A strong man will be willing to die, if it means he did it for what he believed was right. "I can. And there's your first marvel, that I can. You have made your magic now, for now I do think I see some shread of goodness in John Proctor. Not enough to weave a banner with, but white enough to keep it from such dogs. Elizabeth, in a burst of terror, rushes to him and weeps against his hand. Give them no tear! Tears pleasure them! Show a stony heart and sink them with it! He has lifted her, and kisses her now with great passion." (Miller. 1232. John Proctor.) These are the words of John Proctor just before he went to the gallows to hang, for denying witchcraft. The quote above can help justify that John Proctor is the most admirable character …show more content…
When asked by Reverend Hale, why John thinks it's a scam, John simply said " And why not, if they must hang for denyin' it? there are them that will swear to anything before they'll hang; have you never thought of that?"(Miller. 1173. John Proctor.) this statement was a turning point on the outlook of witchcraft in Salem. Not long after this statement was said, other men began to question the idea of witchcraft when their wives where convicted for witchcraft. As the accusations went on, many men believed that the accusations were a way to get to other peoples’ land from neighbors by simply accusing them to get them hung. It's amazing how a simple statement can become the turning point of an entire town. Not only is the statement incredible but also the person who asked the question. Why, you ask, because it means that John Proctor is using his mind to think of what caused the sudden outburst of witchcraft. John also you one of the girls close to Abigail Williams to learn that the girls are simply pretending to have seen the devil, to help Abigail Williams get rid of Elizabeth Proctor. When John Proctor hear of this plan his mind immediately went into protection mode for his wife, thus making him want to do anything in the world to save his wife from the gallows. Even if it means getting himself into
Zig Ziglar once said, “The foundation stones for a balanced success are honesty, character, integrity, faith, love and loyalty.” I feel that this quote relating to The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, means that you have to have loyalty to have success in life. This quote explains itself in the Crucible by how Elizabeth was hurt by the affair Proctor had with Abigail. Since Elizabeth is motivated by loyalty her decision to lie in court results in her loss of John Proctor by the end of the play.
What is a tragic hero? A tragic hero is typically defined as a character in a literary work who has a lot of pride and makes a judgment error that leads to their ultimate demise. The downfall usually has to do with their pride.
[A cell in Salem jail, that fall, The accused women sat on the cold stone floor. Hale quietly came seeking justice. The cold of the night stabbed the accused women like daggers, knowing all they had was their dignity and pride. Reminiscing of her husband, Elizabeth caressed her now 3 month pregnant paunch]
In John Proctor’s sudden confession of committing adultery, Miller used strong ethos and pathos to help further his agenda. He used disinterest, a rhetorical ethos device, to show that he reluctantly confessed for the greater good. By casting away his reputation, he made a personal sacrifice to show that his revelation helped the people of Salem more than it helped him. Throughout the play, Proctor concealed his disloyalty to his wife from the public; however, he finally came to terms with his sin to save Elizabeth and other innocent people from the trials. John used a rhetorical tool called the reluctant conclusion during his confession, which is blatant by the uneasiness/hesitancy he displayed. John Proctor lost his credibility and appeared
When the play sets in to action, John has had a past affair with his servant Abigail Williams. His wife, Elizabeth Proctor is very forgiving of his sin, but John has his mind set that he will not confess to anyone else, in fear of ruining his good name, and reputation. The affair between John and Abigail caused the start of chaotic witchery and accusation. After the affair, Abigail became horribly jealous of Elizabeth Proctor. Proctor realizes there is only one way to stop all the witch hysteria in Salem, and that would be to confess his sin of adultery. Although he knows he should, he continues to be determined not to confess. Also in the beginning Reverend Paris is new to town, and John insist continually that he is only speaking of hell, and hardly ever of God, as Proctor goes on to say to Parris, "Can you speak one minute without we land in Hell again? I am sick of Hell!" (Miller 30). In the drama, Mary Warren places a needle in a poppet she gave to Elizabeth; John firmly demands that Mary Warren tell the courts that she really put the needle in the poppet that day. Proctor says to her, "You're coming to the court with me, Mary. You will tell it in the court." (Miller 80). Furthermore, at the end of the play Proctor is persistent by saying that no matter what anyone says to convince him differently, he would rather die an honest man and save his name. John Proctor took pride in his thoughts, feelings, values, and his name. It took persistency to make his intent clear to others.
