Sadie OMarah
Parsons
Expo
20 Sep 12
The Crucible
In the third act of “The Crucible,” Elizabeth Proctor makes a choice where she lies in order to save her husbands reputation. As this affects both her and her husband, it also affects the rest of the play. In order to save her husband, John Proctor, from lechery she lies to the court. Elizabeth didn’t know what was at risk; she also didn’t know what there was at risk. She didn’t know what there was to come with her words, in which she believed were the right things to say at that time and place. Because of the fact that Elizabeth was unaware of what was happening, she started going helpless when the situation got serious and she couldn’t look to her husband for help. Soon enough, though, she states that her husband is a good man. Although before she spoke, Proctor confessed his sins. Consequently, her actions created anarchy in the court. Sure enough, both she and Proctor get sent to jail. Abby doesn’t want Proctor as much as she did before. Now she wants to get even. Abby and the girls say they see a bird, accusing Mary Warren of witchcraft. This leads to Hale leaving the court and Parris winning the trial. Due to this, the Proctors are taken away and anything could happen to their children, and pregnant Elizabeth. This is all because Proctor said his wife had never told a lie, but she does. Its looked at as the truth when she confessed it to the men. But because Proctor had stated that his wife had never lied in her life, it made it look like he was the liar in the end.
OMarah Page 2
Elizabeth’s actions made an impact on the court, the girls, and John Proctor over one lie she decided to make.
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
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.…
- 486 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
John Proctor is one character in The Crucible that is a dynamic which change a bit throughout the story; for he has changed from a quiet “farm boy” to a man with huge couragement. At the beginning of the play, Proctor kept things inside of his mind, and tries to get Abagail to keep the main secret that John had since he knew that he wife, Elizabeth, would not tell what happen seven months. When John and Abagail had an affair. As the story progresses, Elizabeth was thrown into jail because she is being accused of being…
- 279 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
In the beginning of the play, Elizabeth has a tense, distant relationship with her husband because he had an affair with Abigail Williams, who is both the Proctors’ antagonist and uses pathos to cause strife between them. Elizabeth still had not been able to forgive John for this, causing their relationship to suffer. However, the accusations brought against them by Abigail force Elizabeth and John to pull together and unite against their accusers. She is able to move past John’s sin when saying, “John, it come to naught that I should forgive you, if you’ll not forgive yourself” (Miller 138). Elizabeth is able to let John know that she does not hold his sin against him anymore, and he should not as well. Elizabeth also changes from being an incredibly truthful person to one that is willing to lie to save her husband. When John is accused, he tells the court that he has committed adultery with Abigail, and this is why Abigail is accusing him. However, the court does not believe him, so John has Elizabeth brought out to prove to the court that her husband did indeed have an affair. Since Elizabeth has never lied before in her life,…
- 849 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
He becomes selfless and sacrifices his reputation and his life to save everyone else in the court by the end of the Crucible. John Proctor said "You will not judge me more, Elizabeth. I have good reason to think before I charge fraud on Abigail. And I will think on it. Let you look to your own improvement before you go to judge your own husband anymore. I have forget Abigail" (pg. 918.) In the beginning of the book, he knew he was going to hurt his neighbors from hiding what he did with Abigail, but he was so afraid about the citizens of Salem find out about his affair. John was afraid to tell the judges about his affair with Abigail because Abigail is going to ruin his reputation by charge lechery. John proctor said " I speak my own sins; I cannot judge another." (Pg. 968.) John Proctor tried to speak his own sins, confess he saw the witches to survive, and ask forgiveness for Elizabeth because it will save the others. John Proctor signed a written confession that will be hung on the courthouse door. He knew that will ruin his name and reputation in the society, but he sacrificed himself to save people who are in the prison.…
- 830 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
