“The greatest conflicts are not between two people, but between one person and himself” (Garth Brooks). The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a story based on the events of the Salem Witch Trials. In Salem, people are being accused of witchcraft, and most of the time hung to death if found guilty. If people confess to being a witch, they are pardoned and able to become a member of society again. John Proctor has many conflicts with people throughout this story, whether it is with his wife Elizabeth, Abigail Williams, or an inner conflict with himself over the things he’s done in his past. These unresolved conflicts lead to tragic results. John Proctor shows us that unresolved conflict between people can lead to tragic results. After John has …show more content…
an affair with Abigail Williams, he was very cautious around his wife. John had just come into the house after being outside working in the field when he notices the rabbit stew on the stove. He tastes it and then decides to add salt to give it some flavor. Elizabeth walks in right after, and John and her sit down to eat and John says to her, “It’s well seasoned” (Miller 1268). John complimented Elizabeth on something that he did. As we read on further, we realize how much tension is between the two of them. We begin to realize that by John seasoning the stew and then complimenting Elizabeth, he is trying his best to please her and in a way, prove that he is a changed man. Moving forward with the story we realize just how much the affair has affected Elizabeth and Johns relationship. Mary Warren has just told John and Elizabeth that she had saved Elizabeth’s life today in court. Mary continues to tell them that Elizabeth was accused of witchcraft by Abigail, who caused her to say, “She wants me dead, John, you know it” (Miller 1274). When Elizabeth says this, she also realizes that Abigail is willing to go to extreme lengths to be with John. All of Abigail’s accusations have led up to her accusing Elizabeth. Elizabeth is the person she has been after since the beginning of this mess. All of the other people accused are just innocent bystanders that got caught up in the storm that is Abigail Williams. Another conflict for John is with the infamous Abigail Williams.
After John hears about people crying witchcraft, he decides to go into town to get the truth about what is really happening. He goes to talk to Parris, but afterwards runs into Abigail. When he talks to her, she tells him what really happened when all of the girls were in the woods. After hearing her side of the story, Abigail begins to tell John about how much she has missed him. She even says that she has missed him so much; that she see’s him at night by her window. John explains to her that the feelings he once had for her are long gone. This news doesn’t sit well with Abigail. She then tells him: “I look for John Proctor that took me from my sleep and put knowledge in my heart” (Miller 1247). The feelings that Abigail still has towards John are not reciprocated. John is trying desperately to put what he had with Abigail behind him. Abigail doesn’t like the way that John dismissed her feelings for him, which caused her to take things into her own hands. Cheever comes to John and Elizabeth’s home after hearing what happened to Abigail while she was at her house. He then asks Elizabeth if she has any poppets in her home, to which she replied no. Cheever then saw the poppet that Mary Warren had given Elizabeth earlier that day after she had returned from court. He begins to examine the doll, to which he finds a needle stuck in the poppets stomach. Cheever then goes to explain what unfolded at Reverend Parris’ …show more content…
house earlier that evening: “And he goes to save her, and, stuck two inches in the flesh of her belly, he draw a needle out” (Miller 1282). Abigail was eating dinner with her uncle, Reverend Parris, when she felt excruciating pain in her stomach, and then fell to the floor with no warning. She said that Elizabeth Proctor sent her spirit out on her and stuck her with a needle. This just proves that Abigail will go to whatever lengths it takes be with John Proctor. The last conflict in this story is the one that John has with himself.
John’s inner conflict most likely started after the affair with Abigail. He had a hard time believing that after everything he had done, that he was still a good man. John may not have had feelings towards Abigail anymore, but that doesn’t mean that he doesn’t still think of her: “Abby, I may think of you softly from time to time. But I will cut off my own hand before I’ll ever reach for you again” (Miller 1246). After everything that had happened between John and Abigail, he is finally saying that enough is enough. He is trying to let Abigail down gently, but she is convinced that they are supposed to be together. Soon after, John gets thrown in jail because Abigail’s plan backfired. The day comes that John is supposed to be executed unless he confesses to working with the devil, and signing his black book. John and Elizabeth talk about what decision they think he should make: confess to a sin he did not commit, or lie to save his life. They ultimately decide that John should confess to witchery. John confesses to the judges, and then is told to sign a written document of his confession. Danforth tells John that his confession will be displayed in the community so everyone knows he confessed, and to use him as an example. Danforth continues to question John about what happened when he made his deal with the devil. He asks if he ever saw Goody Nurse or Goody Corey, to which he replies: “I speak my own
sins; I cannot judge another” (Miller 1331). When John says this, he is saying that he is accountable for the sins he committed and cannot judge another for theirs. He has made many mistakes throughout his life, but he finally decides that he does not want to ruin his good name by confessing to a sin that he did not commit. He rips up his written confession, which in a way symbolizes him giving into this crazy scheme that Abigail has created. He decides that death is better than the outcome of a broken reputation. After everything John has been through, he chooses death over succumbing to the accusation of witchcraft.
