Which is more important, honor or life? John Proctor, a wealthy father and husband of Salem Village, is faced with this very question. The Village of Salem is on a witch hunt and John Proctor is due to become its next victim. If he lies to the council and the Village, and admits he is a witch, John lives, able to support his wife, sons, and unborn son. On the other hand, if he tells the truth that he is not and has never been a witch, he will be sentenced to death. Ultimately, he picks the latter, but why? John sees the atrocity of the witch hunt and realizes if he signs his name on a letter of confession, he is signing off the deaths of others to come just to save himself. Additionally, the letter of confession would be hung on the door of …show more content…
John Proctor realizes if he signed a letter of confession, he would be writing off the wrongful of deaths of those before and those to come. He even states, “I have three children - how may I teach them to walk like men in the world, and I sold my friends?” John sees from the beginning of the story that this witch hunt is all a massive ruse, comprised of false accusations and mass hysteria. As the hunt advances and the punishments worsen, innocent people start to die with no chance of fighting their case. If John doesn’t take a stand and refuses to lie, more will continue to die and no one will stop to take a second thought. John has been cynical of the trials and proceedings all along, and knows he can’t be hypocritical any longer. He discovers this once Rebecca Nurse is able to maintain her innocence in front of the council. In her own words Rebecca says, “Why, it is a lie, it is a lie; how may I damn myself? I cannot, I cannot.” John making this sacrifice shows parallels to the beliefs of the Puritans’ holy figure, Jesus. According to the Bible, Jesus was accused of being a traitor and was sentenced to death without a chance to plead his innocence. Jesus took the fault for others’ sins, this mirrors how John Proctor died because of the sins of …show more content…
If you did not go to church, this would ultimately decide your fate in the case of a witch trial, if you were accused. In Salem, John Proctor helped build this church, in fact built the door. John took great pride in this, saying, “I nailed the roof upon the church, I hung the door -” when Reverend Hale first suspects the Proctors as being in cohorts with the devil. If John signed the letter of confession, it would be nailed to this door and quite literally, wedge a nail into his pride. Everyone in the village would come to church on the Sabbath day and know he had ignored God’s word, lying for the selfish gain of saving his own life, ignorant to the loss of others. Additionally the Puritans believe in an afterlife that decides the man he would be. If he confessed to being a witch he would be a man to go to hell for lying, though if he were honest, he would be a man to continue in an abundant heaven. These views of character in a family’s patriarch were inevitably passed down throughout a family. This implies that if John’s name were ruined for being a liar, so was the entire Proctor name; his sons would maturate and live in a community that looked down on them for their father’s mistake. John understands this and tells the council “Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies! Because I am not worth the
I have given you my soul; leave me my name" (Miller 143)! This was the part were Proctor was trying to figure out whether or not he was going to confess to witchcraft. John Proctor knows he will be hung if he doesn't confess to witchcraft. When it comes time to confess he finds out that he would have to tell the judges and Hale in public with other people around. Reputation is very important to John and he will not let this ruin his reputation.
However, by being honest, he gets viewed as an honest, truthful man, even after the irresponsible act he committed. Not only did he want to be viewed as pure in the eyes of the community, but also in the eyes of god. Later in the play, John is accused of witchcraft, and once again is faced with a tough decision to make. Proctor lies, and admits to witchery, but quickly rips the signed confession: “Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life!
In the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller, John Proctor was accused of witchcraft. John Proctor was a man of great integrity and knew he did nothing wrong. He was given the choice to confess and lie or be hung. Being the honest and stubborn man that he was, he decided his name was more important than his life. John struggled both internally and with others while trying to fight for what he thought was right.
I think it is honest; I think so; I am no saint. Let Rebecca go like a saint; for me it's fraud¨ (IV. 541- 549). John gets up the courage to confessing that he had dealings with the devil even though he knows and everyone else knows that it is not true. By confessing and throwing away his selfishness to save the people who are about to hang he proves himself to be the play's protagonist.
