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The theme of power in the crucible
Characterisation in the crucible
The theme of power in the crucible
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Gilbert-Jimenez Hiram
Period 1
9/23/2015
The Crucible
At the end of the play, John proctor is faced with the biggest calamity of his life. He was given the the choose to lie and say he is a witch or stand by his honesty and die as a marauder. john proctor name was everything to him. It made him who he is so he based his actions on it.. John wanted to live and keep his good name
John Proctor refused verbally saying that he is a witch, or even signing an document because of his christian identity. He faced this hard trial hoping he would find himself again after the tragic affair. He knew if he would have lied he would have to stand before God on the day of his trial and answer for the sins he has committed.
At one part in Act 4 he signs the paper but refuses to show anybody he signed. He did this because all though he would rather die for the truth, he knew his sons would be orphans and have no father. Also his wife Elizabeth was pregnant and it just made his death sentence worse. John felt even if he did lie and lived, his sons would be forever ashamed of him.
John is really stubborn when it comes to living up to his name to the point of death. John has no
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urge to lie about being a witch just to live. Its unorthodox to lie in front of god knowing you should have told the truth. He wanted his children to have a name they can look up too “Because it is my name” (The Crucible, Act 4) he wouldn't be able to live with himself knowing that he lied to his family and God Almighty him self. “Damn The Village, I confess to God” (The Crucible Act 4) Desperately in the back of his mind john wanted to live and keep his good name.
He tried finding some other way possible to stay alive without showing guilt. He Faced internal struggle with himself to confess of witchcraft. “It is evil is it not, It is evil” (The Crucible, Act 4) He knew the trial had been corrupted because of Abigail deceitful tongue. It only lead him believe in his truth and stand his ground. The whole village had be corrupted in john eyes. Abigail, floundering with lies, got so many people exacted, so John felt it in his power to stop this madness. He would not let evil prevail. He had hated Abigail and everything that she stood for. He wanted to be the opposite which influenced his final decision. Salem would be the same knowing hatred and lies were spread all throughout the
village. Not giving into the courts expectation was the right thing to do in my opinion. If he would have live to grow up with his children, he would always feel the guilt granted by his lies, only leaving him in agony. He loved his wife and his children. His name would not die in vain for he choose to have an honorable death. Even though he would not be there for his children, they would not look down, but look up to his name.
Another counterargument is that he refused for the signed paper to go public, but that was because since Salem was such a small village, and your reputation basically defined you as a person. (ex: Sarah Good for being homeless), so him ‘confessing’ to be a witch would most likely ruin him, and his family’s reputations, so it is very understandable as to why he refused. The court also denied him of many rights he had, and had little to no evidence for him to be a witch. John Proctor should have been exonerated since the court had no actual evidence for him to be a witch, only saying he was due to him not attending church regularly, not remembering the commandments, plowing on Sundays, and his statement towards the end of the story without the court’s insight into it. There’s nothing logical about the evidence. The court also violated his rights in the 5th & 6th amendments, and denied him of fair treatment in the due
John Proctor a well-respected man in the city of Salem has a deep secret that plays a major role later on in the story. He had an intimate affair with a younger single girl named Abigail which he regrets greatly. Proctor shows his disgust when he argues with Abigail by insisting, “Abby I never give you hope to wait for me” (page168). Proctor exclaims that he surely regrets his sin and doesn’t want Abigail to think that he loves her and not his own wife. Although Proctor may still have feelings about Abigail he reassures her that he will never have emotional relationships with her ever again. He had the ultimate opportunity to get back at Abigail and stop the witch trials from happening when he meets Abigail alone in the woods; upon their encounter she confesses to John, “We were dancing in the woods last night and my uncle leaped in ...
In the final act, John went crazy after he signed a contract admitting he was a witch. He claimed the only thing he had left besides his family was his name and it's all he wanted to keep. Soon he was pushed over the edge and ripped up the paper, taking his pride away with him. Rebecca Nurse and other people from the village made John feel ashamed for signing the paper, this made a major impact on his final decision also. John was killed with his “good name”.
