Many characters in The Crucible succumb to dishonesty by virtue of fear. On the contrary, I argue that the character Proctor was an exception, standing out from the rest with his bravery. Proctor spoke up to Reverend Parris when no one else did, he confessed to committing adultery with Abigail, and he sacrificed his life to uphold the truth. John Proctor was not faultless, yet he displayed the most considerable acts of courage compared to any other character. John Proctor bravely challenged the accusations of witchcraft and tries to shed light on the truth. When Hale and John discuss the matter of witchcraft, John points out that the girls may have confessed to these lies, but “why not, if they must hang for denyin' it? There are them that …show more content…
He did this to show the court that Abigail had a cause behind accusing Elizabeth of witchcraft. Proctor knew that confessing this mistake would discredit Abigail and cause the judges to look at her differently. This was not an easy crime for Proctor to confess as he states, “trembling, his life collapsing about him: I have known her, sir. I have known her”. (III.374-384) Proctor realized that by revealing this secret that it would also ruin his reputation, for adultery violated Puritan religious code of behavior. Also, Proctor was well aware that Abigail had earned great power in the court system by falsely accusing people of witchcraft. For this reason, anyone else who had not been caught in the hysteria of witchcraft felt that they could not contradict Abigail’s lies. People feared that they would be accused of witchery if they were to oppose the accusations. John Proctor had to choose between preserving his reputation and allowing lies to continue to flourish Salem, or show his immoral actions to give to ending the fraudulence. Proctor had the best rebuttal to Abigail’s lies and, therefore, he felt that it was his duty to start the end to the madness. The willingness of Proctor to sacrifice his good name to protect the life of his wife and bring forth justice exhibits his goodness. Proctor was in no way obligated to tell the truth, but he had grown to develop morals of righteousness and he valiantly …show more content…
John came face to face to a very hard decision, to live and dishonor his name and family, or to die a falsely accused man. John knew that confessing to witchcraft would be lying and that it would only make his afterlife worse. So he asked Elizabeth what she would do, but she only told him to follow his heart and that she supported whatever choice he decided to make. Proctor at first falsely confesses to witchcraft to save his life, which is what Hale, Danforth, and Parris wanted him to do. This would promise him to live life in jail and a condemned soul. However, after he signed the confession document, he then took it and ripped it up. Some may claim that since Proctor signed the paper at first it shows weakness, yet Proctor only signed the paper because he believed that his “honesty is broke... I am no good man.” (IV.188-200) He would not let his family’s name be dishonored by his lies. He would rather die than have his family name soiled, that takes a lot of bravery. John also could not let the other innocent victims hang while he lied to live. John Proctor, all in all, stood by what he believed in, till the end of his life, that is
In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, John Proctor is the most admirable person. Though he did make a mistake by committing adultery, he is still a very honest man. During all of the hysteria, he did his best to make sure he did not feed into any of the nonsense going on. Once he was involuntarily involved in the witch trials, ultimately in the end, he still stayed true to himself. Near the end of the play, Elizabeth Proctor, John Proctor’s wife, is accused of being a witch by Abigail Williams and the other girls.
John admitted to the court and the town that he had an affair with Abigail Williams. John also refused to lie to save his life, instead he kept the truth and his pride and he hanged for it. The fact that he would rather die than to slaughter his family’s name, that says a lot, to me it says that he was thinking of his wife and kids instead of himself. If I haven’t made myself clear yet, I believe John Proctor is the most courageous character in The Crucible.
