Have you ever been hung? I haven't, but John Proctor on the other hand has. He was hung for not giving up on what he believed was right. He als took the raft because he didn't want his wife to be hung. This all happened in “The Crucible” and the character is John Proctor. I will be giving examples of how John Proctor showed moral courage.
So one example of how he showed moral courage issues he is asked to sign the paper to if it he is a witch. So when they first tell him to sign it he does and then he ripped it because he wanted to keep his name and not admit to something he didn't even do. I think that he made a right decision because he stood for what was right for him and he didn't care what happened. I mean he could have judged walked away and had his wife but he didn't because of his friends and the other people that were being held. Like if it were me I would have just signed it and walked away with my wife and kids but he fought for a change.
Another one of my reasons is that Abby tried to get him to get him to get outta jail and go to Maine or something like that but he refused. Like in that moment he could have just left and abandon his kids and his wife. But instead he said no because he didn't want to leave his wife behind and his
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He and Sarah had an affair when Sarah worked in his house. But they didn't tell anyone but his wife found out and she was upset and John Proctor did to but Sarah loved John but John didn't and wanted to be left alone but Sarah just wouldn't lead him alone and wanted to be with him. Then when the rumors started to spread she blamed Elisabeth for being with the devil even tho she wasn't but in Sarah's eyes she seen the perfect excuse and chance to be with John so she wanted Elisabeth dead gone for good. But it didn't work out for her that well because even tho she got her charged they found out that she was lying and just trying to get her in trouble and
Miller presents the character of John Proctor in an important way to show two sides to his character. These qualities make him have the most important role in ‘The Crucible.’ The key events that show him in this way is when the audience find out about the affair, how he tries to defend his wife, his confession in court and his hanging for the sake of others. Through the events in The Crucible, Miller then portrays John Proctor’s character with tension and suspense. This then makes the audience question whether or not he is a good man.
In the Crucible, people were continuously accused of doing witchcraft. Those people who were being accused had to either confess or die despite of the truth. Struggling in this moral decision, people began to recoil and lie to others and even to themselves in order to save their lives. Marry, who was first accused of doing witchcraft told the judges that John Proctor was connected to the devil. Obviously, Marry chose to live as a liar. Eventually, It was John Proctor’s turn to decide: to confess and lie or refuse and die. Struggling in a decision that drives people into craziness, John Proctor chose to refuse anything despite of being hanged.
Pride in itself, can be seen as a positive attribute, however, when it is expressed as arrogance it becomes a fatal flaw that leads to one’s downfall. In the play The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, John Proctor allows his excessive pride to get in the way of his decisions. John Proctor would rather die honest than live a lie. In order not to tarnish his good name, John makes the corrupt decision of being hanged. Although this act can be seen as noble, it is ultimately foolish because he allows his excessive pride to put him to death. John's corrupt decision to be hanged to save his family’s name and protect his wife was the result of excessive pride.
The Crucible by Arthur Miller is set in Salem in a Puritan community. John Proctor, Elizabeth Proctor, Reverend Hale, Reverend Paris, and Abigail are the main characters. The book is about witchcraft or what the town thinks is witchcraft. John Proctor is the tragic hero because he is loving, loyal, authoritative, but his tragic flaw is his temper.
“I have given you my soul; leave me my name” (Miller 133) screams the belligerent John Proctor, confronted with the very real possibility of his execution. Being accused of witchcraft, a crime he did not commit, John Proctor is threatened by the religiously controlled courts in the 1692 Salem Witch Trials in an allegorical story for Senator Joseph McCarthy’s Red Scare. However, in the face of persecution by religion, John Proctor demonstrates immense resolve against the aggressive power figures of the Puritan Church. Throughout the story, John Proctor clashes with the religious authorities in his town. His main goal: trying to protect his family and friends from personal attacks, comprised entirely of fabricated evidence, by the church establishment.
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.
Arthur miller constructed some courageous characters throughout his play The Crucible. John Proctor is thought of as a good man who lusted at one point however earned back his goodness. The one with the greatest amount of courage would have to be John Proctor. Although he had made some poor decisions, he didn’t shy away from them like the rest of the village did. He did what all the others were too afraid to do. Most people would say that Giles Corey was the most courageous because he didn’t confess to witch craft either, but in addition to not confessing John Proctor also went against what Abigail was saying because he knew why she was doing it.
He was the only one who knew that everything Abigail was doing, was in fact to get him to lover her and nothing she said about the witches was true. Along side John Proctor was Mr. Hale who also knew the girls were lying and this led him to quit the court because he knew it was controlled by the Devil her self Abigail. In the end John Proctor gave his own life so the hundreds of other people sitting in jail would get another truthful chance and Proctor himself would have his goodness now.
Early on in the play, the reader comes to understand that John Proctor has had an affair with Abigail Williams while she was working in his home. Abigail believed that if she got rid of Elizabeth Proctor, then John Proctor would become her own. John Proctor had an affair with Abigail, but for him it was just lust, while Abigail believed it to be true love. She told John Proctor that she loved him, and once she destroys Elizabeth, they would be free to love one another. John is horrified at this, but can do nothing to convince Abigail that he is not in love with her. Because of Abigail's twisted plot to secure John for herself, Elizabeth is arrested. John Proctor has to wrestle with the decision of what to do. He knows that he has sinned; yet he does not want to hurt his beloved wife. This is partly why he is willing to die. He knows he has already sinned.
John Proctor made the right choice when he decided to sacrifice his life in order to recover his self-respect and integrity - opposed to the alternative of sacrificing his dignity to live a life he would have been miserable with. He is able to redeem himself while defying the court he knows to be unprincipled at the same time just as Arthur Miller defied the HUAC in the panic of anti-communists. Proctor died content with his soul instead of continuing to live his life in anguish and
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.
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.
Throughout the whole play, John Proctor placed himself as a “servant” of God only and maintained that position regardless of what happened. He represented the image of a person that corresponded for God in Earth, and at the same time he acted consciously and knew what was happening in Salem. In an attempt to disengage from God, his principles, conscience, and morality acted upon him and brought him back to God. Elizabeth and his friends also affected his conscience, as the only reason why he went to the court was to try to release them. John Proctor can be considered the savior of Salem, he can be considered Jesus in that story. His name was important as it was the main reason why he decided to die with dignity instead of live for a lie; but what is the symbolism behind his name? What is conscience and why does John Proctor struggle with his?
The only thing John Proctor wants to be is an honorable man in the eyes of Puritan society. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible John Proctor repeatedly tries to do good for other people. John’s motivation motivation to retain his honor is seen throughout his actions. Since John Proctor is motivated by his honor, his decision to admit he committed adultery creates doubt in the guilt of the accused.
In The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, the madness of the Salem witch trials is explored in great detail. Arthur Miller was an American playwright, who was born in 1915. He grew up in a Jewish family in New York City. While attending the University of Michigan in the mid 1930’s, he began to characterize himself as a distinguished writer. His first plays were Honors at Dawn and No Villain. The Death of a Salesman, which he wrote in 1949, won him the Pulitzer Prize for literature.