Crucible, noun. 1. a container of metal or refractory material employed for heating substances to high temperatures and 2. a severe, searching test or trial. (Dictionary.com, 2015) Definitions such as these describe certain events which occurred in Salem. The hot tempers of many created severe witch trials costing the lives of many innocent people in 1692. The highly acclaimed, The Crucible by Arthur Miller was first published in 1953. The Crucible follows the story of an extremely Puritan religious village of Salem in Massachusetts and the so called witchcraft exploited by individuals in the village. Within the play personal integrity is illustrated by multiple characters and others lack individual moral integrity. Maintaining personal integrity …show more content…
Jealous of Elizabeth Proctor, Abigail begins her witch frenzy. Proctor is so obsessed with his public reputation that he refuses to confess to adultery. With Abigail driving the train of havoc in Salem, Proctor realises at some point he must admit to lechery to bring her to a halt. When John finally releases his secret, it keeps his personal integrity intact but majorly damages his reputation. By the end, he becomes disinterested by the public opinion and concerned about his personal integrity. By maintaining his individual integrity, John Proctor’s life came to an end. He quotes, “I have given you my soul, please leave me my name.” (Act 4, Page 124), at this point Proctor still wants his name unscathed for personal and religious reasons. He refuses to confess and sign his name to witchcraft in respect of fellow prisoners dying after refusal to confirm dealings with the devil. As the Puritan society of Salem is so fixated and fearful of witchcraft, most individuals were gullible to almost all testimonies made. If the town were not fanatical about the witchcraft and focused on obvious truth, John Proctor may have lived to raise his children and live a prosper life but his personal integrity cost him his life. This leads on to character Giles Corey, who demonstrates true personal
John Proctor often exhibits this behavior the most and, in turn, leads him to make life or death decisions, especially towards the end of the play, that affects other people’s lives as well. John believes that he has finally won the game by spoiling his name and telling every one of authority in the small town of Salem that he has cheated on Elizabeth. Based on the evidence in the play, it is clear that John is being selfish in this in that he never told anyone of the cheating before and he kept it to himself until the end. Elizabeth lies for the first time to keep her husbands "good name," and as an effect ruined everything and created mass hysteria again. John states, “I have known her, sir.
Once a peaceful town, Salem is struck with devilish desires. The Crucible, is a fictional tragedy by Arthur Miller. This play is a metaphor of the Salem witch trials of 1692, in Massachusetts. The sinful minded citizens of the town such as: John Proctor, Elizabeth, and Abigail contribute to the mass hysteria of witch hunts in the town. The town is mangled with acts of lechery, betrayal, and lies.
John Proctor said to himself, “Because it is my name…. How may i live without my name?” (Miller 115). This shows John’s mental suffering toward himself. He chooses to die to save his family's name.
John Proctor would not confess to witchcraft simply to get out of death. He felt as though holding his dignity and integrity exceeded living in deceit. Despite the consequences he had to face, Proctor stood by his worth and beliefs. Tragedy lies in the inability for one to accomplish his or her desires due to unethical ways of others. A tragic hero is demonstrated when one no one longer cares about the consequences that will result and would rather lay down his life than lie to himself and
John Proctor’s mistakes led to the hysteria in Salem. After John ended things with Abigail, she got very angry and started rumors that witchcraft was rising in Salem. As one of the main characters, Abigail sparked outrage and fear in Salem. Once people started hearing about witchcraft, many people began accusing other people of committing witchcraft. Perhaps, if John never made the mistake of having an affair with Abigail, none of this would have happened.
There are many points in our lives in which we may be forced to make decisions that may prove to define us as a person. In some cases, these choices can impact those around us as well as ourselves, though not always for their benefit. When ones moral integrity is brought into question by others in exchange for their life, they must then make a decision upon whether they value their personal and social honour or their own life more, which may cause them to succumb to hasty decision making, which could lead to their demise, or the possible harming of others. This reality of life is evident in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible and comes to light in a multitude of situations, and in both aspects of the hypothetical decision; with characters choosing
The word crucible means “a severe test or trial (dictionary.com).” The Crucible is story about a puritan society that goes through some troubles with “witches” and the calamity that follows. The story starts with Reverend Parris, a contentious minister, discovering that his slave, called Tituba, and many of the younger females in Salem had danced in the woods the previous day (Applebee et. al. 169).
Life or Death: Did John Proctor Make the Right Decision? Countless people have learned about the lies and horrors of witches in 1692 during the Salem Witch trials. In The Crucible, a tragedy written by Arthur Miller, it displays the tragedy and wrongful convictions of the townsfolk of Salem. One notable character being John Proctor a well respected upperclassman in Salem who was willing to confess his sins, sacrificing his life for the greater good of his family and friends. There are many reasons people choose to do things in life whether or not they will turn out well in the end.
The Crucible was written by Arthur Miller in the 1950s. The Crucible is about witchcraft in Salem during 1692. Including the fact that witchcraft infiltrated the town. Many people throughout the town believed that witchcraft was a thing.
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
Published in 1952, during a period of cold war tensions, which culminated in the ideological witch trials of the mcarthy era in America; The crucible by Arthure miller is set in 1692 during the witch trials in salem massachusetts. The author has used allegory to position the reader to draw parrelels betweeen the to time periods and critisize the persecution that occured in both eras. One of the main themes that Miller has used to portray this viewpoint is the representation of personal integrity. Integrity is the quality of having strong moral pronciples. This is acheived through strongly contrasted characterisation of characters such as Abigail williams and and Rebecca Nurse, aswell as the inclusion of textual features such as irony, symbolism
If he did confess, he would ruin his and his family’s reputation. John Proctor was very conflicted. He came to his wife looking insight. Elizabeth was untrusting of John because of his affair with Abigail. She said, “John, you are not open with me.
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
Moreover, he would be justifying the existence of witches, which would further galvanize future spurious accusations. In addition, Proctor claimed, “I have three children - how may I teach them to walk like men in the world, and I sold my friends?” This quote insinuates that if he were to lie to his kids, they would not admire him as a role model and instead feel ashamed of him. Clearly, Proctor’s honor contributed to the ultimate decision of ripping up the signed
A man of conscience is one who is aware of his moral and ethical beliefs and judgments and one who will prefer right over wrong. The life of such man is ruled by the desire to seek the truth and justice in all that surrounds him, including himself. These attributes are seen in both character, John Proctor from Arthur Miller’s play, “The Crucible”, set in Salem in the early seventeenth century and in Atticus Finch from Harper Lee’s novel, “To Kill a Mockingbird” set in New York in 1950. In the play “The Crucible” set in the town of Salem which is burdened by the belief of witches, we are introduced to the main character John Proctor.