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.
“I have given you my soul, leave me my name” (143). John Proctor does not want people to look at him and think that he is a witch, and he knows that they will if he signs to it. Proctor admitted to witchcraft; though he wasn’t guilty, but it was only to save his life; he knows that he isn’t a witch, and the people who were there to hear him admit to it don’t matter because they will think that he is a witch anyhow and he doesn’t care to change their minds.
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.
In Act 1, Scene 1 of the Crucible, Arthur Miller’s theme is evident when Abigail worryingly puts all the blame on tituba because she knows that Tituba’s race puts her at a disadvantage, thus leading to tituba lying for her own safety. Passionately trying to seek answers Parris threateningly screams, “ You will confess yourself or I will take you out and whip you to your death, Tituba!”(Miller 24) Tituba fearfully replies, “ No--no, don’t hang Tituba. I tell him I don’t desire to work for him, sir.” (24). In the quote, Parris didn’t like that tituba didn’t tell him she dealt with the devil so he threatened to kill her. Historically whipping was a method to abuse or punish slaves for misbehaving. After the beatings if still alive the slaves will suffer mental and physical distress. This image of a brutal death
It was easier for them to blame the devil for the problems of society than fix the problems of their own strict way of life. So the girls involved with Abigail, like Mercy Lewis and Mary Warren, named many people in the town as witches. These people were put in jail and would be hanged if they did not confess to the crime of devil worship or witchcraft. Another part of the developing plot is that John Proctor knows Abigail and her friends are lying, but he is afraid to say anything because eight months before he had an affair with Abigail and did not want to be seen by the town as a lecher, which means wife cheater. So, Mr. Proctor has to fight with himself to come out and tell the truth, or his wife might die because of Abigail saying she was a witch.
The Salem witch trials were a time period when any individual could be accused of witchcraft for numerous reasons. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller focuses on the deviation of the trials and how the town’s most religious and honest members of the community are tried with witchcraft. John Proctor, the town’s most honest man, is accused of being a witch and must decide if he should confess or not. Proctor’s confession will stop the town from rebelling and uphold the reputations of Deputy Governor Danforth and Reverend Parris. Hale also wishes for Proctor’s confession so he does not have to feel responsible if Proctor were to be hanged for his witchcraft accusations. The confession of Proctor would convince others in the town to confess to their
People make life or death choices every day. In The Crucible, John Proctor and others decided dying honestly was better than living a lie. At this time, countless were accused of witchcraft and working with the devil in the town of Salem, MA. In this play, Reverend Hale told Elizabeth proctor “no principle, however glorious, is worth dying for.” He argued that living a life of dishonesty is better than dying for the truth, trying to persuade John to live, but as a devil's advocate. But John believed no life was worth living if it was full of falsifies information.
right about selling out the other innocent prisoners to save himself, he feels as if he's betraying them. Such as when Proctor says “ you will not use me! I am no Sarah good or Titubia, I am John Proctor! you will not use me…” ( Miller 1356). At the end of the play John is taken away to the gallows after he refuses to sign the confession, because he feels like that is the right and moral thing to do. “ He were not hanged. He would not answer aye or nay to his indictment…” (Miller 1352). Elizabeth explained how the court wanted him to confess of witchcraft. Instead, he died standing for himself.
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.
John was talked into simply confess to witchcraft to save himself from the gallows. In this confession, John was asked about seeing others who were accused practicing witchcraft, which he denied. John was asked to give his signature that he confessed to witchcraft, and stubbornly refused, knowing that it would be used against the others accused. When asked why he would not sign his name by the judge, Proctor replied “‘Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another name 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 my name!”’ (Miller 143) Proctor’s refusal to give his signature shows that he is unwilling to dishonor the others who were falsely imprisoned. Proctor would rather give his life than slander them to escape his death. Because of this, John dies heroically with his humanity undefiled. Without courage, he certainly would not have been able to do this.