He was given the choice to either confess to being apart of witchcraft and be spared or not confess and get hanged. He is allowed to talk this over with his wife and at first they decide it would be better to confess even though they know he didn’t do anything! At this point in the play John realizes that it is not the right thing to do. He says “ How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul now give me your name.”
John Proctor here is reinstating that he wants to continue if he has his name and if Danforth and the court cannot provide that to him he does not know how he could possibly go on. Based on the quote John’s quality of life would eventually prove to be dreary if he did confess as he would feel like he no longer had a soul. Although John knew it would be a risk for him to confess his wife helped convince him that life was worth living, but it’s his own choice. Elizabeth sorrowfully states to John “Do what you will. But let none be your judge.
John could have used this opportunity to get revenge on Abigail. Instead he makes the honorable decision to personally redeem himself from his previous mistakes. Earlier in the play he claimed that Mary and the girls were “God damn all liars” (Miller 117). This quote demonstrates John judging people for their sins, which is exactly what he claimed he does not do. It shows a dramatic change in his character, a change in personal
Proctor says “ You are the high court, your word is good enough! tell them i confessed myself; say proctor broke his knees and wept like a woman, but my name cannot!”. In the quote John Proctor does not want written proof that he was a witch because he wants to protect his friends and not throw them under the bus. This means he cares for his friends and is truly a good man. Proctor says; “ let them that near dead now take their souls, it is pretence to me.”
His act of defiance resulted in death, but caused the people of Salem to question the court, which prevents any future deaths for suspected witchery. By refusing to lie, John Proctor preserved his name and held up his personal convictions. However, some may say that this was self-serving, because he left his family destitute, and his wife husbandless and his children fatherless. Nevertheless, “How can I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name!...Because It is my name!
I have rung the doom of my good name.” (Miller 111). This quote shows that even though John Proctor values his reputation and his integrity, he is willing to sacrifice them to expose the truth about the witch trials. He is willing to confess his own sins, but he will not untruthfully accuse others of witchcraft. When the judges and Hale brought Proctor in to confess to witchcraft, he instead admits his infidelity with Abigail, proving that his morals are strong.
Proctor motivates to learn how the truth can still not matter if it is not what the court wants to hear causing people to be killed and put in jail. John Proctor chooses to try to hide the affair between him and Abigail Williams , which causes half of the town of Salem going to jail for witchcraft. John is talking to Mary Warren when she is talking to him about the Devil being in Salem and they must find where he is:"I
Honorable Last Actions In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, John Proctor is portrayed as a sinful, yet appreciated man who died a moral but undeserving death. During the Salem Witch Hunt, many innocent people lost their lives. Like others, John chose death over living a life that was deceitful. John Proctor’s last actions were noble and an act of righteousness.
The Crucible “The Crucible” is a play, by Arthur Miller, about the Salem Witch Trials. After reading “The Crucible”, you will be asking yourself, is it necessary for a person to suffer? The answer to the question is shown through the characters, Giles Corey, John and Elizabeth Proctor, and Abigail Williams. John Proctor is a respected puritan man in the community. John had made the mistake of sleeping with, a teenage girl, Abigail Williams.
John is also conveying through his words that he believes the situation is his own fault/ he would rather die than deal with living a lie for the rest of his theoretical life of having confessed which is a form of self preservation. Along with the other reasons for his words he goes along with the execution to keep what’s left of him untarnished. or pure in the way he never was. The next character that has actions for the sole purpose of their self preservation is Reverend Samuel Parris. Throughout the majority of the crucible parris is shown to only care about his power and his image towards the other people of salem.
John Proctor never settles for keeping his opinion or what he thinks is right to himself. He knows telling Danforth that he is guilty for adultery won’t help his cause but it shows his desperation to win the case in order protect his wife, Elizabeth. John Proctor was sick and tired of watching Abigail win with a lie, in this case he spoke the truth knowing his consequences. John states, “Excellency, forgive me, forgive me. She thinks to dance with me on my wife’s grave!