Proctor’s hubris caused the problem in the first place and this led to his tragic flaw. Proctor believed that he was untouchable; he believed that he could have an affair, but as long as he apologized afterwards, everything would be all right again. But as the play unfolded he soon found out that his life with Elizabeth and life in the village would never be the same again. Proctor’s affair drove Abigail to plot to get Proctor’s wife Elizabeth out of the picture, so that she could take her place. But she was intelligent enough to realize that if she excused the wife of a well-respected man of the village of conspiring with the devil, no one would believe he and she would be thrown in jail for lying to the court. For she has broken the commandment “Thou shalt not bear false witness” and this was as serious a sin as murder. Because of this Abigail decided that if she filled the jails with people not so respected such as tramps no one would notice one more person passing through the courts. Abigail did all this because Proctor had slept with her. This caused her to believe that he made a promise to her by doing so; she believed that if Proctor did not have Elizabeth he would then love her instead. Because Proctor slept with Abigail he did not just cause his own downfall, but also the downfall of others. One thing Abigail did not think would happen and ruined her conspiracy was for Proctor to stand up in court, blacken his name in the village, risk being hanged, and expose her as a harlot she was. Proctor’s proof of this was his statement of “I have known her.” By doing this he ruined his reputation in the village, but Proctor realizes that his reputation was caused by the illusions people had of him and that he was a really a fake. This was one of the noblest things he done during the play when he tired to save others by destroying himself and was one of the turning points in the play. This also meant that…
- 1495 Words
- 6 Pages
Better Essays -
When Elizabeth is charged and arrested for “witchcraft”, the dynamic between John and Elizabeth Proctor changes; as well as Elizabeth herself. She grows stronger and confident for herself and her family. She says to John, “When the children wake, speak nothing of witchcraft- it will frighten them”(Miller,37). She is motivated by the love she shares with John to continue and go through the witch trials. Consequently, her love for him makes the situation worse in the long run. Elizabeth lies about knowing the affair between John and Abigail think she was protecting him and his reputation. Elizabeth says to Danforth, “No, sir”(Miller, 50); she lies about the affair to the court thinking she is protecting her husband. John knows she is trying…
- 850 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
Proctor is arrested on charges of witchcraft along with his wife, Elizabeth. The people that are arrested for witchcraft live if they confess, but hang if they deny the charges, even if the charges are not truthful. This plays an important part in the testing of John’s integrity later in the play. In the beginning, we find out that Proctor had an affair with the niece of the town reverend, Abigail Williams. This displays a lack of integrity for John, but nobody knows about it until later. John shows his integrity when he confesses to this affair later in the play. At the beginnig of the play, the Proctor’s want no part in the witch trials. They get dragged into the proceedings when Abigail accuses Elizabeth of hurting her with a voodoo doll. John has integegrity when he tries to save his wife from being hanged. He gets depositions from others in the town that show how good his wife was. He has Mary Warren, who was working in the Proctor house, confess that she was the one who made the doll and stuck the needle in it. This does not work though, and Mary turns on Proctor and gets him arrested. When Proctor is in jail, he shows his integrity once again. He knows that he has the…
- 487 Words
- 2 Pages
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 -
First to point out, John Proctor, Elizabeth's husband, had an affair with the reverend's daughter, Abigail. John confessed to the court that the committed adultery and calls in Elizabeth for reassurance. Elizabeth lies for her husband to save him. Evidently, "no." is not what the court wanted to hear. Since she lied, which is a sin, they took her back to the area she was at. Because of her lying to the court to save John, he has been convicted of being deceitful. Her committing a sin to save her husband shows that she had courage in putting her loved one before herself.…
- 480 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
Proctor’s altruism of considering his family before himself leads to him confessing to the court about his actions of adultery. However, after Proctor’s wife Elizabeth enters the courtroom she lies about the adultery in order to conserve her husband's reputation. Proctor later states, “She only thought to save my name” and with that came the peripeteia of Proctor being doomed to face his past consequences. The anagnorisis of this situation was that of Proctor's wife feeling remorse for her husband willingness to be penitent which lead to his eventual downfall. Displaying how the only time Elizabeth was willing to lie and damn herself to hell was to protect her husband’s pride and reputation. To lie for a beloved one is also to face the punishment for his misdeed. This scenario can instill empathy in the audience of how Proctor's wife is willing to send herself to hell for lying about his…
- 820 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