Before the play takes place, Abigail Williams and John Proctor had an affair while Abigail was working as a servant in their home. Eventually, John confessed and apologized to Elizabeth, pledging his faithfulness to her. Nonetheless, at the time the play takes place, Elizabeth still hasn’t fully forgiven him, and gives him a hard time about it. Abigail confessed the pretense of her accusations to him when they were alone, and now he has no way to prove that she’s lying to the court. But because he was alone with her again, Elizabeth becomes angry with him. She still doubts her husband because she feels that if it were any other girl he had to go testify against, he would not hesitate. But, because it’s Abigail, John feels he has to think harder on making a decision. He doesn’t want his name spoiled by a counter-testimony. John feels he is now justified in becoming angry because for the seven months since his confession, he has done nothing but try to please his wife, and she still approaches him with suspicion and accusatio...
Corruption has always existed in our society since the beginning to present time due to conspiracies such as the witch trials and the communism era. The Crucible by Arthur Miller was written during the era of communism to mere the hysteria. The Crucible is about the Salem witch trials in Salem Massachusetts in 1692. It’s a corrupt witch trial in Salem that’s due to false accusations of witchcraft for personal gains. John Proctor is the protagonist in the story The Crucible who goes through the ultimate test by choosing his reputation over integrity. He also had an affair with a young girl named Abigail who is the antagonist and is the main reason the bloodshed is occurring in Salem. Initially, Proctor hesitates to deal with his sin, but as the play progresses, he begins to understand its effects; this ultimately leads him to find goodness in himself as he stands for the truth.
John Proctor is the protagonist in The Crucible. He becomes the person who fights for what is right. As the story goes on, the secrets of Proctor are revealed, and it is discovered that he committed adultery with Abigail Williams. In prison, before he is hanged, Proctor asks, “Who will judge me? God in Heaven, what is John Proctor, what is John Proctor?” John Proctor was a confused soul who discovered what he truly believed, and did not disobey what he decided to believe.
John Proctor has a great amount of inner turmoil throughout The Crucible. Most of his conflict within himself stems from his affair with Abbigail. Throughout the work by Arthur Miller, John tends to judge people and does not examine himself for mistakes and faults. All of his guilt builds up and overwhelms him when his wife is accused of witchcraft. This is the final straw that makes him renounce Abbigail’s claims to the court. John was in the right place at the right time in many situations, but his inner conflicts clouded his judgement.
Throughout Arthur Miller’s The Crucible and the duration of the Salem Witch Trials, John Proctor is a very well known community man who everyone sees as a kind, trustworthy, and loyal man. He may be seen this way, but in his possession he holds a secret that will then lead to his downfall. John Proctor starts to lose who he really is and then turns into someone who people don’t even recognize anymore. This change begins when there is a possibility that he may lose his life when confronted to the court. Proctor’s state plays a big part in leading up to his dreadful death. Such as his affair, the accusation of his wife, and the tensions taking place in his marriage.
