Preview

John Proctor's Character Changes In The Crucible

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
486 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
John Proctor's Character Changes In The Crucible
We have all been accused of things that we didn’t do. Maybe it was something big, like cheating on a test, or stealing something. Maybe is was something small, like eating the last cookie or leaving the light on when you leave the house. John proctor’s wife, Elizabeth Proctor, was accused of the ultimate crime; witchcraft. John underwent many changes during this play. At first, he was trying to hide the relationship that he had with Abigale. As the play progressed, he began to lay everything on the line to save his wife and her unborn child. I’ll go more in depth on his changes as my essay progresses but he went through multiple personality changes while at the same time, his outlook on the world around him changed just as often. Let’s start

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    “I say I say, God is dead”. John Proctor said this in Act 4 when John refused to give his written confession to Governor Danforth John Proctor is a middle aged man who was married to Elizabeth Proctor. He is a hard worker and a sinner but he's also loyal and a good leader at times. I think of myself as John proctor when it comes to his traits because I am hard working, loyal, and a good leader.…

    • 419 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    When the play sets into action, John has had a past affair with his servant Abigail Williams. His wife, Elizabeth Proctor, is very forgiving of his sin, but John has his mind set that he will not confess to anyone else, in fear of ruining his good name, and reputation.The affair between John and Abigail caused the start of chaotic witchery and accusation. After the affair, Abigail became horribly jealous of Elizabeth Proctor. Proctor realizes there is only one way to stop all the witch hysteria in Salem, and that would be to confess his sin of adultery. Although he knows he should, he continues to be determined not to confess. Reverend Parris is new to town, and John insist continually that he is only speaking of hell, and hardly ever of God, as Proctor goes on to say to Parris, "Can you speak one minute without we land in Hell again? I am sick of Hell!" In the drama, Mary Warren places a needle in a poppet she gave to Elizabeth; John firmly demands that Mary Warren tell the courts that she really put the needle in the poppet that day. Proctor says to her, "You're coming to the court with me, Mary. You will tell it in the court." Furthermore, at the end of the play Proctor is persistent by saying that no matter what anyone says to convince him differently, he would rather die an honest man and save his name. John Proctor took pride in his thoughts, feelings, values, and his name. It took persistency to make his intent clear to others.…

    • 763 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Forgiving yourself and not just others, can bring you peace. I believe john proctor could not forgive himself, which caused him to be prideful. Though Proctor had many flaws, I still consider he is the tragic hero of the play.…

    • 256 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Elizabeth Proctor, wife of John Proctor, goes through a transformation because of the happenings of the…

    • 862 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Crucible, a play written to criticize the Red Scare, involves a theme which focuses on how the characters change as an effect of the intensity and hysteria of the town’s witch trials. Elizabeth Proctor and Reverend Hale, two major characters in the play, experience internal changes as the play progresses due to the individual pressures of the witch trials. Elizabeth Proctor faces the test of having been accused as a witch, having her husband be accused and condemned as a witch, and trying to move past her husband’s affair with a local girl. Reverend Hale was challenged by the corruption of the ministry in Salem and encountered much adversity while doing his job, seeking out witchcraft. Both of these characters come to realize the witch trials only result in death and lies, which causes these characters to evolve.…

    • 849 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    John Proctor fears his name’s identity, which is evident near the end of the play when he resists Deputy Danforth and Reverend Hale’s posting his name on the church door, accusing him of witchcraft (IV.712-717). John Proctor is Elizabeth Proctor’s husband, who involved in an affair with Abigail Williams when she was still working as the Proctor’s maid. Elizabeth fires Abigail, once she realizes her maid and her husband’s covert relationship. Elizabeth’s dismissal causes Abigail to become very angry, for women had little power at the time, let alone unmarried women like herself. By playing her Mafia-like wailing and doll piercing games and forcing the other Salem girl to participate, Abigail determines to terminate Elizabeth and keep John for herself (460-473). Nevertheless, the court concludes John as a witch when Elizabeth—hoping to keep the Proctor’s honor—twists the story about how she dismissed Abigail. Even though the court understands John to be innocuous man, fearing their reputation, they persist in delivering his a death sentence,…

    • 395 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    A tragic hero is somewhere around the lines between things like honor, commitment, and nobleness. In the crucible, John Proctor resembles just what a tragic hero is, he fulfills all the expectations a tragic hero would follow. He had a tragic flaw that follows him along the way which was Abigail, the girl he had an affair with.…

