At the beginning of the play, Proctor is portrayed as a flawed individual who is guilty of committing adultery with his former servant, Abigail Williams. He is initially unwilling to come forward and confess and instead chooses to keep it a secret to protect his reputation. Proctor himself states that "I have known her, sir. I have known her" (Miller 648) suggesting that his adultery with Abigail is not a character defect within Proctor himself, but rather a human weakness that he ultimately takes responsibility for and tries to atone with. When Proctor does confess his adultery, it is not a realization of a personal flaw, but rather an attempt to clear his name and prove his innocence. As the play progresses, Proctor's reputation is at stake and his initial reluctance to confess his adultery leads to him being falsely accused of witchcraft. …show more content…
Abigail becomes jealous and resentful of his wife Elizabeth. She sees the witch trials as a way to get revenge on Elizabeth and remove her as a rival for Proctor's affections. Abigail uses the trials to falsely accuse Proctor of witchcraft, in order to eliminate him as an obstacle and to keep him from exposing the truth about their past relationship. All tragic heroes must also meet a tragic end, but Proctor's death, while dire, is not the result of his actions or tragic flaw. Proctor chooses to die rather than falsely confess to witchcraft, but his death is ultimately a result of the unjust and corrupt legal system of the witch trials, rather than any flaw in his character. "I will not give my wife to vengeance. I choose to die" (Act 4, Scene 1) suggests that his death is a result of his refusal to falsely confess to witchcraft rather than his
Proctor was reluctant to admit adultery, since it was considered a very high punishable crime. He tries to find other evidences that would keep his name clean and prove Abigail is wrong. Another example that shows that Proctor deeply cares about his reputation, is that he was able to get free if he says he had committed witchcraft and is an ally of the devil. Proctor was having trouble lying because it would ruin his good name. Then he is asked to sign the paper saying that in writing, which would hang on the church door for everyone to see, he couldn’t.
When Abigail approaches Proctor and talks to him, she tells him how they are faking witchcraft. Proctor then tries to stop the trials when he realizes that the girls have faked it. Later on, he is accused of witchcraft
Previous to the witch hunt, Proctor had committed adultery by sleeping with Abigail Williams, and this evil act had caused him to live in fear of being discovered as an adulterator. However, after witnessing the constant disingenuous acts of Abigail throughout the entirety of the witch hunt, Proctor gave himself up for the prosperity of the community when he declares, “I have known her, sir. I have... known her” (Act III). Through Proctor’s confession to adultery in front of the court, readers can fully understand the compassion he possesses. This revelation is possible because, John was fully aware of the abominable charges he would have to face, but he was willing to be killed if it would mean the end of Abigail’s antics and thus the end of the death of innocent people.
The court now questions Abigail and her honesty. When Abigail does not confess to it, they bring out Elizabeth Proctor. Proctor tries to do the right thing but it backfires when Elizabeth lied to protect her husband's name. This is not the only decisions that affects the outcome but it will lead to him trying more and more to ruin Abigail
In act one we discover that Abigail was fired by Elizebeth Proctor (she was the Proctor's servant) because she had an affair with John proctor. She didnt want to let Elizebeth stop her from being with John and so she takes advantage of the witch trials by accusing Elizebeth Proctor. Abigails Sociapathic personality is made clear during act one when she threatens to kill her friends if they tell anyone about the events that actually occured in the forest. She says “Let either of you breathe a word, or the edge of a word, about the other things, and I will come to you in the black of some terrible night and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you” page 26-27. One of the characters that struggles with personal integrity is John Proctor.
Although his wife Elizabeth forgave him, he judges himself as "a sinner not only against the moral fashion of the time, but against his own vision of decent conduct. " The affair between them caused the start of witchery and accusation due to Abigail being jealous of Elizabeth Proctor and her relationship with John. As accusations get worst and people are hanged, Proctor knows Abigail and the girls are lying and the only way to stop it is to confess and come clean of what happend with Abigail. He knows what he has to do but since he wants to protect his reputation he doesn't say anything. Abigail then goes on to accuse Elizabeth so she can be hanged and keep proctor to herself.
