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. He explains to the court that Abigail is involved with his crime, adultery. He admits to Danforth that he had an affair with Abigail during his marriage with Elizabeth. Although he confessed, he wasn’t straightforward when he did but sadly Danforth knew exactly what he meant. John yells, “It is a whore! – I have known her sir, I have known her” (110). 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! In well she
In this quote, Proctor is saying that the accusations of people that are practicing witchcraft are false. He is saying this because the woman being accused has a good reputation. Hale argued back that even the Devil was good before he fell from heaven, and that he had a good reputation with God. Your nature could change with your actions.
At the conclusion of The Crucible by Arthur Miller, John Proctor exhibits tremendous honor. John’s moving oration just before destroying his confession revealed that he his thoughts towards lying. In an attempt to save his good name, John Proctor would put his life on the line to go out with honesty. Prior to the witch accusations, John Proctor put his good name in jeopardy after fooling around with Abigail Williams.
John Proctor committed adultery with Abigail Williams before the play begin. However, nobody knew, except John Proctor, his wife Elizabeth, and their servant girl, Abigail Williams. This act proves to be an issue, for example, Elizabeth begins to suspect of John and Abigail so she sends Abby off. John confesses to his actions However, the tension is still tangible in the Proctor’s house and Elizabeth is still saddened by this event. As a result, John is easily angered because his wife is still suspicious of him.
Although Proctor wanted to keep a clean record, he decided saving his wife is worth telling the truth. He admitted to committing Adultery with Abigail when Elizabeth was mentioned in the court. John was thrown in jail. Danforth comes to John and offers him to sign a confession so he may be kept from hanging. Proctor´s mindset is stuck on his name.
Now that Reverend Hale is seeing through the girls lies, John receives more confidence having a high authority member on his side. Unfortunately, Hales strong recommendations have no affect and John must figure out a way to prove his wife’s innocence. The court finds her illness suspicious and relates it back to witchcraft. At this point John knew the only way to help himself come to terms with his decisions and help not only his wife, but the names of all of the innocent lives and families affected by the trials, he must confess his adultery. By admitting to his sin, he will show Abigail’s true intentions behind all of the accusations and slander the girls created.
Everyday people go out to explore and wonder the community with different reputations, not knowing death could happen at any second. Whether you are walking around the block, to crossing the street. People worry about upholding positive reputations, because they have strong beliefs to be well known for their future generations. John Proctor did not want to raise his kids and live under a negative reputation, even though they already had a bad reputation, leading his to making the wrong decision in taking his life to protect his reputation. By doing this, John left behind his pregnant wife and kids, left behind an even worse reputation for his family, and wasn't able to prove Abigail guilty.
In the play The Crucible by Arthur, the character John Proctor in acts 1 and 2, had as motivation, keep in secret his affair in secret and maintain and a clean reputation. To begin, in act 1, John Proctor went to the Parris’ house to see why a lot of people was outside of it. There he had a conversation with one of the girls and also the one who John had an affair, Abigail, about why Betty Parris doesn’t wake up and he and asked her “what’s this mischief here?”, because “the town’s mumbling witchcraft”(Miller 21), and then Abigail confessed “we[the group of girls] were dancin’ in the woods last night, and my uncle leaped in on us. She took fright, is all.” (Miller 22), acquiring the information of what really happened that night.
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.
In the Crucible, many of the characters go through changes because of the intensity of the situation. But there is only one character that I think changed the most, and that is John Proctor who is the protagonist of the novel The Crucible by Arthur Miller. I think that John Procotor changes the most in the Crucible because he is in every act and mostly in every scene, and throughtout the play I see more drama (Dynamic Character) in him than any other character in the Crucible and I will go through and tell you how John Proctor changes in the Crucible. In the beginning of the play (Acts 1 and 2), we focus on John Proctor and we know that he is a good puritan citizen, a hard-working farmer and who is a husband and father.
He finally admits to Danforth that he has known Abigail “in the proper place where my beasts are bedded” , ultimately stating his confession about the affair he had with Abigail, committing a major sin in Puritan ideology (Miller 110). Proctor in confessing about his affair, he astonishes the court and making Abigail furious about what he had admitted to. However, Abigail attempts to lie to the court, denying any claims of any such event. Yet , Proctor exclaims “I have made a bell of my honor. I have rung the doom of my good name - you will believe me, Mr.Danforth!”
In the play The Crucible written by Arthur Miller, John Proctor was internally triumphant when he gained respect for himself, primarily due to his mission of personal redemption and his integrity. Overwrought by regret of his actions, John Proctor is driven on a mission to personally prove himself. He realizes the enormous mistake of committing lechery with Abigail, and wants to prove to himself he has a good will. Near the final pages of the play, Proctor was asked if he was accompanied when doing the devil’s work, he responded “I speak my own sins; I cannot judge another. I have no tongue for it” (Miller 141).
In the first act of “The Crucible”, it is evident that John Proctor is highly controversial among the citizens of Old Salem. There are Salemites that are friendly and treat him with respect, there are others that are infuriated with him, and there is one that has a grand lust for the married John Proctor. The reason many Salemites have a certain disdain for the name John Proctor, is that Proctor rarely ever comes to church. Proctor actively avoids coming to church, because he does not agree with the way Reverend Parris preaches.
Proctor realized the truth behind everything and decided it was time to come forward and tell Danforth, “She thinks to dance with me on my wife's grave! And well she might, for I thought of her softly. God help me, I lusted, and there is a promise in such sweat. But it is a whore's vengeance, and you must see it now” (Miller ). John tries to reveal who Abigail really is but it does not help the lives of those who are to be hanged.
Also, in attempt to tell the truth about Abigail, John Proctor admits to cheating on his wife with Abigail, but Elizabeth lets her fear assist her in lying. John Proctor tells everyone in the court, previous to Elizabeth arriving, “she [has] never lied” (III.891.). With everyone now knowing that she does not lie, it makes her trustworthy and believable. Deputy Danforth then brings Elizabeth in to confirm what
In the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller, John Proctor is accused of performing witchcraft and contracting with the Devil. He is faced with the decision to either confess to or deny the accusations. Ultimately, Proctor chooses to deny the accusations and dies a martyr. Proctor’s decision to sacrifice himself is justified because he protected the reputation of those who died and risked being arrested to save his wife, Elizabeth Proctor. John Proctor’s death is justified because he was willing to sacrifice his life to protect the reputation of others.