    • 235 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The motivations of The Crucible : reputation, jealousy, and guilt take part in the story as well as in McCarthyism. In McCarthyism many people were targeted and jailed for being a communist. These accusations led to people losing their jobs and to move from the United States. In The Crucible people were hung for accusations of witchcraft.…

    • 466 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller, a hysteria of witchcraft that sweeps across Massachusetts changes the citizens of Salem, transforming some into monsters and helping others to realize their mistakes. Miller’s description of the character John Proctor at the start of The Crucible seems to describe another person as his change becomes more prevalent throughout the play. Proctor is at first consumed with guilt and despair, but he comes to find pride in his name, and he will hold on to the meaning he has finally found in his life for the short time he can.…

    • 257 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    John Proctor in The Crucible is seen as a respectable upstanding man in the town of salem, a farmer who has a respectable wife and kids. Also a faithful man who states in the play that he was one of the men that helped to build the church. Seen as respectable by those in the town throughout the whole play. Parris proves Proctor’s respectability in act four when Proctor is confessing to witchcraft and he says to Judge Danforth “It is a weighty name; it will strike the village that Proctor confess.”(Miller 184) Proving that John Proctor hereby has a noble birth because he is seen as a good puritan man in a great social position in Salem. Though he is greatly respected he is a tragic hero with a tragic flaw and that flaw was lust. Abigail Williams was the proctor’s servant until she was fired by, Elizabeth Proctor, the wife of John Proctor, for being a harlet. John lusted for the young girl Abigail, who thinks that the two of them are in love, and had a short affair with her. John has the affair and after Abigail is fired he tries to avoid AbiGail's affectionate touch beginning in act one.Such a flaw would be considered hamartia, and how he acts after he was caught by his wife would be considered…

    • 1307 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Isolation from society does make an individual stronger, and in the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller, it is evident that this statement is indeed true. The individual that fulfills the statement identified above is a man named John Proctor, who is well-respected in the opening act of the play. This play takes place in a time where the bulk of people, who were mostly women, were blamed for witchcraft. It was a time of Patriarchal societies, meaning that the civilizations were conquered my men and usually the priest or minister was the one in charge. John Proctor was a man in this society, so he was less likely to get suspected of doing something. Throughout the majority of this play, John is affronted…

    • 935 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Crucible, a container that resists hear or the hollow at the bottom of an ore furnace. However its connotations include melting pot, in the symbolic sense, and the bearing of a cross. Elizabeth, John Proctor's wife; a cold, childless woman who is an upright character who cannot forgive her husband's adultery until just before he died: she is accused of being a witch. Reverend Hale, a self-proclaimed expert on witchcraft; at the play's end tries to save the accused. John Proctor, a good man with human failures and a hidden secret, a affair with Abigail, he is often the voice of reason in the play; accused of witchcraft.<br><br>"I do not judge you. The magistrate that sits in your heart judges you." This is where Elizabeth suspects that John has committed adultery, but knows how good of man he is…

    • 564 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In The Crucible, John Proctor initially portrayed a sinful man whom had an affair, struggling to…

    • 1926 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the beginning of the play, John Proctor in known to have a relationship not only with Elizabeth (his wife) but also his house maid Abigail. Proctor has the power to stop the Salem witch trials at the very beginning by telling everyone that he is an adulterer, but is concerned about his reputation being bad in the society. He does not want to be looked down upon. This shows how society's outlook of people affect the decisions that Proctor makes. Elizabeth knows that her husband was an adulterer but does not tell anyone about this. She thinks that people will look down upon her for not being as attractive as Abigail; she also does not want to ruin the reputation of her husband because her husband’s reputation is her reputation and her family's. Even in court, Elizabeth Proctor does not confess. In addition to that, people had also accused Proctor of being a witch. Proctor would have to lie and say that he was with the devil and name some people that are still with the devil. The court wanted Proctor to sign his name so they could post it on the church door and in reaction he says, “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 143). This…

    • 843 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Throughout the play John is eaten by guilt and it makes him the thick headed individual that he is. But when circumstances throughout the play changes, it causes him to change into a man cares more about his wife than himself. It changes him into a man that forgives himself and has self-respect again. When Proctor says, “ I have known her, sir. I have known her”(Miller 1206). This is an indirect characterization that John Proctor has changed and that he has goodness in him. He was willing to give up the one thing he had left in life for his wife, his good name. Also when Proctor says “ I can. And there’s your first marvel, that I can. You have made your magic now, for now I do think I see some shred of goodness in John Proctor”(Miller 1232). This is direct characterization that reveals that Proctor has changed. That he is no longer a man eaten by guilt. He is an individual with goodness inside of him who has gained his self-respect again. He is finally at peace.…

    • 486 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays