Elizabeth Proctor Character Analysis

Julius Caesar once said, “I love the name of honor, more than I fear death”. When Caesar said that, he stated that there may be moments in a person's life where their honor is questioned, but in the end, only the person who would die to preserve their good name are truly worth honoring. Arthur Miller use The Crucible to portray John Proctor as an honorable man who made a few mistakes to have people question his honor. In The Crucible, John Proctor is shown to be a respectable, honest, and kind hearted man.

John Proctor is a witch who participates in adultery. John Proctor was the very sole reason for the hysteria in Salem. If it were not for him, the witch trials would have never happened. He could have ended the mass hysteria in Salem by coming out about everything sooner, ending things with Abigail who was, in fact, a minor, and being a man and putting a stop to it all since he had the power to do so. Proctor was initially a well-respected member of the community.

You can see that John Proctor is a good man, he tries to help everyone and he does not meddle in the lives of others, he is considered an upstanding member of the community. John Proctor is a hardworking middle aged farmer, husband, and father. People love and respect him although they know he is not without human failing. For example with Mary, when the Counsel take Proctor’s wife, He starts to scream at her and almost hits her. I understand that he doesn’t want to lose his wife but, he can be gentler with her or when he has an affair with their teenage servant Abigail Williams, a girl that tells lies, manipulates her friends and the entire town, and eventually sends innocent people to their deaths.

In Arthur Miller's “The Crucible” (1953), it is shown that people seem to forget basic morals when dealing with mass hysteria. Puritans in the play do not want the devil or any other demonic figures such as witches in their community, they will go to great lengths, as far as turning their back on their own people to get rid of these demonic figures as shown in “The Crucible”. This idea of witches in the community caused chaos in the village which led to the deaths of 20 people in the village. Do people in the play not care about the consequences other people face because of their actions? In the play, loyalty falls far below self selfishness in the face of mass hysteria.

He knows he made the mistake and believes he deserves proper justice for his mistakes. Also, when Elizabeth and John talk about the new court, Elizabeth mentions that they have put fourteen people in jail already, and “Proctor simply looks at her unable to grasp it” (52). He does not understand nor think it is reasonable for these people to be thrown into jail since they have not been given a fair trial yet. Proctor believes in honor and the right to justice. If these people do not get a chance to defend themselves and come up with a believable confession, they will be killed and have all honor and signs of a perfect reputation taken away.

Abigail Williams Destined for Hell "The truth doesn't cost anything, but a lie could cost you anything." This quote by an unknown author perfectly sums up the way Abigail Williams acted and treated people. During the Salem witch trials Abigail Williams was no typical Puritan women. She was seventeen years old and did whatever she wanted.

The Crucible has many characters to blame when it comes to questioning why everything happened the way they did. It’s hard to describe a reasoning for all of this or exactly who to blame because there is so many different opinions and reasons to why everything is happening. A quote I think that does a fairly good job at this is, “There are wheels within wheels in this village, and fires within fires!”(Miller, Pg.148). The character I think that you can point to first and blame the most when asking why everything in Salem happened is Abigail Williams. There are three major reasons to why Abigail is to blame and the first is because she slept with John Proctor.

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.”

Abigail defies all judgements against innocence as she is the driven evil force in The Crucible. Arthur Miller shows Abigail Williams to instinctively defend herself, as it is the humane reaction when accused of wrongdoing. It is common to tell a lie but, the intention of sabotage is a different story. Abigail had many tricks up her sleeve to manipulate the court. Her purpose to convince the town of her innocence was one of many.

Proctor doubts his goodness and constantly seeks forgiveness. This is evident when he says "I cannot mount the giblet like a saint, my honesty is broke elizebeth, I am no good man. When Proctor finally has the bravery to go to court, despite the risk of exposure, he breaks down under the pressure of Abigails power and denounces god in frustration. As a result of this he is arrested. In act four, Proctor's integrity outweighs his will to live.

He gave his life for his family name making sure that the people who are going to kill know not to say anything bad about his name. Proctors option of getting hung over telling everyone, which was a act of honor. It was a act of honor because he decided to get hung over letting the whole town know, and see what he had to do to keep his name good and not bad. Proctor did do some bad things, and did try and blame things on people which they did not do because

In Salem, Massachusetts a series of hearings and prosecutions started, commonly known as the Salem Witchcraft Trials. The witchcraft trials in Salem became a big concern after two-hundred innocent people were accused and twenty people were executed. Many people of Salem believed the court was just in accusing all these victims. A seldom amount of people went against the court in saying that the court was a fraud and that the decisions were biased being made. Abigail Williams held all the power in the court and determined who was “guilty” or not.

The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a play about what happened during the Salem Witch Trials. It gives insight about what people had to deal with in this situation and how they handled it. The trials were basically a big test which helped figuring out whether or not people were guilty of witchcraft. This is an example of what a crucible is. In our world today we still have crucibles and even though they are different than back then, they all relate to each other because of what influence they have on people.

He considers his name to have more value than his life. In Act IV, on page 1352, Proctor says, “Spite only keeps me silent. It is hard to give a lie to Dogs.” He is saying that his pride keeps him from “confessing” to witchcraft and saving his life. On

The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a play which contains a multitude of complex characters . In the play, the characters’ motivations and inner processes are explored. Because of the historical setting, the characters live in a society of judgement and extreme religious devotion. This is a factor that places any of the characters’ choices and morals in a public balance to be judged by others. Abigail Williams is the main character of the play and acts with an utter selfishness and obsession.