Mr. Stanberry
AP Language and Composition
03 October 2016
The Growth of John Proctor
John Proctor, the man who died an honest man, is the character in “The Crucible” we see the most development in. Although at the beginning of the story he was a very selfish man, he’d grown into a better person. He showed the motivation to fix things with his wife and had a huge impact on the aftermath of the Salem Witch Trials.
Throughout the Crucible, John Proctor showed tremendous growth in his character. He first started out as a cheating man with little respect towards him. He then decides to change his ways and tell Abigail Williams, the girl he was cheating with, that their secret relationship is over. “But I will cut off my hand before I’ll ever reach for you again.” (Proctor 24) Another growth of his is when he would rather die than let his children seem him as a liar. (I have three children- how may I teach them to walk like men in the world, and I sold my friends?” (Proctor 150). He would rather turn himself in then let others get accused. John Proctor shows that he not such a bad guy after all.
The motivation that drove John Proctor was his own reputation and his wife. At the beginning of the novel he was afraid of being exposed of committing adultery. “If the …show more content…
Once Goody Proctor discovers that Abigail is a fraud, she wants John to go to Salem to confess what he knows on Abigail. “I would go to Salem now, John- let you go tonight.” (Proctor 56) He didn't go to Salem because he’s afraid to be charged with adultery, and the truth doesn’t come out until later in the story. At the end of the Crucible John Proctor's impact was selfless and honorable. “...Because I lie and sign myself to lies!... How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name!” (Proctor 150) He refuses to confess what he knows isn’t true. That he would rather die than tell another