Comparison of John Proctor and Giles Corey’s.
Many individuals do not consider making sacrifices in general and would rather look out for their selfish benefit. Making sacrifices, especially when it means putting your own life in danger can be fearful. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, Giles Corey and John Proctor are brave despite knowing the consequences if both characters disagree with the court and ultimately sacrifice their lives for their names and the people they love, which exemplifies their bravery and their faithfulness to their wives, Elizabeth Proctor and Martha Corey by fighting to resolve the unjustified accusations of witchcraft. When John proctor cheats on his wife and is apart in an affair with Abigail Williams. John realizes
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Even though John Proctor commits adultery he still is trying to be an honest person and has been trying to keep his name clean. When John Proctor goes 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. John Proctor was given the choice to tell the truth and be prosecuted or confess to a crime he did not 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 - not cited).. This indicated that John Proctor was trying to maintain a good reputation by being truthful. And sees himself as honest in contrast to others who, in an effort to save their life. Falsely admitted to participating in witchcraft and only values honesty. Since John Proctor had committed numerous terrible crimes in the past by disobeying biblical commandments, he did not want his name to be associated with any more lies. He wanted to pass away honorably so his reputation would not be damaged in Salem and onto future …show more content…
Giles Corey did not see any benefit in trying to answer and being declared a witch when his land would have been taken away. But, Giles Corey demonstrated his honesty when he says “more weight” Giles dies as a hero in many people's (who? vague) eyes even if he was tortured to death he kept his quietness. This demonstrates that Giles is willing to give his life to maintain his reputation as an honest man and protect his land, in addition he was willing to give his life instead of causing another person to suffer false accusations that could have been because of him. (repetitive) While many people who are accused of witchcraft end up accepting all false accusations against themselves, Giles Corey demonstrates his courage and honesty by acting in the exact opposite way. Similarly John Proctor cared about his name much more than his life and ended up sacrificing his life for his name. They both proved that they were willing to die for what they believed in and be truthful, rather than live with a
I have no proof for it. " Proctor never reveals an honest confession until now. He admits to Elizabeth he cheated on her which she suspected during the time. Elizabeth pleads with John to tell the truth at court to stop the innocent deaths of people and turn in the real problem- Abigail. By going to the court with hard proof, John's crime of adultery goes public.
John Proctor’s excessive pride evidently led him to his downfall. In the beginning of the book, John is seen as a strong man, “in Proctor’s presence a fool felt his foolishness instantly” (Miller 20). He was seen as such a high man that he let his pride get the best of him, at first he didn't want to confess to the court about his affair with Abigail to keep his name from being blackened. When John eventually confesses to the court about his adultery with Abigail; His wife, Elizabeth, didn't know that John had already confessed, so she lied about it to keep him safe, which only made matters worse. In the end, he dies in order to keep his good name in the town.
John Proctor’s strengths is that, “He is a kind of man—powerful body, even-tempered, and not easily led—who cannot refuse support to partisans without drawing their deepest resentment” (Miller 1245). His major flaw is not forgiving himself after having an affair with Abigail, which caused a riff to happen in his marriage. This flaw led Proctor to not fully cut off ties with Abigail, out of guilt, making her believe that they had a chance of truly being together if Elizabeth wasn’t there anymore. John Proctor transforms from a selfish character that only cares for his image to a man who will die for his beliefs and to prove the corrupt ways of the court to save many lives of innocent people. His inner conflict is how he views himself, “My honesty
John Proctor made many decisions during the movie. He believed that his family came first. He was willing to disgrace his name by admitting to adultry instead of let his wife hang for witchcraft. He signed a confession admitting to witchcraft, even when the audience knew he wasn’t guilty. He signed a false confession in order to save his wife.
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!
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).
John Proctor didn’t want his name to be the ruined because he felt that was all he had left. John Proctor was tragically killed for a sin he had not committed but was found a hero because people followed in his footsteps by not confessing to something they didn’t do. “A tragic hero is a character
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.”
He overcomes this struggle, trying to stay committed to his already upset wife, but he had already committed a treacherous sin. John Proctor had to live the rest of his days with the loathsome guilt towards himself. Throughout the novel, John Proctor debates whether or not he is an honest man. Even though he keeps his sin a secret from the rest of the town, his wife knows that he’s an adulterer.
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!
John Proctor, Deputy Governor Danforth, and Abigail Williams were worried about their reputation in town, and they were willing to commit many sins and harm others to prevent this from happening. To begin with, John Proctor was seen as a good citizen. He was well-respected among his neighbors and other people in Salem because of his upright morals. He had an affair with his old servant, Abigail Williams. He tried to keep this hidden from the people to keep his good name.
"The only difference between the saint and the sinner is that every saint has a past and every sinner has a future." — Oscar Wilde. John Proctor was not a sinner, and he was not a saint. He was merely a human being. As such, human beings do things that they are not proud of, and they can accomplish some amazing tasks. This is something one can be positive about in life.
Also in Act 4, he was highly conflicted over whether or not to confess to working with the devil to escape death. In the end, he decided lying was a sin he did not want to commit and chose to die a honest man rather than survive as a deceptive man. So in the end it is clear to see that John Proctor still is a good man despite his short-lived affair with Abigail. He was an honest, good-hearted man who wished for nothing more than to live a good life with his wife and children.
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
In The Crucible, a drama by Arthur Miller, John Proctor demonstrates courage by speaking out for what he believes in while knowing his consequences, admitting his wrong doings with Abigail to save Elizabeth’s life, and choosing to be hanged over having his name posted on the church door because the second his signed confession is posted, his and his loved ones reputations will be ruined. In the beginning of the play all John Proctor cared about was his reputation. However, ultimately he sacrificed his reputation by telling the court he committed adultery. John telling the court he was guilty ruined his reputation, which made all hell break loose.