John committed adultery with Abigail Williams. But feeling so bad for his actions he never wanted to commit adultery again “I will cut off my hand before I’ll ever reach for you again” page 22 act one. This quote shows an extreme bloody image to emphasize the strength and determination that John will never cheat again. But Abigail did not feel the same she proclaims that John Proctor is in love with her. But John denies the accusation and claims that his love is for his wife Elizabeth Procter. This crushed Abigail, so she decided that since she can’t have John Proctor, Elizabeth can’t either. She decided to come up with a lie that Elizabeth is proctor is a witch of Salem. Later in the book Elizabeth Proctor is arrested and put on trial for witchcraft by her accuser Abigail Williams. She later confessed to witchcraft and she was thrown in jail. Her execution was put on hold for her accusation of being pregnant. John Proctor went into court to defend his wife, but later on ended up confessing to lechery, but the court didn't believe him. He then turned to his servant Mary Warren to testify against Abigail Williams and the rest of the other girls for lying about witchcraft. But Mary Warren was threatened and so terrified by Abigail Williams that she lied and testified against John Proctor proclaiming he used his spirit to drag her into court and testify…
- 849 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
In Act I, John Proctor and Abigail Williams had a conversation that state both engaged in sexual relations, making Abigail a harlot and Proctor an adulterer. Abigail, throughout the encounter, talks of Elizabeth Proctor as if she is the only one keeping John Proctor and herself from being together. As the intensity of the witch trails reach its climax, Elizabeth Proctor is accused of being a witch. When Cheever arrives to take Elizabeth to jail, Proctor inquires about the accuser, who happens to be Abigail Williams. John then tells Mary Warren, Abigail’s abettor, to testify against her. When this fails in court, Proctor sacrifices everything he owns, his name, his family’s reputation, and his life, by saying, “It is a whore!” (Act III, scene i). John Proctor admitted lechery in a prevailing attempt to call out Abigail on her pretense in seeing spirits and witches. Soon after this, John is arrested and Abigail is allowed freedom. Also, Reverend Hale denounces the proceedings of the court. The sacrifice made by Proctor made the puritan society of Salem, Massachusetts question the claims made by Abigail and her friends.…
- 316 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
In act three of the story Abigail tells everyone how her and John Proctor had sexuall relations, so Danfourth questions Elizabeth to see if she knows anything about it. Before the questioning John told Elizabeth about him and Abigail and he told her to tell the truth and to admit it to the jury that he had committed the crime of lechery. When the day of questioning finally comes Danforth asks if John Proctor has ‘committed the crime of lechery?” and Elizabeth simply replied “no,sir” (Miller 11). Elizabeth lied for her husband even though he told her not to because she did not want to spoil his name to the whole town of Salem . She knew that he could not “live without [his ]name(Miller…
- 922 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
It has been said many times that if people don't learn from their mistakes they are doomed to repeat them, such is the case throughout history. There are many different examples of this, but one example is the blatant similarities between the witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts and the era of McCarthyism. When considering the nature of these events, it is hard to believe that they could have actually happened, not would only once, but twice. If one would take the time to compare these events he or she will be able to see numerous similarities between them. In The Crucible Miller relates an analogy of the witch trials in Salem to the investigation of communists by Joseph McCarthy. There are many similarities between these two events in history.…
- 973 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Elizabeth Proctor, who is the wife of John Proctor, and the enemy of Abigail Williams, appears to be a loving, caring and sturdy housewife on the outside. Truthfully, Elizabeth is a cold, insecure, and vengeful woman with trust issues in her marriage. "Spare me! You forget nothin' and forgive nothin'. Learn charity, women." (52) At first we assume that Elizabeth is only cold in her marriage because of John’s infidelity with Abigail, but we learn that her bitterness comes from a lack of self-worth and pride in herself. "I have sins of my own to count. It needs a cold wife to prompt lechery" (131). This insecure and cold spirit led to Johns affair with the house worker who was undoubtedly more confident and had a sexual appetite and appeal that intrigued John. The problem was not just the adultery that was committed, but the harlot herself. Abigail was a sneaky liar, who was able to imprison Elizabeth as soon as she saw the spirit of revenge brewing inside of Elizabeth. "She is blackening my name in the village! She is telling lies about me!"…
- 997 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays