Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Modern relevance of the crucible
Need an essay on the crucible
Criticism of arthur miller's writing
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Secrets Of The Truth The play The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, is the story of the witch trial where took place in Salem, Massachusetts. In this town there were many people who faced accusations of the witchcraft. If someone was convicted of witchcraft, they had to confess or blame to other to get rid of being hanged by the court. It started with a main character named John Proctor. John Proctor had to decide whether to confess to witchcraft or refuse to confess and be hung. In the end Proctor was sentenced to die. He believed he could not lie forever and his decision will be good for his children and his own name. John Proctor had many reasons to decide why he wanted to die. Proctor said, “I have three children-how may I teach them to walk like men in the world, and I sold my friends?” He felt that to name his friend would make him no longer worthy to teach his children to do right things. He did not want a lie to ruin the reputation of his friends. He also didn’t want to betray his friend or live by the death of others. Proctor did not want his children to grow up in ignominy and he wanted them to grow up with an unblemished name to proud of. If he confessed then his children would grow up in a shame and he did not want …show more content…
that to happen. Proctor wants his children see him as noble and paid for his “sins” he had committed and stays loyal with his friends. In addition, Proctor makes the decision to be hung was to retain the worth of his name.
When Danforth said Proctor’s confession would declare to the entire church, he was furious and took back the confession. He did not want his name affect in the people’s eyes. Proctor said, “Because it is my name! . . . How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name!” He knew he was at fault and his name was ruin since he had an affair with Abigail. Proctor felt regret and guilt to God, his wife, and himself. He couldn’t “sign" himself to more “lies” by confessing to witchcraft and condemning others to save his life. In choosing to be hung, Proctor retains his name, and he regains his integrity and
self-respect. I agree with John Proctor made a right decision. He stood up for his own beliefs and the courage to accept being punished and not condemn others. He realizes that his own soul, his honor, and his honesty are worth more than a cowardly escape from the gallows. Finally, John Proctor comes full circle in Miller's play and dies with the goodness that once defined him as a human being.
...people his confession. If the rest of the town knew he had confessed, his image and his name would be destroyed. He wants his private life to remain private at least within the court. He begs for his privacy because it is so important to him. However, he changes his mind because his name is too important, and he is hung because of it. Proctor believes so strongly about the separation of public and private life, that he is willing to die for it.
...fess to them Elizabeth” (238). He’s thinking about giving in to the corrupt church to save his own life like everyone else. But when the Judge Danforth asks him to sign his name on a document confessing of witch craft he won’t do it because he explains, “It is my name I cannot have another in my life because I lie and sign myself to lies. Proctor finally stands up for what’s right and he shows that he won’t taint his name in order to save his own life. So they send him to be hung but he dies with his honor and his integrity.
In this act he finds the goodness in himself to take responsibility for something he did not do just to make up for his sins. He says to Elizabeth, “Spite only gives me silent. It is hard to give a lie to dogs…” (4.136) He wants to confess, but he has to find the courage in him to confess it. He has to swallow his pride in order to confess of something he did not do. After he finds the courage to confess, Danforth makes him sign a confession statement, but he cannot. In support of this Proctor says, “I have confessed myself! Is there no good penitence but it be public? God does not need my name nailed upon the church! God sees my name; God knows how black my sins are! It is enough!” (4.142) Proctor has already confessed and he feels as if that is already enough, but he has to sign the confession or he will be hung. He finds the courage to sign it but then rips it apart before it is hung upon the church, and he could not build up the courage to re-write it. This leads him to being executed. Henry Popkin once again helps support my sources by stating, “The real, the ultimate victim in this play is John Proctor, the one independent man, the one skeptic who sees through the witchcraft "craze" from the first…This is a climactic moment, a turning point in the play. New witches may continue to be named, but The Crucible now narrows its focus to John Proctor, caught in the trap, destroyed by his effort to save his wife, threatened by the irrationality that only he has comprehended.” (143) Abigail’s idea did not go as planned because Proctor rebelled against her. Therefore Proctor was accused and died because he was not going to let Abigail ruin the pureness of his
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
To give this false confession and to sign away his name, John Proctor would be further exacerbating his sins. He wants to live, but he also knows his life would not be worth living if based on a lie. While saving his life would only require him to give a false confession, Proctor would be eternally plagued with a guilt-ridden conscience. He would’ve damned himself for a second time if he were to profess that he had been consorting with the Devil just to evade death
John Proctor is, at first, willing to offer up a false confession that his life may be spared. Inevitably, John Proctor possesses that fateful attribute known to fall fatal to many human beings - pride. While he has, indeed, been ashamed of his many sins throughout his life, Proctor's soul still clings to his pride and his good name, however soiled it may have become. On the morning scheduled for his execution, Proctor wrestles with the realization that one more sin so heaped upon the rest in his life will make precious little difference in the end; "I cannot mount the gibbet like a saint. It is a fraud. I am not that man.... My honesty is broke... I am no good man. Nothing's spoiled by giving them this lie." (126) He attempts to calm his pride by telling himself that the other accused witches who will not give false testimony to save themselves from the gallows have every right to do so; they led lives free of blame. He, however, he tells himself, did no such thing; what right has he to hang among the righteous? "Let them that never lied die now to keep their souls. It is pretense for me, a vanity that will nor blind God nor keep my children out of the wind." (126) Thus the conviction first reached by John Proctor is to save his life rather than to throw it away in mock martyrdom.
