November 28, 2023 Setrak Makoyan Mrs. Aguirre English 56 CP John Proctor: A Victim of Lies Social status has been a staple in society for many years. Status builds who you are, how you function, and what you offer to the world. The town of Salem is no different. Filled with tension, the town starts pointing fingers at those of whom have been accused as witches. Using tactics of scapegoating and group-think to further add to the look of guilt. In the events that play out in The Crucible, it is shown that John Proctor is the significant victim of the various confrontations of society that have been stacked upon him. John Proctor reflects on the social and emotional side of victimhood. “Elizabeth, I have confessed it!” (Miller 68) Proctor pleas as he watches Elizabeth (his …show more content…
His temptation and adultery has caused his own wife to fall under the grace of the court of Salem and still she insists on defending him and not making him out to be an adulterer. His social status as the play goes on shows its decline and emotions get more heated. He is hopeless and tries to bargain with Governor Danforth by saying, “They are gulling you, Mister!” (Miller 70). His distressed attitude shows how far he has fallen from the beginning of the events of the trials. Hopeless he tries in any way to be in the slightest convincing. In the courtroom, Proctor confronts his accuser, Mary Warren. He says to her, “Mary, Mary, God damns all liars!” (Miller 70) and in doing so watches as his whole social image is tarnished. Mary, who was a servant to Proctor, accused Proctor of saving herself from the wrath that was Abigail Williams. The circumstances of the situation as a whole shaped him into the victim of social and emotional turmoil. His reputation down the gutter and suffrage from false accusations make Proctor a character of great tragedy. The character of John Proctor and his eventual victimhood was a
witch trials, people were being accused of witchcraft left and right. The Crucible is filled with mistakes, guilt, and a man who puts his life on the line to remain true to who he is, but is he truly a tragic hero? According to Aristotle, a tragic hero must possess four characteristics: goodness, superiority, a tragic flaw, and an eventual realization of their tragic flaw. In Authur Miller’s essay, Tragedy of the Common Man, he describes a tragic hero as being a “common man,” someone who suffered from
Carley Belnap English Mrs. Watt 23 September 2015 Crucible Essay Abigail Williams is motivated to lie about her affair with John Proctor. What motivates her to lie is the thought of getting hung. Another big reason that she could be lying is for vengeance. Abigail loves John Proctor and one night they had an affair and touched. Since then, Abigail has been jealous towards John’s wife, Elizabeth. Abigail goes into the forest with some other young girls and Tituba, who makes a potion to have
Reverend John Hale realizes the irrationality of the accusations and questions Danforth's rulings. Hale claims that he "dare not take a life without there be a proof so immaculate no slightest qualm of conscience may doubt it" (92). Danforth dismisses Hale's words by emphasizing his power and asking if Hale "doubts [his] probity" (93). Many people are punished despite the fact that Danforth's decisions lack supporting evidence. John Proctor also attempts to stand up to authority. When John is asked
Crucible essay Haag Chapin Mrs.Carlson 4th hour 7 April 2016 Reputation on the Crucible Essay Reputation is a publicly recognized name of someone or something that had or has been specified. Reputation plays a huge part in the Crucible in public and private situations. The private situations it plays fear of guilt by association becoming harmful. Public reputation is when the townspeople of Salem must fear the sins of friends and associates will taint their names. Arthur Miller, author of the
a very important role in the play , but John Proctor has to be the most memorable character. I say this because he is one of the very few characters who is actually facing numerous of challenged, causing him to be faced with hard decisions which deeply affects the entire scene. As the play continues we learn more and more about Proctor his decision reveals whom he actually is as a person. Each character played his/her own important role in the story but John is the character that leaves you still
Lacey Davis Martin 1 The Crucible Essay 2, April, 2014 Reputation of a Good Man. John Proctor, the man seen most as the protagonist to the book: The Crucible. In the past, not long from the time the play was set in, Proctor was extricated from the affairs he had done. He had a fine life, a loving wife, two sons, and a healthy farm. He was a respectable member of the Salem community, and most importantly, he respected himself. This all went downhill when Proctor had an affair with Abigail Williams
The Word Name and Its Significance in Arthur Miller's The Crucible In 'the crucible' Abigail Williams, Samuel Parris and John Proctor all mention the importance of their name. In this essay I am going to take each character in turn and point put parts in the play where they mention the importance of their name and explain it. Everyone in this world has some sort of name that they go by, whether it be their real name or a nickname. Most people's names are placed under a category which is
The Crucible - How John Proctor changed throughout the storyline from mistreating his wife by cheating on her while she was ill with Abigail, to someone who took the blame so no one else got in trouble. The Crucible In this essay I will talk about how John Proctor changed throughout the storyline from mistreating his wife by cheating on her while she was ill with Abigail, to someone who took the blame so no one else got in trouble. The Crucible is based on the true story of the 1692
The Crucible Essay In the play The Crucible the author shows, describes and tells the importance of these three main female characters: Elizabeth Proctor, Mary Warren and Abigail Williams. In this play the main female characters have many highs as lows, for example, when Mary Warren was an official of the court and then when the court accused her. All these highs and lows makes them react and adopt some attitudes and by the time this attitude are analyzed the reader can identify that each
the character of John Proctor as the tragic hero of the play. Not only does he unfortunately fall to desolation, but also his character captures the sympathy and pity from the audience or readers. A tragic hero is also known to be someone who brings about their own death, through a flaw within their character or through their actions. Proctor's downfall in the play is initiated by a human error, which to a great extent qualifies him to be the tragic hero. Is John Proctor a tragic hero?
Analysis of John Proctor’s Role as a Tragic Hero By definition, a tragic hero is a character who makes an error of judgment which ultimately leads to the hero’s demise or untimely end. In the times of the ancient Greeks, most tragic heroes were people of high rank or class, however Arthur Miller counters this normality with his own ideas. In Miller's essay, written in February of 1949, Tragedy and the Common Man, he states “the common man is as apt a subject for tragedy in its highest sense as kings
all the characters through either a struggle for courage; an acceptance of, or escape from, weakness; or a fight against, or for, the truth. The character through which we can see this struggle for courage displayed most notably would be John Proctor. Proctor is in a constant wrangle with himself throughout the entirety of the play, first seen with his regret and shame over his affair with Abigail. He does not have the courage to meet this conflict head-on, either by facing it in himself, in his
The Crucible Final Essay As Arthur Miller once wrote in The Crucible, “A man will not cast out his good name. You surely know that” (Miller 102). In this play, these words rang true and pure with one particular character, John Proctor. John Proctor was a good man who was revered by all, but had a dark secret: he had had an affair with his family’s maid, Abigail, even though he was married. These revelations about Proctor helped set the stage for the Salem Witch Trials that plague the townspeople
The Crucible In 1996 Miller wrote an essay for the New Yorker 'why I wrote the crucible' in it he asserted "John Proctor the sinner might overturn his paralysing personal guilt and become the most forthright voice against the madness around him was a reassurance to me, and, I suppose, an inspiration: it demonstrated that a clear moral outcry could still spring even from an ambiguously unblemished soul." Reading this article the final scene of John Proctor's final struggle with life seemed
Examine Arthur Miller's Presentation Of John Proctor's Moral Journey - The Crucible by Arthur Miller "The Crucible" by Arthur Miller is a play based upon an American settlement during the late 1600's. It is centred around actual events from history to try to portray the way of life in this era. Miller has chosen the confusion of the witch trials of this time, to provide a base for the struggles of his main character, John Proctor. At the beginning of the play the focus is laid mainly on