Who Is John Proctor's Reputation In The Crucible

John Proctor, a farmer from the Seventeenth Century town of Salem, Massachusetts, disbelieves the idea that the Devil can have any influence on the minds of the girls dancing in the woods. His belief that the children’s sickness had nothing to do with witchcraft does nothing to stop the court system from prosecuting and executing those accused of performing witchcraft. Although John Proctor provides clean-cut evidence to the court that witchcraft did not impact Abigail and her followers, the members of the court did nothing to stop the witch trials. One evening at the Proctor household, Reverend John Hale visits John and his wife, Elizabeth. He asks them a plethora of questions in an attempt to see if the Proctors could possibly have the Devil’s influence present in the house.

Lie or Die: The Life of John Proctor “Decisions are the hardest thing to make, especially when it is a choice between where you should be and where you want to be.” (Rana Magdy) This quotes describes John Proctor battling to choose between dying and confessing to being a falsely accused witch. In the play, The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, confessing would lead John Proctor to a happy life with his family; if he tells the truth he will be hung , but he will keep honor to his name. Since John Proctor is motivated by his will to uphold his name, his decision to refuse to confess to witchcraft causes John to find strength to stand up for what is right, and accept the consequences that follow by the end of the play.

During the hysteria of 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts, many people were accused of practicing witchcraft. Therefore, their good names, or reputation, was ruined. Other people did anything and committed many sins in order to keep their reputation clean in town. For instance, some characters had to lie, fight, and accuse other people of witchcraft could get the individual out of trouble and keep their good name. when a person got accused of being a witch, the person’s reputation would get ruined and the person would go to jail or be hanged.

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.

He has to decide whether to admit to a crime he did not commit or die a martyr to preserve his family’s name and dignity. John chooses to tell the truth and gives up his own life for the well being of his family and it is at this time he truly finds the goodness in himself to move forward with his decision, even though it would mean his death. Elizabeth says to Hale, “He have his goodness now, God forbid I take it from him!”(Miller 1233), which shows that even his wife Elizabeth knows that he has learned to forgive himself and that he is doing one last good act before he leaves this earth. In his moments before death, Proctor has his revelation, which enables him to forgive himself for his past mistakes and find the goodness he had been seeking from the beginning of the

He has grown a major self-hate based on the affair and what trouble it had led to. John’s exposition tells us he is honest, strong, and independent even though we find John to be a hypocrite. His unloyal actions through acts one through four and lies prove that he has lost his way. When in prison for the accusation of witchcraft, John is given the chance to plead guilty and live out his sentence. Leaving his wife Elizebeth to convince him to confess, he says the following to her, “I cannot mount the gibbet like a saint.

John succumbed to the fact that he must confess to save his wife and unborn son or daughter. Judge Danforth has given him a piece of paper the equivalent to a contract between the two men. The contract depicts that he has admitted to his sins, although Danforth says that it will be posted on the front door of the church. In return it would be seen by the entire puritan population of Salem. As a reaction Proctor rejects this idea, saying you can’t do this to

He then rips the paper, changing his mind about confessing to a false accusation. This angers everyone else, but John doesn’t care. He knows what is right and tries his best to do

This shows that John is a merciful being and desires forgiveness from his wife and God, therefore demonstrating traits of a good man. Furthermore, John has a heated argument with his wife, due to his encounter with Abigail, alone. Although, he thinks his wife will doubt him, she states on the contrary, “I do not judge you. The magistrate sits in your heart that judges you. I never thought you but a good man, John - only somewhat bewildered” (55).

John could have used this opportunity to get revenge on Abigail. Instead he makes the honorable decision to personally redeem himself from his previous mistakes. Earlier in the play he claimed that Mary and the girls were “God damn all liars” (Miller 117). This quote demonstrates John judging people for their sins, which is exactly what he claimed he does not do. It shows a dramatic change in his character, a change in personal

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.

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.

The best character (The crucible) John proctor was the most admirable character in the play because he sacrifices himself for his for his children, also he was a good husband and because he was much known in the town he had a lot of problems and also a lot of things to do like, takes care of his children and a ranch that he has. In act 4 the author wrote “Because I lie and sign myself to lie! Because I am not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang” (page1232) Act4. That John mean in this seen is that he was regretful about lying, and because, of him a lot of people was hang he apprehend that lying is not good and he needed to pay for his act .

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.

John Proctor is a sacrificial character because he revealed himself as a lecher in attempt to save those accused of witchcraft. By revealing Abigail 's true intentions with the accusation, he thought maybe the court would call off the witch hunt. When Proctor first told Abigail about his idea, she replied by saying “You will confess to fornication? In the court?” which Proctor responded with “If you will have it so, so I will tell it” (Miller 142). This shows that he does not want to tarnish his name with the sin of adultery, however, if Abigail won’t call off the witch hunt herself, Proctor will confess in order to save his wife as well as the rest of the accused.