Righteousness In The Crucible

On the Path of Righteousness The sacrifice of a man’s honor can save his family and their reputation. A man’s ultimate sacrifice would be losing his life for his family. In Arthur Miller’s, The Crucible, a hero named John Proctor redeems himself after having brought distress and shame to his marriage. He defies higher authority in the town of Salem and in doing so; it leads to his demise. John Proctor is a hero because he sacrificed his life for his and his family’s honor. John Proctor is not flawless, but he learns from his mistakes. He takes advantage of the times where he can redeem himself. One example is when he says, “I will cut off my hand before I’ll ever reach for you again” (1140). This quote John Proctor does not deny his errors, he only tries to correct them. With his past mistakes still following him, Proctor is full of regret and does what he thinks is right. He pushes Abigail away with a

When Danforth, a judge of the court, asks him to hand over his signed confession, Proctor refused, became very upset and said “Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies!...I have given you my soul leave me my name!” (1132). Proctor was willing to sign the confession but it was the hanging of the document on the church door that he disapproved of since he did not want it to tarnish his reputation. In fact, he preferred to keep his reputation well rather than his own life. Although some may think Proctor is a selfish person, his reasons might have been justified. Proctor was aware that if he let them place his confession on the church door it would bring shame and dishonor upon him, his family, and their name. He did not want his sons to walk around and overhear the townspeople speaking ill of their name. He also believed he would have lost the right to speak to his sons about