft. During the story he repeatedly expressed his hatred of Abigail Williams and the corrupt court of Salem. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, John Proctor is an honorable, loving, and selfless man which leads him to be accused of witchcraft, and later hanged. First off, while John Proctor challenges the theocracy of Salem; he is still a extremely honorable man…

Words 685 - Pages 3

John Proctor Integrity In The Crucible

While reading The Crucible I came across a few characters.This book is an allegory of the MCcarthy era in the 1950s. Many people were accused of witchcraft and many people were also accused of being communists during this particular era. While reading this book, one of the characters I came across was John Proctor. John Proctor is a pious, hardworking individual and man of integrity. John Proctor is a pious man. He focuses on his religion. Elizabeth Proctor says about him, ’’My husband is a good…

Words 532 - Pages 3

Crucible John Proctor Relationship

Essay on Crucible. What was Proctor’s relationship with Abigail, why did Proctor have an affair? Proctor had an affair with Abigail but did not want to be with her and wanted to end things with her to make things right with his wife. Abigail was the proctor’s servant girl, and it was, according to her, a very intense affair. John’s wife Elizabeth was a very cold person and did not give him any affection or comfort Abigail was not without sin either. She would flaunt herself around John. Abigail’s…

Words 139 - Pages 1

The Crucible John Proctor Reputation

prevalent theme in The Crucible. Several of the characters are concerned about their reputations. Do you think a good name is more important than the truth? Write an essay with at least four paragraphs explaining your response to this question. You may use personal experiences, observations, or examples from previous readings in order to support your position. In The Crucible there are many characters that feel their reputation is very important such as John Proctor and the way he portrays…

Words 895 - Pages 4