More handpicked essays just for you.
Essay on John Proctor the character from The Crucible
Character analysis for john proctor in act 3 of the crucible
Character of john proctor in the crucible
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Crucible Argumentative Essay
In nearly everyone’s life they have had a tough situation to deal with. The situation itself is bad, however it will help you determine who you are. In “The Crucible” there are many times where people are in a predicament, however, what you do in that situation is what is important. When you are faced with a tough situation, how one reacts will show who you truly are.
During a tough situation, one will lie to benefit themselves. Abigail started becoming in trouble during the court case and receive her way, she pretends that Mary Warren’s spirit becomes a bird that is hurting her and Abigail says “Oh, Mary, this is a black art to change your shape” (Miller 394). Abigail knows that inevitably she is going to in jail with the way that the trial is happening. She proceeds to bring the heat off of her and has all of the girls join in. Ironically, Mary ends up lying in the
…show more content…
same situation. Proctor has supported her this entire trial and she says “[He is] the Devil’s man” to the entire court. Due to no one supporting Proctor and there has been a confession, Proctor is sentenced to be hung. Despite Proctor helping Mary Warren so much she decides to lie and backstab him just for the benefit of herself. During a tough situation, one will tell the truth despite consequences.
John Proctor is a very honest man, he maintains his integrity even when in a hard situation. Despite knowing that it would keep him alive, John decides to stay true to himself and not lie about being with the devil. John does not want to give a bad impression to his “three children—how may [he] teach them to walk like men in the world” if he lies to get out of death and other innocent people die. (Miller 407) Proctor keeps his name true and does not confess, this shows his character because when faced with death he decides to keep his honesty. Even though he is on the brink of death he stays true to his morals and remains honest. John values his name and “How may [John] live without [his] name? [He has] given [them his] soul; leave [him his] name!” (Miller 404). When he confesses, John will have his name put up onto the church on a list of people that have confessed to being with the devil. The public reputation of that is too much for John and he would rather die honest than live as a
liar. When you are in a tough situation, the way that you act will determine your true character.
If I were him, I would consider about my family too. John Proctor’s children had to grow up without their parents if Proctor died. Being honest is definitely important to Proctor in order to be a good example for his children, but as a father, isn’t it even more important to live and teach his children about lives? But anyways, John Proctor’s bravery and righteousness are highly honorable because these are what nowadays people need. Some people really cherish their lives and willing to give up anything to save their lives. People are secular today; If lying can save their life, they will definitely give up their integrity to live. Although John Proctor is a sinner before, he sacrificed himself and became a good man. If there is god, I believed John Proctor will be honored by god in heaven and his
By making a false affirmation, John Proctor would be “signing the book of the devil” (Popkin 318). For John Proctor to sign the sheet, he would be assigning himself to the dark acts of witches, which would have been false. By confessing to witchcraft John Proctor would be destroying his family name by associating it with the Devil. John Proctor would rather die a truthful, honest man that his children could look up to than one who lied to save his own skin. This contrasts a man such as Reverend Parris, a church establishment figure, whose only desire is to stay as the head of the local church. John Proctor would take death before he would associate himself with
His refusal to go to church and avoid baptizing his kids is due impart to him thinking that Reverend Parris is a dishonest church leader. All these acts against conformity truly define who he is at the end of the play when he avoids succumbing to the conformity. Proctor was falsely accused of being a witch and was facing execution. He was desperate to give in to the conformity because he was facing death, but he stayed true to himself and did not give in to conformity. Proctor says, “And there’s your first marvel… for now I do think some shred of goodness in John Proctor”; this implies that he realizes he made the morally right choice (Miller 144). He just saved the life of many innocent people by giving his own life. For Proctor saving the people and giving up is life was the only option. “I am no Sarah Good or Tituba … it is no part of salvation that you use me… I have given you my soul; leave me my name”; as John Proctor says this it implies how morally strong he is because he thinks it is shameful to go along with the conformity (Miller 142 – 144). Most of the court was against Proctor and were pressuring him to surrender but he refused. He says, “for them that quail to bring men out of ignorance, as I have quailed… we will burn, we will burn together”; this emphasizes the fact that he truly understands that there is
John Proctor is a good man. He is a puritan, a husband, a citizen, and an all around valuable member of the community. All of this is represented by his name. The name of John Proctor could be considered his most prized possession. It is his most priceless asset. Proctor is very strong-willed and caring. He does not set out with any intentions of hurting anyone. He is a farmer and village commoner who is faced with incredible inner turmoil. He has committed adultery and had absolutely no intentions of joining in the witch trials. After his wife got involved and eventually was set free due to the fact that she was pregnant, he feels that he can't sit back and accept what is happening to the town. John Proctor is a good and noble man and because of this he believes that he can't be hanged and die a martyr when he has this sin blooming over him every waking moment.