In The Crucible, a few of the townspeople speak out against the injustice of the magistrates. These include John Proctor, Giles Corey, his wife Martha, Rebecca Nurse, Elizabeth Proctor, and even Reverend John Hale. Proctor refuses to give up his integrity and sign his name to a false confession. He thought it was enough admitting to a lie, but he can not bear to sign a confession when others had died for refusing to give the courts what they want. "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!" exclaims Proctor (886). Giles Corey is being pressed to death for not giving the court the name of an innocent person. Even to the end he refuses to give in. "Great stones they lay upon his chest until he plead aye or nay. They say he give them but two words. `More weight,' he says. And died," explains Elizabeth (883).
The Crucible is a 1953 play by Arthur Miller. Initially, it was known as The Chronicles of Sarah Good. The Crucible was set in the Puritan town of Salem, Massachusetts. It talks of McCarthyism that happened in the late 1600’s whereby the general public and people like Arthur Miller were tried and persecuted. The Crucible exemplifies persecutions during the Salem Witch Trials. The people were convicted and hung without any tangible proof of committing any crime. Persecutions were the order of the day. When a finger was pointed at any individual as a witch, the Deputy Governor Danforth never looked for evidence against them or evidence that incriminated them; he ordered them to be hanged. This can be seen through his words “Hang them high over the town! Who weeps for those, weeps for corruption!” (1273), the people were persecuted aimlessly. The four main characters in the play, John Proctor, Abigail Adams, Reverend Hale and Reverend Parris, are caught in the middle of the witchcraft panic in the religious Salem, Massachusetts in late 1690’s. Persecution is the most important theme in the Crucible, the leaders and citizens of Salem attacks and persecutes one of their own without any tangible evidence against them.
After being in jail for crimes of witchcraft, he is reunited with his wife and seeks forgiveness, but still doubts his character: “Then who will judge me? Suddenly clasping his hands: God in Heaven, what is John Proctor, what is John Proctor? He moves as an animal, and a fury is riding in him, a tantalized search. I think it is honest, I think so; I am no saint” (72). This demonstrates the one thing that denies Proctor peace from his inner demons is in fact himself. Then he considers the option of confessing himself a witch to save his life, but he desires no more deception. Proctor exclaims in great distress, “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!” (75). This illustrates two divergent paths, one where he could choose a life of lies or a glimpse of an honorable man. So, with the last bits of self respect and pride he chooses an honorable death with some last words: “for now I do think I see some shred of goodness in John Proctor. Not enough to weave a banner with, but white enough to keep it from such dogs” (75). Since, Proctor did what he thought was righteous, he realizes that there might be honor in him after all. Altogether, with a lightened soul, he becomes a man in which he
The Crucible is a famous play written by Arthur Miller in the Early 1950’s. It was written during the “Red scare, when McCarthyism was established. Many anti-communists wanted to prevent communism from spreading just like in The Crucible many wanted to get rid of witchcraft. Many would accuse others of witchcraft in order to not be accused just like many would accuse people of communism. In The Crucible witchcraft would be punishable by death. Many were scared to be accused; therefore many would admit practicing witchcraft in order to save their lives. The Crucible is considered a good play because it is based on real life events during the Salem witch Trials and shows how fear played a role in the individual’s life just like during the “Red” scare.
“Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies…” This quote is stated by John Proctor in Act IV, page 211. John is stuck between telling the truth or lying and eventually dying. His name is the only thing he has left. At first he is okay with lying because he was saving others, but he wasn't okay with his name being thrown down the trash.
Proctor makes one desperate call for this authority by finally fessing up his call to protect his only name, letting out his own hidden sin. He desires to replace his wife’s so called guilt with his own sin and take Abigail in his wife's’ place, but sadly, he took the trial for an actual search for the guilty. He lets his private life to scrutiny, in desire to gain some power, but he does not see that many people have put energy into the trial for him to confess and let people know that he has seen the devil. Too many people want to keep their reputations and not have their name written upon church, they for rather be called a which. As for John proctor he would rather die having his only name and not lose his only dignity. “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!” (The Crucible, pg.
Another important work Miller wrote, The Crucible, takes place in Salem, Massachusetts, during the 17th century. It is a time when jealousy and suspicion poisoned the thinking of an entire town. Neighbor turned against neighbor when events happened that could not be explained. Accusations turned into a mad hunt for witches who did not exist. One of the main characters of the play is John Proctor, a well-respected man with a good name in the town. As the play develops, John Proctor’s moral dilemma becomes evident: he must decide whether to lie and confess to witchcraft in order to save his life, or to die an honest man, true to his beliefs.
He refuses to not accuse his friends and neighbors as witches. Seeking to keep his good name from being dishonored. Earlier, he has a chance to put a stop to the girl’s accusations, but desiring to protect his reputation. At the end of the play, Proctor’s desire to keep his name making him a heroic choice by not making false confession. Also going to his death without signing his name to a statement that was untrue. “I have given you my soul; leave me my name!” (352). Refusing to keep his name, he helps himself for his earlier failure and dies with integrity. John Proctor wanted to show his children that it is better to tell the truth than to lie just because everyone is telling you to do so. He wanted to set an example for his children on how they should
Proctor is the voice of reason whose integrity defines him and clearly distinguishes him as the protagonist. His acumen and honesty also endows him with heroic qualities as we see him repeatedly being able to discern the truth from the false and the pure from the corrupt when he claims that he “cannot mount the gibbet like a saint. It is fraud. [He] is not that man. [His] honesty is broke…” (136). The fact that Proctor believes that he isn’t good enough to die as a saint like hero, makes him a hero. This is because his betrayal reflects his strong sense of morality and self-reproach, which intensifies his inability to forgive himself. There is a sense of desperation in this statement, emphasizing his internal struggle. As Proctor wrestles with his conscience whether to confess to witchcraft, saving himself from the gallows, he utters, “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!” (143). As he has sold away his soul, the element of him that truly mattered to him, all he has left is his name and thus he fights for it though subconsciously knowing that he is being irrational. However, he later