Cheever had presented a warrant for the arrest of Elizabeth Proctor. Upon John Proctor asking who had charged her, Cheever replied, “Why, Abigail Williams charged her” (69). Along the beginning of the play, we can make the assumption that Abigail wants Elizabeth Proctor out of the picture due to an affair she had with John Proctor, Elizabeth’s husband. So her form of doing so is by accusing her of witchcraft as well. After a warrant being sent for her arrest, John requests there be proof for the accusation and the “evidence” is found, “Cheever: I find here a poppet Goody Proctor keeps...and in the belly of the poppet a needle’s stuck” (71). Abigail Williams had accused Elizabeth Proctor claiming that she had stuck a needle into her belly. In order to make it believable, she had fallen over during dinner at Reverend Parris’s house and screamed in pain. Parris had gone to save her and found a needle stuck two inches into her belly. When questioned how it got there, she claimed she had seen Elizabeth’s spirit push it in. However, it is known that Abigail sat next to Mary Warren in the courtroom while she made a poppet and stuck her needle into the doll’s stomach for safe keeping. Acknowledging this, Abigail took it as an opportunity to turn it into one of her accusations, this time targeting
This creates tension in the home between John and Elizabeth Proctor. “You were alone with her?” Elizabeth says, John responds “for a moment alone aye” “why then it is not what you told me”.(222) This angers John because he is floating in his guilt for being unfaithful to his wife. Its builds a strain on their marriage and keep the couple in a cold house. Proctor has been faith full to his religion, only attending church only once a month. These actions put more reason for people to suspect that john is participating in witchcraft. “I am no good man. Nothing's spoiled by giving them this lie that were not rotten long before.”(239) John is selfish by going with the lie saying, he participated in witchcraft than to confess and say he didn’t to be with his wife and his unborn child. John lived in a lie and he Salem government took his life from
The primary dramatic focus in the play The Crucible is the moral struggle of its protagonist, John Proctor. Certain characteristics of John Proctor's character and also the environment of the Puritanical Salem alleviated this problem for him. The main issues running through out the play are a series of dilemmas that John Proctor faces. The first and foremost of these is his guilt over his adulterous affair with Abigail Williams, the second his hesitation to testify against Abigail to bring out the truth and the third, his final decision to make the ultimate sacrifice.
John was a cherished man, a man that no one can replace. I stand before thee to bid my beloved John Proctor one last goodbye. John if you are listening to this, let me tell u, I had never seen such goodness in this world till the day I set my eyes on you. God has you in his arms now John and I in my heart. Oh the sorrow of bitter justice, if only there was such a thing, my husband would still be alive and well today to see his creation brought into this world. He is under gods wings now, a white knight who stopped the pillars of Salem from crumbling down to the cinders of hell.
As the town uncovers the antics of the girls and are outraged, the girls start to cry out names of others they have supposedly seen with the Devil in order to save themselves. Therefore, the audience perceives that the affair between John and Abigail is the instigator of all the hysteria surrounding the witch trials, signifying the consequences of a small human error. The affair also caused Elizabeth to distrust John, who for seven months was trying to get into her good graces and is tired of her suspicion. He bluntly tells her "... I have not moved from there to there without I think to please you.
Abigail accuses innocent people of witchcraft, including John’s wife, Elizabeth. She does this so her and John would be together and Elizabeth wouldn’t be in his life, even after John told Abigail he does not love her. He faces this crucible throughout the play and changes his demeanor towards Abigail. John becomes infuriated and he wants to expose Abigail for making false accusations of witchcraft, although it might include his confession of adultery. John eventually confesses his sin of adultery but refuses for it to be made public and posted on the church door, resulting in his
John contemplated his actions and reached an influential decision towards what his fate would be after all, he believed, he could control it. As he stated defiantly, "I want my life... I will have my life" (78). After john confessed, he believed he had done Elizabeth and the children good, for they were wellspring of his life. He would be free, and accepted by Salem still. The powerful effect of his trial and disagreement and its conflicting with Salem's way of life had already left a silent, yet profound mark on the community.
In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, various characters, whether it is from physical trials or unseen personal struggles, experience some kind of major conflict. There are those who spend every day in fear, wondering whether or not they will be falsely accused of witchcraft. There are others who struggle with more internal trials, such as forgiving those who have hurt them. The protagonist, John Proctor, was a man of strong moral constitution, and held himself to a high standard for the sake of his good name and family. As a result of this, he struggled with a major internal conflict throughout the play.
Through the right and wrong choices John Proctor made when it came to some very difficult decisions in his life, we learn that best decisions in life are sometimes the ones that bring us hardship. Human nature causes one to lie to save them from going through the difficult part of a situation but in the process usually adds to the circumstance that made them lie in the first place. The decisions a person makes in life reveals what type of person they truly are when all is said and done.
John Proctor faces many decisions in response to his moral dilemma to try to save his life. One of the difficult decisions John makes is to reveal that he had an affair with Abigail Williams and thereby has committed adultery. If the local court convicts him of this crime, he faces being jailed. Also by admitting this crime, John reveals a weakness in his character. This flaw in his personality will make it harder for him to stand up in the community as an honorable and believable person. In trying to convince others that witchcraft does not exist John’s dishonesty with his wife will make him less convincing to the community.