Although John Proctor isn’t much of a pious man, he does choose to do the right thing in the end. He doesn’t go down to the level of Danforth, he stays truthful and prideful to himself. Not many people would confess to something if it meant they would be hanged or imprisoned for their actions, John Proctor did. These three personalities of John Proctor prove that he is an overall good man even if he made a few poor choices in his lifetime. He ultimately shows that everyone should be proud of who they are and always tell the truth because if you want to be successful, you must be true to
Proctor’s prideful personality does not let him baptize his third son because he dislikes Reverend Parris (168, l. 516-520). Proctor withholds his affair with Abigail because of his pride, he was unable to confess it until his wife was accused. Before he confessed he stated that “a man will not cast away his good name,” this statement suggest that a man has a lot of pride in his name and therefore his confession must be true (189, l. 845-847). In addition, after confessing to witchcraft Proctor takes pride in his name and refuses to have his name nailed in the door of the church showing everyone that he confessed to witchcraft (207, l. 894-897). “You will not use me! I am no Sarah Good or Tituba, I am John Proctor! You will not use me!,” Proctor beliefs he is better than Sarah good and Tituba hence he would not sign his name (207, l. 899-701). Towards the end, Proctor thinks better of his action and rips the signed paper after declaring, “Because I am not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang! How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name!” (207, l. 725-730). Proctor compares himself with the brave people that are about to hang and takes pride in his name by refusing to keep on lying and ripping the paper with his signature; he bravely accepted death with the thought that his name is not tainted by
John Proctor: “God in heaven, what is John Proctor, what is John Proctor”. John is a man of strong moral beliefs, concerned only for the safety of his family and personal welfare. He cares of nothing for the beliefs of any of the other people in the town and what his supervisor which is the Reverend, thinks either. After trying to avoid involvement in the witch trials he is later prosecuted for witchery and sentenced to hang. John trys to avoid any involvement in the Salem witch trials. His reason for doing so is to protect his image because he is afraid he will be committed of adultery with Abigail Williams. Following these events he trys to save everyone’s lives by admitting to this horrible offense adultery and ends up losing the trial along with his life. He did have a chance to live but instead of signing away his name and his soul to keep his life, he wanted to die honorably with his friends not without a name, a soul, and with guilt. “John Proctors decision to die is reasonable and believable”. Reverend Parris, the Salem minister and Proctors immediate supervisor, which says “ there is either obedience or the church will burn like hell is burning.” “The church in theocratic Salem is identical with the state and the community and will surely crumble if unquestioning obedience falters in the least.” Proctor, on the other hand, “has come to regard his self as a king of fraud,” as long as he remains obedient to an authority which he cannot respect.
In the story, “The Crucible”, John Proctor is thought to be a sinful person because he does not know all of the commandments and sometimes plows on Sundays. The author does not reveal this to the readers directly but tells them what others have been saying about him. Readers can also learn that Proctor is quite prideful. His main goal was to save Elizabeth from hanging, but when Danforth gave him a deal that would save Elizabeth he did not take it. Proctor was too proud to take the deal. Also when Proctor confessed to seeing the devil, his pride got in the way from saving his life. He did not want his name to be slandered.
...r a confession from Proctor, if only to save the life of a godly man. The world desperately seeks wise men who can see through deception. John however, even with his wife pleading, refused to name any others as a servant of Satan and damage the name of Proctor. His pride led to his death. He could not stand being a coward, and I respect him deeply for that. If John Proctor did not ascend to Heaven, then I and all others should burn in hell.
John Proctor is guilty of both spoken lies and lies conveyed from his actions. John Proctor has to deal with the decision to stay true to himself and not let his frustration condemn him to falsify the truth. Accused of conjuring with the devil among many other innocent Puritans in the town, John has to face making the right decision to either be hanged and keep his soul pure or lie to save his life and oblige to the magistrates that he did indeed conjure with devil. The tendency to want to keep your life is within any human being on this Earth, however John is faced with the decision of saving his life or faulting his already remorseful heart by lying. As John Proctor makes the decision to lie and keep his life, he begins to doubt how others will now think of him knowing he conjured with the devil. When asked to sign his name on paper for the entire town to see he refuses and exclaims, “Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies…” (143) While John passionately speaks this, his immense frustration is finally released and shows his desire to stay true to himself and others in the town. Refusing to sign the paper conveys the lie he initially told and the truth he sought for once realizing the guilt and remorse he would have for the rest of his life. John Proctor’s feeling of frustration
The first incident in the play where we see Proctor's honesty is after the affair he had with Abigail. He realized his mistake and was honest and admitted it to his wife Elizabeth. In the next situation where Proctor is involved he tells the Reverend Parris why he does not like him, and it also gets him into trouble. He tells him, "Can you speak one minute without we land in hell again, I'm sick of hell! (p. 30). He is honest, yet disrespectful to his reverend. While in court, John Proctor is too honest to the judges. He admits his guilt of not being a religious Christian and says " I have once or twice plowed on Sunday" (p.91) and he also admits not going to church every Sunday. He also admits that he committed adultery and had an affair with Abigail. His most commendable moment of honesty was when he was on death row and would rather die than confess and lie.
Proctor’s confession to having seen Satan is fake, and without the confession he must be executed. Proctor’s confession is soon to be revealed false when he states: “ You will not use me! I am no Sarah Good or Tituba, I am John Proctor! You will not use me! It is no part of your salvation that you should use me!” ( Act 4 Lines 281- 283). John’s decision to keep himself honest, while at the same time, wanting to confess, leaves him with a magnitude of frustration aimed at himself. With the option to save himself by lying and confessing about having Satan visit him, John feels that this is his chance to prove to himself that he is not a fraud. John’s decision to destroy the signed confession causes him to forgive himself and not to think of himself as a
Many novels contain a character who is placed in a situation that changes their development. The best or worst of their personality can emerge, as well as their attitude towards those around them. Crucibles can be individual tests and are noticeable in most literary pieces. Commiting a sin or allowing yourself to have all the power in a community, can cause a crucible in your life, or in a fellow individual’s life. In The Scarlet Letter, The Crucible, and Animal Farm , the protagonists experience a situation that alters their perspective of themselves and others.
The witchcraft trials became a significant event in Salem. There were 20 innocent people that died and many more accused. There is a debate on whether who was the main reason for the witchcraft trials and all the deaths of the accused. There are good arguments on about every side. Judge Danforth, Abigail Williams, John Proctor, Reverend Hale, Reverend Parris, Elizabeth Proctor and Mary Warren are all the main arguments for the blame. Personally, I believe that Abigail Williams is the main reason why the witchcraft trials came about and that so many people have died and were accused.
If he lived, he felt he would be alive but with no purpose. To survive, and falsely confess to witchcraft, John knew he would lose his name in the town. When asked why he refused to sign a declaration binding himself to the devil Proctor responded, “ Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies! Because I am not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang! How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name” (MIller, 1163)!