What traits are dominant in John Proctor? Everyone knows the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller. In said play there are many important characters and their main traits. This paper is going to be discussing the three dominant traits of one of the characters. Now the character John Procter has three traits that are seen more than others in the play. These traits are that he is mostly honest, somewhat emotionally damaged, and last but not least is that he is tormented by his own decisions. Speaking of his desires the first trait that will be discussed is how he is tormented by his own decisions. Arthur Miller wrote that John had an affair with a young girl in his community named Abigail Williams (Miller 14). He had trouble staying away from the girl who refused to let him end the affair. The author wrote that Proctor refused to give up the confession that he signed saying “I like not to spoil their names.” (Miller 61)..” He was tormented by this decision because he did not want to die but also he did not want to ruin the good names of his friends and himself. …show more content…
There are many instances that show this but one major instance is when he says “What others say and what I sign to is not the same!” (Miller 62) He knows that signing a confession to save his and the other people who were accused that refuse to lie and say that they are guilty is wrong and not honest. His honesty also shows when he says “ Because it speaks deceit, and I am Honest!” (Miller 31) He knows that if he told the court of what Abigail told him in private that they will not believe him and that he would be lying about hearing it in a crowd with no witnesses. He does not agree with lying in order to get the truth out when it is done in a deceitful
Miller was able to relay these traits through John Procter who first and foremost is a representation of Millers personal ideology and embodiment of his aspirations. Through the use of exclamation, “In her life, sir she have never lied … my wife cannot lie!” we see that Proctors imperfections make him a relatable representation to his audience. His courage to not name his wife Elizabeth ironically demonstrates his goodness as by not naming names in essence equates to her not being guilty. This is representative of Millers political values of the law and 1950’s
There are many tragic heroes portrayed in the world around us. Cinderella, Wall-E, and Simba, whom all overcame obstacles, vindicated themselves and aided their world to eventually be a finer place. Naturally, all their difficulties in the end led to their success, But, one man who presented those exact qualities, was not as fortuitous. This man presented himself to the court and fought for what was moral acceptable, subjected himself to prison for his mistakes and justified himself and the good people of Salem. John Proctor shows the admirable qualities and weaknesses of a tragic hero in the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller.
“I have given you my soul; leave me my name!” (Miller 1357). This quote is said by John Proctor, a character in “The Crucible,” who is pleading to keep his name reputable when accused of witchcraft. Arthur Miller writes “The Crucible” to portray the Salem witch trials of 1692. The people of Salem have grievances in which they need a scapegoat.
The easiest trait to determine is Proctor 's downfall. The play ends with Proctors death so it’s easy to say he had a tragic fate, but was it greater than he deserved? In the play we learn two things that John has done wrong. He committed adultery and didn’t attend church often.
One major character trait of John Proctor was his honesty. When John Proctor found out about the accusations, he looked for the truth. Once he was told by Abigail Williams that the witch accusations were not true, he went to court with Mary Warren to tell the Judges the truth. When the Judges started questioning him, he admitted his affair with Abigail Williams, which put his name at risk.
What the Audience learns from John Proctor throughout the Crucible is that John Proctor was a flawed character and the beginning of the play, but coming into conclusion of the play he regains himself because he chooses to act as a tragic hero by seeking justice for his wife, friends, and
Proctor is looked up to because he resembles and shows heroic characteristics in either one way or another. At the same time he is a tragic hero because of one huge flaw, an affair. The affair took place between him and Abigail. In the play they are at court and Proctor is upset because and lashes out towards Abigail. Claiming she would lead him away from Elizabeth and dance on her grave.
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.
John Proctor, the protagonist of The Crucible, qualifies as a tragic hero because he has a tragic flaw, is ethically superior to the other characters in the play, and struggles to find peace with himself in midst of the lies and chaos during this play. John Proctor possesses a tragic flaw that forces him to hide his prideful mistake, which eventually brings about his downfall. I guess the old saying is true, “Pride comes before the fall”. John Proctor’s tragic flaw is his excessive pride, and he expresses it abundantly throughout the play. In Act I, it states, “ Proctor: Abby, I may think of you softly from time to time.
John Proctor One word to describe John Proctor is selfish. When proctor’s wife Elizabeth get arrested by Cheever the Sherriff of Salem. Elizabeth get arrested because she have a poppet that Mary Warren give to her when she was argument with John proctor. But Abigail saw that Mary Warren make a poppet in the court and Abigail take a banish to lie that Elizabeth send her spirit out to stab her with a nail.
Overall, Acts One and Two of The Crucible were very well written and achieved the author’s purpose of expressing the unreasonableness of McCarthyism at the time while keeping the audience entertained. One way Miller was able to accomplish this purpose was through developing the individuality of characters. I really liked how he made each character have a very individual personality. Miller developed these personalities through the dialogue between characters and also with authorial intrusions and stage directions. One example of this is when Mary Warren says, “Abby, we’ve got to tell.
John Proctor's main flaw was his excessive pride which sealed his fate. I myself felt his death transformed Salem’s ways of thinking and increased their own knowledge. Proctor's life completely started going downhill when Abigail accused John’s loved ones who then were sent to jail, or executed. John Proctor was a man of goodness and pride which cleansed his soul after he suffered a tragic death, and became a symbol of purity and greatness for others to
As written in The Crucible john proctor refuses as miller has stated, “Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my ,life! Because I am not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang!” (Miller 1164). By saying this John Proctor has just realized and ends up trying to get the point across that he no longer wants to go through with his lie and feels guilty about the situation he is in.
John Proctor is a good man despite anything others may say about him. He displays three very noble qualities throughout the witch trials which are bravery, honesty, and an overall goal to save lives even to the point where he sacrificed his. While many argue John is a bad man because he committed adultery they are entirely mistaken. Just because he had one bad sin gives no right to anybody to call him a bad person when clearly the good side of him is shown more than the bad. John Proctor is a good man who displays the characteristics of a hero and could be seen as one for giving his life for his friends.
When people think of the play, “The Crucible”, they usually picture the witch trials and women being hanged, but Arthur Miller depicts the witch trials in a completely new light. He shows through a story that the witch trials were much more than just people calling others witches. There was deceit, pain, greed, and more. Through the play, we follow the character, Abigail, observe her actions and their consequences. We witness the lives of people she impacts, what happens to them, and how many times she lies to get her way.