He commits to the bad that he has done with Abigail WIlliams. By the same token, he also proves himself guilty of witchcraft. Such actions required Proctor to sign a paper to be put up on the church door. His hands frantically moved as the ink touched the paper slowly stroking the pen one line at a time. Although, once he was done he realised that this paper could blacken his name in the village, exactly what he doesn’t want.
Abigail’s disastrous plan was to have Elizabeth killed so she could be with John Proctor. The wickedness of Abigail shows no remorse or regret, because she is willing to do anything to achieve her desire of being with John Proctor. Abigail is now in court being accused by John Proctor by using Mary Warren to tell the complete truth on how Abigail and the girls are pretending to be the devil’s eyes, but Abigail lies and pretends that Mary is
Abigail, along with a band of other girls, accuses several people of witchcraft, whom are then sentenced to hang without a just trial. It seems as though Abigail governs the entire town, and when people attempt to go against her word, they are either hanged or surrender fighting for what is right and take her side. Abigail seems to have absolute power, but her evil is not committed without dire consequences at hand. No evil is ever committed without consequences. Abigail demonstrates this through showing that the evil she has committed whisks away innocent lives, but it also results in John Proctor’s death, which is her goal to begin with.
He is quickly framed by the guilt of betraying his wife and community, setting off a chain of events that leads to his execution. Proctor’s guilt spreads as he tries to uncover the truth about the witch trials and Abigail’s motives. At first, he fears that his news will damage his reputation, but he later confesses the affair and accuses Abigail of the witch trials to get revenge. Although the truth is later revealed, Proctor’s guilt and complicated moral decisions lead to his tragic end.
Adultery and lustful sin is an apparent theme in both The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne and The Crucible by Arthur Miller. In The Scarlet Letter, Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale was beloved by the community as a man of God, but was an adulterer in his private life; he had fathered a child out of wedlock and lived a life riddled with guilt. In The Crucible, John Proctor was a farmer who had admitted to his wife that he had sinned, and was paying the price in their personal life. By comparing these two, it can be seen how differently they let their sin and its repercussions affect them, as well as the similarities in their circumstances. Reverend Dimmesdale was a notable preacher in his town who committed adultery with Hester Prynne, conceived a child, and suffered greatly from secret guilt.
I have known her." His words represent how he has had an affair with Abigail and by this, he admits to it in court. But, Proctor's actions are motivated not by a desire to save himself but by his belief in justice
Proctor was afraid of being exposed as an adulterer, which caused him to keep his affair with Abigail Williams a secret to avoid any consequences. He thought being honest was the true way, saying things like "Do that which is good, and no harm will come to thee." Although he was an adulterer, he was a good and honest man. Unfortunately, the fear still led to his arrest and execution. Additionally, the fear of the unknown and the supernatural causes the people in the crucible to believe in the girl’s lies and accusations.
Proctor regrets his stunt of adultery, and he has a change of heart with his wife. These are both signs of goodness in Proctor’s heart. Proctor’s first sign of goodness is his regret of his act of adultery with Abigail Williams. Proctor first shows remorse when he speaks with Abigail Williams. Abigail Williams tells John, “... I cannot dream but I wake and walk about the house as though I’d find you comin’ through some door” (Act I. 442 - 445).
Abigail 's heartless attitude is shown in act two when she frames and accuses Elizabeth Proctor for witchcraft. She desired and longed for this revenge on poor Proctors innocent wife, aiming for her through out the play. Later on in Act Three she seems to lose her last attachment of society by destroying John Proctor, who she claims to love with all her heart. When John attempts and threatens to expose Abigail’s wrong doings, she skillfully manages to turn the whole problem around on him, sending him off