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Character of john Proctor
Character of john Proctor
The crucible character analysis essay
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In many situations, people's intentions aren't so clear. In the play, The Crucible by Arthur Miller, John Proctor's intentions are very debatable. He can be viewed as an egomaniac, or as I see him, a martyr. A martyr is someone who dies for a cause, which is exactly what Proctor did. Proctors intentions are to stand up for what is right and even die for it. Proctor sees how unjust the court is and he wants to change that. That would make him not an egomaniac, but a martyr.
John Proctor's name was tarnished the moment he confessed to the court that he had an affair with Abigail Williams. Proctors goal is not to boost himself up on a social level, but to rise above the court and get justice for his wife and friends who were arrested for committing a “crime” with no hard evidence against them. Proctor even admits that his name is ruined when he said, “I have rung the doom of my good name.” Right here we see that any ego that John Proctor may have had in the past is completely
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When Proctor finds out that his wife Elizabeth is going to live another year due to her pregnancy, he does not just stop fighting. He wants to stop the trials and end the murdering of innocent people. Right here we see that Proctor is looking at the bigger picture. He could not handle the corruption of the court anymore. When Proctor is asked whether or not he is going to continue fighting for those accused of witchery, he answers “I-I think i cannot”. Proctor does not want to throw his friends under the bus, he wants the exact opposite. Some may say that John Proctor just fought for himself or his wife, which would connect right back to Proctors ego. But when Proctor says, “I have three children- how may I teach them to walk like men in the world, and I sold my friends?”, we can see the loyalty of Proctor, along with clear characteristics of a
Firstly, John Proctor is not seen to be a good man because in chapter one is affair with Abigail is exposed. “Give me a word, John. A soft word. (Her concentrated desire destroys his smile.) From this it can be seen that before they did have an affair but now it is over. The personal pronoun ‘me’ shows how she wants him all to herself and that the meeting is held in secret. The word ‘desire destroy’ in the stage directions is then used to contradict her feelings as Miller suggests how their affair is now over but Abigail doesn’t want it to be and that she still loves Proctor. From this quote it is then shown that John Proctor can’t be a good man if he committed adultery. However, John Proctor also speaks to Abigail to mention how their affair is mentioned and how their affair to him was at his moment of weakness when his wife, Elizabeth was ill. As it was a mistake Proctor mentions how Abigail should, “Wipe it out of mind.” This shows that he wants to forget it ever happened and that he also doesn’t want anybody to find out about this. From this it shows that John Proctor is not a good and as when his wife was ill and when he was at his weakest he committed a sin. If the people of Salem were to hear...
The Crucible (Argumentative Essay) Is John Proctor a good man? John Proctor, in my opinion, is indeed considered a good man. And the reason why I say this is to inform you that in The Crucible, John faces a lot of conflicts with his wife, the church, and his individuality. The way John Proctor deals with these conflicts defines him as a true good man character, for example Elizabeth (Proctor’s Wife) always knew he was a good man in heart. She would have the courage to stand by Proctor’s side when they were in court “I do not judge you”.
In life everything is about choices whether it is a serious choice such as moving place to place because of your parents career or it being like wanting to eat a muffin or apple for breakfast. In the Crucible written about the Salem 1692 witch trials, John Proctor is one of the main characters in the play. John is 35 years of age and is Married to Elizabeth Proctor. A concept we have to understand is in this era Witch accusations were always coming from different people to random innocent women and men. These accusations are obviously false, but due to what they believed in, and how strong they were in religion, witch trials became of it. All the choices people made during the Salem witch trials, were always looked upon corresponding to John and the choices he made.
“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.
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
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
In the play, The Crucible, John Proctor dauntlessly serves as the voice of reason and justice when he is willingly ready to sacrifice his own life in order to save his innocent wife, Elizabeth Proctor, from getting hanged. With all the accusations of witchcraft that Abigail Williams made it caused mayhem in the Puritan town of Salem. Many innocent people had to be tyrannized due to her. With all of the persecution it led up to making its way to John Proctor. He as an innocent man put his life to the most fatal seconds of the entire circumstance. With everything that is happening the debatable question still stands, is John Proctor truly innocent? We presume true that he is an innocent man. Although he put his life on the line he was an ethical
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.
John Proctor is a man with many secrets and fatal flaws. His lust for Abigail Williams led to him having affair, and created Abby’s bitter envy toward his wife Elizabeth Proctor. “Abby I may think of you softly from time to time but I will cut off my hand before I ever reach for you again. Wipe it out of mind. We never touched Abby” (Miller 177) John Proctor denied that he had an affair with Abby. Then Abigail utter these words “I look for John Proctor that took me from my sleep and put knowledge
John Proctor is portrayed throughout the play to be a man who has high moral values that he must abide by. He can spot hypocrisy in others easily and judges himself no less harshly. Elizabeth Proctor says to him in the second act:
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.
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
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.