John Proctor Evil

Words: 500
Pages: 2

In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, multiple characters were introduced to the audience, both good and evil. The story takes place in the town of Salem during the infamous Salem witch trials in 1692. It all started with a few girls of Salem getting caught dancing and practicing witchcraft in the woods. One of those girls is Abigail Williams, the main accuser in the Salem Witch Trials. Abigail had an affair with John Proctor, the town's honest, intelligent, upright, and overall good citizen. Abigail continued to claim that John Proctor's wife, along with a few others, were witches in order to have John all to herself. Some say that John had caused the hysteria within Salem for having the affair with Abigail. However, John Proctor is the absolute hero of the story because of the way he sacrificed his life to preserve his family's name, and the way he chose to protect others from being persecuted while being questioned.
First of all, some may accuse John of being a villain because he assisted the rise of hysteria. They believe that if he had not had the affair with Abigail, she would not have begun to accuse people of witchcraft. They might also say that if he had publicly confessed before the accusations started, Giles Corey and others would not have chosen to sacrifice their own lives.
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The fact that he sacrificed his life to preserve the dignity of his family’s name makes him one of the greatest heroes in the story. “Because it is my name!… How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name.” (Miller 143) This shows that above all else he wants his name to stay dignified and pure. Throughout the entire story he had been known as an intelligent, charismatic, dignified, and overall outstanding member of the town of Salem, he did not want to be remembered as anything else. In addition, he did not want his children to suffer because of his