In The Crucible (1953), Arthur Miller proves that one bad decision does not make a bad person. He creates this theme through John Proctor, a middle-aged farmer who makes one mistake: sleeping with the young and flirtatious, but lying, Abigail Williams. However, his love for his wife prevails over the lust he once had for the young one, leading to jealousy kindling in Abigail's soul. This little spark turns into fire and brings about the Salem Witch trials. People, left and right, accuse each other of witchcraft for land, for protection of reputation, and out of fear. Abigail Williams eventually accuses Elizabeth Proctor, John’s wife. If Goody Proctor does not confess to being a witch, she will be hanged. John then faces a dilemma between his reputation and proving his wife innocent, along with several others. He puts himself aside and confesses that he committed adultery with Abigail Williams in order to prove that the witches in Salem was fabricated by Abigail from the start. …show more content…
The foremost poor choice john made was committing adultery. Of course cheating on your significant other is an awful thing to do. However, John Proctor not only confessed but also put so much guilt on himself, way more than he should have. He is only human, and everyone makes mistakes. Even his own wife said that he must forgive himself (Miller 204). On top of committing adultery, many people think he was selfish for deciding to die, leaving his pregnant wife to suffer in the jail and missing the opportunity to raise his unborn baby. Nonetheless, his name is all he has left (Miller 207). He feels guilty for what he has done, is shamed upon in town, and his name will be documented for a lie he is not done. John Proctor did whatever he could to be a good man; he is not going to spoil that. Though John Proctor has made mistakes, he has done far greater deeds as a noble
The Puritans had many values that everyone must know and completely obey. One of those values is to know, and obey the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments were one of the most important things for all Puritans to know and obey, because without them there would be no order. For a Puritan not to know his Commandments by heart was nearly unheard of seeing how the Commandments are the basic rules for them. Although almost all of the Puritans knew the Commandments there were a few who didn’t know them all by heart. John Proctor was one of these who didn’t know them all by heart. Its not just the fact that he didn’t know them all by heart that lets him fit into the category of not being a good Puritan because he lacks the Puritan characteristic of knowing and obeying the Ten Commandments. One way he shows that he doesn’t obey the Ten Commandments is the fact the he rarely attends church anymore. This is breaking one of the Ten Commandments, ‘Thou shall remember the Sabbath Day and keep it Holy’ this Commandment states that on every Sunday you must attend church. Yet John doesn’t, which isn’t following what he should do. Another example of not obeying the Commandments is by having an affair with Abigail, who was his housekeeper and who happened to be eleven at the time. In committing this act he directly disobeyed the Commandment ‘Thou shall not commit adultery’. This Commandment states that when one is married to someone they should only be active among themselves. The finally way John shows that he is not a good Puritan is by not knowing all the Commandments when asked to say them by Mr. Hale. John says them all but adultery. These three things made John Proctor ‘an unworthy Christian’ by Puritan standards.
The protagonists In both the play The Crucible, and the movie “None without Sin” ultimately emerged from their own nightmares without sin. Both Terry and John Proctor had to endure challenges and had to complete correct course of action, however both characters differ in comparison to the screenwriter Dalton Trumbo’s quote.
I think Proctor is to be admired for the way in which he handles this
“ I say- I say- God is dead!” Yells John Proctor as Danforth asks him if he will confess himself to hell. John Proctor lives in Salem, his wife has been accused of witchcraft by Abigail Williams who John Proctor had an affair with. A short while after Elizabeth is accused, John Proctor also gets accused by Mary Warren.
Imagine a teacher giving a zero to a student on a test for cheating, but had no proof the student was guilty? This is exactly how John Proctor felt when Mary Warren accused him of witchcraft, with no proof. Even under these circumstances, he keeps his composure for the most part, and accepts his fate. Many of Mr. Proctor´s personality traits can be associated with my own in that he and I, sometimes stretch the truth, is not easily fooled, and fight for what we believe in.
Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible takes place in Salem, Massachusetts in the late 17th century. It’s plot revolves around several accusations of witchcraft that occur after Reverend Parris’s daughter, Betty falls unconscious. It is later revealed that several of the girls from the town had danced naked in the woods attempting to conjure spirits to hurt the wife of a local farmer named John Proctor. The leader of the prohibited dancing in the woods was Abigail Williams, the niece of Reverend Parris who had obtained help with conjuring spirits from Tituba a slave who Reverend Parris had brought with him from his trip to Barbados. Abigail has been in love with John Proctor since she had became his servant but due to complications, her working
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.
