Convictions Over Comfort: John Proctor and John Lennon

Throughout American history, many have suffered in order to fight for their beliefs. Rather that cowering when things get tough or accepting a loss, some people have decided to pursue their beliefs and fight for what they believe is right. Even though the situations that they lived through were different, John Proctor from Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible” and John Lennon fought for what they believed in and suffered for it. Instead of turning their backs, both men decided that their beliefs were worth fighting for. John Proctor was portrayed in “The Crucible” as a respected man living during the Salem Witch Trails. He was ultimately hung because he refused to sign his name to put on the church door that he was a witch. He would rather die than live a lie. John Lennon, on the other hand was a famous music artist who was most noted for his part in the “Beatles,” a highly influential band of the 1960s. At this time, he and his second wife Yoko Ono were well known for their anti-war beliefs and

peaceful protests. He was shot walking into his home one day and died shortly after. Although born in different times throughout history, John Proctor and John Lennon were similar in their beliefs, characteristics, and untimely demises.
John Proctor believed that the witch trials only had the purpose to satisfy vengeances between neighbors and take out long held grudges. He was portrayed as the tragic hero in Arthur Millers, “The Crucible” who had a weighty role in society and was highly respected. He knew the witchcraft was not truly among them and he risked his life by admitting his affair to prove it. He did not think that the court was handling these trials correctly and he held his stance causing his untimely demise. He fought for what he believed in and in turn payed the ultimate price. John Lennon also kept a strong hold onto his beliefs. He believed that violence was not the answer and he was a big advocate against war and as John W. Whitehead states, he is one of the final effective activists against war (Whitehead). He often incorporated these beliefs throughout his music and other works, some examples being “Give Peace a Chance” and “Happy Xmas (War is Over).” One of John Lennon’s most notable quotes was, “If you want peace, you won’t get it with violence.” This reflects his time period because many of the world’s problems were solved with violence, some examples being the Vietnam War and the Red Scare. Both of these men’s beliefs were similar in their aspects of altruism towards the side of humanity. Proctor seemed to advocate truth and fait treatment of others and Lennon advocated peace throughout society by believing in anti-violence. Both would do radical actions in order to fight for what they believed in and both risked their lives doing it. John Proctor refused to sign his name officially stating he practiced witchcraft (Miller 239). John Lennon similarly did this through many peace movement bed-ins and rallies (Whitehead). A bed-in composed of sometimes two weeks of sitting in a bed until needs are met. John Lennon created the bed-in from what is called a sit-in in which people would sit in certain places until they were forcefully moved or arrested in order to get the public’s attention and ultimately get their needs met (Adler).
Both of these men also had many characteristics of which they shared.

One of the most prominent traits of which they shared was that both men were highly respected and very influential within their communities. As said by Louis Kaplan, John Lennon had many fans and followers with his peace movements (Kaplan). The reason Lennon had so many followers and supporters was mainly due to his musical success and fame in which he used to spread his beliefs (Kaplan). John Proctor on the other hand, was highly respected because of his strong leadership skills and relationships within Puritan society. In Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible,” it is said that “In Proctor’s presence a fool felt his foolishness instantly,” showing his self-importance and knowledge when presenting himself. He had an even temper and was not easily pulled into the direction of other’s beliefs (Miller 175). Because of their high societal importance, their untimely deaths caused a great amount of upset throughout

society.
As stated above, both of these influential men were abruptly murdered. John Proctor died of execution due to his unwillingness to sign his name to witchcraft. He wanted to uphold his reputation and did not want his name to be smeared. In doing so, he killed other people but ultimately caused people to rethink the trials which were eventually ended (Miller 239). John Lennon died in a way in which he could not control. He was ultimately shot by a fame seeking deranged fan. Him and his wife, Yoko Ono were walking home one day from a recording session and he was shot walking up into his apartment. He managed to make it inside and his wife was unharmed. He died shortly after in the hospital after extreme effort to resuscitate him. (Doyle) Both of these untimely deaths cause a large upset throughout the population.
The death of these two strong personalities forever holds an impact on society and will continue to inspire others to fight for what they believe in. John Proctor’s death ultimately led to the extinction of the witch trials and Lennon’s death had a large societal impact of which shook the nation. In a way, John Lennon’s death was ironic considering his beliefs. Lennon believed very strongly of peace and anti-violence yet he died of a violent nature. Both of these men had similar beliefs and characteristics which led to their untimely deaths. Without people who are willing to fight for what they believe in, America will not have the chance to grow as a nation as it has throughout its history. Its evolution depends on people just like John Proctor and John Lennon who are willing to go against the social norm to protect their beliefs. One thing that will continue to withstand throughout time is the impact and legacy of these men and what they believed in. Although their lives were unjustly lost, society can still take away the knowledge of these men and even implement into their own beliefs what these men died for.