Proctor after a long day of work comes home and has dinner, complements Elizabeth's food, and talks with Elizabeth about her day, and then Elizabeth tells proctor that abigail is the leading accuser in the court, accusing innocent people of witchcraft, and finally tells proctor to confess to the court but he cowardly says, “I know I cannot keep it. I say I will think on it“ (Miller 4.481). Knowing that many people will die the next morning, Proctor, restrains himself of going to the court to confess that Abigail is a fraud, thus he knows that if he confesses, Abigail will accuse him of adultery and his good name in the town will be
With Abigail, he did not want people to know about what had happened, however now he knows he must tell the truth. This shows that Proctor chooses what he wants to happen to him. He does not want a bad reputation about him practicing witchcraft so he tells the truth. He rips up the paper that he signed and states his strong
In Arthur Miller's Play The Crucible, the author depicts the lies and anger that causes people to accuse each other of a deadly crime. The people of Salem not only believe in witchcraft but base their lives around it. This forces people to admit to being a witch or be hanged. In the end scene before his death, John Proctor rips up the paper that can come between him and death. This was a believable act the was both extremely noble and honorable.
Then, John was accused of witchcraft. He was given the choice to tell the truth and be prosecuted or confess to a crime he didn’t commit and be set free. He chose to tell the truth and got sent to jail. During this time, he said “... what is John Proctor? I think it is honest” (page 138).
Proctor is a well respected upperclassman and him sacrificing his life led to his family living a greater life. To the court with great emotion proctor states “ Because I am not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang! How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name!” (143).
Proctor talks good about the people who decided not to confess. He Doesn't want to say anything that will harm them. Proctor doesn't think he’s doing the right thing by confessing and wants to change his mind to do the right thing. John proctor is successful in helping his friends be
Because I cannot have another one in my life!... Proctor tears the paper and crumples it. ”(143 & 144) This quote proves that John Proctor preserved his dignity and soul, and followed his moral compass in doing the right thing. Contributing to the previous detail, “I do think I see some shred of goodness in John Proctor...
As the one of the most important characters in the Crucible, John Proctor symbols common human nature and goodness of a person. He is a very respectable man of the Salem community, and because of his human nature, he did make a mistake that violated the adultery sin of the Ten Commandments. Whatever the sins of others, John Proctor’s publicized position robs him of his credibility. But John still has his goodness, he feels sorry for his wife, still loves her, and he makes the right choice in the end of the play. He was going to confess himself of the witchcraft to being alive, but he is aware that what such a shame to protect himself instead of refusing to sacrifice soul to save his life by admitting being with devils.
Unicorns don’t exist, BUT apparently WITCHCRAFT does!!!! The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, is a well known play that tells the tale of a small town, Salem, Massachusetts, where witchcraft is frowned upon. John Proctor, an infamous man of the town, had decided to destroy his confession about witchcraft at the end of the story. The Crucible has a few main characters such as Abigail Williams, John Proctor, Reverend Hale, Reverend Parris, and Mary Warren.
He cared greatly about his family and wife even though Elizabeth was often distant towards him. In the end of the play, Proctor chooses to die rather than sign his confession, ratting out his friends and ruining his good name in the town. He did this to protect the reputation of his children so they won’t have to grow up with a lying father. Lying went against Protctors’ views and that ideal is prevalent throughout the entire play. It is revealed that as soon as he had an affair with Abigail, he confessed to Elizabeth the next day because of the guilt he was carrying around.
He realized that he didn’t need the support from his wife to make the most honorable decision. John was hung for not confessing. Yet, his legacy of fighting for what you believe in still prevailed. Proctor’s death displayed great perseverance, which is an attribute, reflected in the American
The last instance of his heroic bravery is when he decides to be hanged instead of going along with the lies of witchcraft. He stood up for what he believed in and ultimately had to pay the price for it. That, is true bravery from John Proctor. Another notable aspect of John Proctor is his honesty. When confronting the court about
Likewise, when Elizabeth is brought before Danforth to verify Proctor’s confession, she lies to protect her husband, whom she refers to as a “goodly man,” from suspicion (Miller, 113). The affair may have caused Elizabeth to doubt Proctor but both parties still care deeply for each other and try to protect each other from harm. Even in his last moments, Proctor’s last words- “Show honor now, show a stony heart and sink them with it!”- were directed toward Elizabeth and were full of love and care (Miller, 144). Proctor may have sinned but his regret over his affair with Abigail and the trouble he had brought upon his wife justifies his