In this town Salem will be forever corrupted… with this so called justice. Those who you have know and we're friends are aren't what they are anymore. The judges have no reason. Justice has vanished. There is no god in this place anymore. The people believe nothing but a liar. It is not Elizabeth's fault. It was I, John Proctor who has betrayed her. I shall be punished for the cause of such tragedy. I never wanted this to be. I was too careless and excited. Elizabeth deserves someone better than me, For I am nothing other than a deceiving husband. Everytime I look into her Hazel eyes, it reminds me of my flaws of a husband. I so ashamed. I shall redeem myself and be free from this chaos that I have started. Tomorrow I will be forgiven for my shame. Forgive me Father, for I have sinned. Today is my last. I John Proctor will be forgiven for the sins I sins I have made. Farewell.
The qualities of a tragic hero as defined by Aristotle in 350 BC are: a tragic hero is a prominent member of the community, he/she has a tragic flaw (usually excessive hubris, or pride), he/she is basically good but experiences a tragic fall from his/her status in the community due to a bad decision. In Arthur Miller’s classic drama The Crucible, John Proctor is a good example of a tragic hero. He fits the criteria of a tragic hero. He is a prominent community member who has a tragic flaw that results in his tragic fall.
The Salem Witch Trials of 1692 was the death of nineteen men and women to hang and jailed many more. The city was filled in accusation; as fear and and distress took all control. As one of the men was accused, John proctor a man of irreproachability and truthfulness was hanged for his association with the devil. In the play The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, the author portrays John Proctor to be a good man because of his loyalty and honesty shown throughout the play.
The consequences of shirking accountability for ones actions are depicted through the tribulations John Proctor faced, in Arthur Miller's, The Crucible. Although John reluctantly became involved in the Salem witch trials, his initial silence proved to be the downfall of not only himself, but of his fellow townspeople as well. John Proctor remained silent for one reason, and that was to protect himself. As a result of his self-serving desires to avoid the consequences of his actions, innocent citizens were put to death.
The Crucible was written by Arthur Miller in 1952 and has remained such a renowned play in American literature because the play pays close attention to the importance of reputation, which continues to be as much of a priority in 1692 as in modern times. The play opens with girls getting caught dancing in the woods by Rev. Parris, which escalates to the assumption of them practicing witchcraft. The girls, lead by Abigail Williams, pledge their love for God and undertake the responsibility of accusing whoever they please of witchcraft, usually under false assumptions. An accuser, Mary Warren, does whatever it takes to stay on Abigail’s good side, even if that means going against the principles of her religion. Reverend Parris prioritizes reputation over religion when he pledges to not lie in court, but convinces his daughter, Betty, to fabricate a story to justify her fainting in the woods after he caught them. Lastly, when Mary Warren betrays John Proctor and claims, “You are the Devil’s man!” he refuses to confess of witchcraft to
Shakespeare and Miller were two very different writers who were always able to portray great messages in their writing. These two authors were also amazing at setting up relationships between characters in their writing, like Miller’s characters, Abigail and John. Although they bear some minor similarities, the differences between Abigail and John and Hero and Claudio’s relationships are striking.
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.
John Proctor is by no means perfect. People look up to him, but he still has flaws. Proctor is easily angered, and sometimes he can’t control himself when he gets so mad. He threatens Mary Warren by saying "I'll whip the devil out of you!" (59). Proctor loses his temper here. He knows that he should not be threatening Mary Warren, but he does it anyway because he is so upset. Proctor loses his temper when Abigail starts crying to Heaven. He say “How do you call Heaven! Whore! Whore!” (109). While he is shouting this he is pulling Abigail by her hair to get her to stand up. Proctor is vulnerable when he is angered. He threatens his reputation in the town by bringing the affair public, and he shows his violence by pulling Abigail’s hair. Proctor can be seen as a bad Puritan throughout the play. He cheats on his Elizabeth with Abigail. This is a big mistake in the Puritan community because it breaks one of the Ten Commandments. John admits "Abby, I may think of you softly from time to time" (23). Proctor admits he likes Abby, even though he has a wife. Proctor proves his loyalty to his wife, but has still made the mistake of sleeping with someone else. Also, Proctor doesn’t always show up to church. He says it is because he doesn’t like Parris and his wife has been sick, but others in the town may think he is a bad Puritan because of it. Although Proctor is a common man who the town