Why Is John Proctor Wrong In The Crucible

The Crucible is a book that takes place around the 1692 Salem witch trials. John Proctor, a major character in the book, chooses to die without lying rather than sell out the people around him. Proctor did not do the right thing because he did not have to incriminate anyone in immediate danger, it was possible to survive as a social outcast, and he has a duty to his family. In the trial he is asked to sell out other people for witchcraft. Proctor should incriminate someone who could not be hurt any longer. For example, John Proctor could say he had seen Giles doing witchcraft. The judge could not know that John Proctor knew that Giles was dead because Goody Proctor had told him. While in jail, John Proctor was cut off almost entirely from the news of the town. "I hear nothin', where I am kept"(136). Proctor says to his wife during his stay in jail. Giles could not be hurt after his death and therefore it was justified to lie about him in order to survive. Also, by not incriminating any further people, Proctor would stop giving the accusers new people to question and would stop the witch hunt.

Toward the beginning of the book, the scene description explains, "Proctor was a farmer in his middle thirties" (26), which tells the reader that he worked on a farm. As a social outcast, John Proctor would be required to have minimal contact with the rest of the town. While it is true, as a social outcast he would struggle to provide for his family without help from the rest of the town, a farmer like John Proctor has the ability to be almost entirely self sufficient. He can collect the seeds from the previous year's crops and plant them while eating the crops, using the crops to support his