First John Proctor is a tragic hero because he is loving and loyal . “I will bring you home. I will bring you soon” and “I will fall like an ocean on that court! fear nothing Elizabeth.” John says this when Elizabeth is brought to jail from their house. It shows the love he has for her and he will do anything for her to get her back home. John goes to the court to tell judge Danforth that Elizabeth is innocent and that Abigail is lying and wants Elizabeth murdered “I do, sir. I believe she means to murder.” John going to the court is showing his loyalty and love towards Elizabeth knowing she is innocent and never tell lies she always tell the truth. John says “In her life, sir, she has never lied. There are them that cannot sing, and them that cannot weep-my wife cannot lie. I have
Early on in the play, the reader comes to understand that John Proctor has had an affair with Abigail Williams while she was working in his home. Abigail believed that if she got rid of Elizabeth Proctor, then John Proctor would become her own. John Proctor had an affair with Abigail, but for him it was just lust, while Abigail believed it to be true love. She told John Proctor that she loved him, and once she destroys Elizabeth, they would be free to love one another. John is horrified at this, but can do nothing to convince Abigail that he is not in love with her. Because of Abigail's twisted plot to secure John for herself, Elizabeth is arrested. John Proctor has to wrestle with the decision of what to do. He knows that he has sinned; yet he does not want to hurt his beloved wife. This is partly why he is willing to die. He knows he has already sinned.
What we mean by that is his defensive actions were made for a reason. We saw that John Proctor defended the valiantly for his wife’s freedom, his own freedom, as well as the freedom of many others of the condemned. One of the many instances Proctor defends himself is when he states, “I’ll not have it!” He stood his ground on not being involved with witchcraft. Not only is that evidence of itself proving his innocence, but it is well-known now that he declared his standing. Proctor defended the other women by putting together “sort of a testament. The people signing it declare their good opinion of Rebecca, and my wife, and Martha.” He went out of his way to receive many of these opinions to help out these innocent There was no reason to and no one had asked, but he did it because his defensive nature to stand up for the truth. In fact, he defended his wife with his life, without any hesitation. One instance is when Elizabeth was accused of possessing a poppet at home. In the court, John Proctor stated, “Your honor, my wife never kept no poppets.” In hopes to save his wife’s life, he laid down his. It only made sense that he was innocent. Who defends something and ruins their good name for something they know is
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.
“I have given you my soul, leave me my name” (143). John Proctor does not want people to look at him and think that he is a witch, and he knows that they will if he signs to it. Proctor admitted to witchcraft; though he wasn’t guilty, but it was only to save his life; he knows that he isn’t a witch, and the people who were there to hear him admit to it don’t matter because they will think that he is a witch anyhow and he doesn’t care to change their minds.
... integrity are among the most important things. He also uses Proctor to demonstrate what an unjust system can do to an individual with good intents. The play is a parallel to the anti-Communist McCarthy era. Through John Proctor we see the ludicrous nature of mass hysteria that exists when society has gone awry.
Abigail accuses innocent people of witchcraft, including John’s wife, Elizabeth. She does this so her and John would be together and Elizabeth wouldn’t be in his life, even after John told Abigail he does not love her. He faces this crucible throughout the play and changes his demeanor towards Abigail. John becomes infuriated and he wants to expose Abigail for making false accusations of witchcraft, although it might include his confession of adultery. John eventually confesses his sin of adultery but refuses for it to be made public and posted on the church door, resulting in his
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
By sleeping with Abigail Williams he had completely lost his honor and all hope for a reputable reputation, but towards the end of the story, John begins to realize his sins and the mess that has been made by one foolish act. John slowly beings to attempt redemption to his prestige. In the final act of this performance, John has a choice to make; save his own life by signing a confession to witchcraft, or be sentenced to hang if he did not. At first he began to lie, signing the false confession, then he snatched it back, “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 my how black my sins are! It is enough!” John does not want his name and his false confession hanging in public for all to see, his name means too much to him. John also talks about the effects it would have on his sons, “I have three children-how may I teach them to walk like men in the world, and I sold my friends?” In John’s eyes it would be more honorable to die than to hang his lie for all to see. All would know it was a lie, and how could John raise his sons, living a lie? In short, John’s reputation meant more to him than his
The crucible showed that John is a very courageous and strong man that having been accused with witchcraft that he continued to fight for the right cause and having so much weight and pressure on his shoulders from hurting his wife hand finally been lifted up after giving up his life and showing his wife he would die for her life to make her and there children happy and have a life at ease.
If he lived, he felt he would be alive but with no purpose. To survive, and falsely confess to witchcraft, John knew he would lose his name in the town. When asked why he refused to sign a declaration binding himself to the devil Proctor responded, “ 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” (MIller, 1163)!
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.