Preview

John Proctor In The Crucible

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
731 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
John Proctor In The Crucible
In the 1953 play The Crucible by Arthur Miller, the main protagonist, John Proctor allows the audience to create an emotion of sympathy towards him. In the play John Proctor is the husband of Elizabeth Proctor, he is a farmer, and a father of three boys. He was also accused of witchcraft like many individuals who lived in the town of Salem. Proctor did not attend church, because of Reverend Parris. Parris is the minister of Salem, who preaches about wealth, “…and for twenty week he preach nothin’ but golden candlesticks until he had them”. (Act Two, pg. 69) John had no importance for wealth, but rather of God, it was one of the reasons he stopped attending church. The other was to avoid Abigail Williams. John committed adultery with Abigail, …show more content…
John was a hero, because he wanted to save the lives of all the innocent people who were going to hang. He was an honest man that made a mistake. In act four John transforms into a man who has nothing left but his dignity. His soul has been blackened, and he cannot confess to such a crime that he did not commit, even if it would’ve saved his life. He believed in dying the moral way without lies, rather than living with a name that is full of sin. “Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies...” (Act four, pg.145). Proctor’s self-worth was being challenged, and he wanted to keep his last shred of dignity, before he was a completely destroyed man. Individuals may think that John Proctor is not a tragic hero, due to his flaws. However, that is what makes him a tragic hero. He is an average person, who has errors but he tries to correct them with the rest of his honor. The people in Salem see themselves as immaculate, however their misconceptions bring the death of nineteen innocent women, and men. Proctor tries them to see that their beliefs, are foolish. He suffered the consequences of the affair he had with Abigail

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    In The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, John Proctor displays some of the key aspects of beig a hero. Those aspects are, he risked his reputation and his life to save the lives of the falsely accused people in his town. A big aspect of being a hero is sacrifice, but even though he lacks the other aspects such as unselfishness and compassion, he is still a hero. John is selfish because before his wife was accused of witchcraft he was passive towards the hangings. He had a strong dislike of them but was not that open about it except with his wife. He then showed a lack of compassion when he force Mary Warren to testify in court that the girls were lying, even though that…

    • 332 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    John Proctor is leading a double life according to one local farmer. Mr. Joe Smith claims to have seen Mr. Proctor behind his barn with Abigail Williams last Friday night. Proctor is said to have gotten close to Abigail that night and many nights before. The two have previously been seen during late night hours alone near the forest, but are now being more risky with their affair seeing each other during all hours of the day. When Proctor’s wife, Elizabeth Proctor, was asked about the affair her husband was having, she defended him. Elizabeth remains confident that her husband is a good Christian man and would never commit adultery. Abigail assures the public that anything that occurred between herself and John Proctor is now in the past,…

    • 306 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The character John Proctor from Arthur Miller’s famous play about the Salem witchcraft; The Crucible is a member of the Puritan religion. This is a culture established in the values of Christian faith, hard work, selflessness, and manageable living. Proctor is a main character that has committed the sinful crime of adultery and is struggling to repair his trustworthiness in himself and his wife. The audience first see John Proctor as a man of great value that has committed a disgraceful act, which now makes him frail in personality and filled with guilt. As The Crucible progresses a great development in John Proctor occurs, making the audience ache with him when his destruction occurs. John Proctor is the most dynamic character as he values…

    • 129 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Crucible was a play written in 1952, by Arthur Miller. Though out the book Miller makes John Proctor the main character and also a tragic hero. Proctor was an upper class man, he had owned at least 300 acres of land, was also known as an honest, blunt, well respected and loved man, but like most people he had flaws. His major flaw was his lust for Abigail Williams. Their affair had happened when Abigail had worked for Elizabeth and John Proctor, Elizabeth had said to the court “ I came to think he fancied her.…

    • 548 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    I justify that the protagonist is John Proctor, the “Manly man” who had an affair on his wife and instead of coming clean he produces a scary moment in Salem’s history. Abigail Williams is the girl which has had John, after the affair she is driven by a crazy mind to get with John, she resorts to witchcraft and gives her own blood to give John’s wife to be with John. When John finds out about the attempt on his wife’s life, that his character turns into the good, loving husband, the town thinks he is, instead of the dishonest and unloyal husband his wife knows him to be. I say John is the protagonist because, the whole story seems to revolve around him. Finally I think the most important part of the play is when John said, “God is dead!!” this is greatly noticed by me and it takes guts to speak these things about God, in a Godly village.…

    • 432 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    John Proctor learned that maybe it’s okay to tell a white lie, in order to keep your life. Proctor was a tragic hero in the sense that he tried to save his wife and many others, even if that meant ruining his name in the town. He also refused to admit to being a witch in order for his kids to able to keep his land.…

    • 375 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Accusations of witchcraft were common in the 1600s and people had to decide whether to confess to these accusations to save their lives or to not confess and be hung. These societies had strict ideas and rules on how to live life. Having a good reputation is the most important to people and individuality is not an option. John Proctor dying to save his good name represents Miller's idea of a tragic hero because he is willing to die for his personal dignity due to the fact that he feels responsible to save himself and others.…

    • 638 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The decisions made by the character John Proctor, in The Crucible, and by Arthur Dimmesdale, in The Scarlet Letter, were very much alike. Throughout the entirety of both books, the similarities and differences between these two male characters, and the environments in which they lived, seemed to reflect back and forth quite generously. Also, the societies in which John Proctor and Arthur Dimmesdale lived in have a fair amount of topics that can be compared and contrasted together to further backup the fact that these men, despite their differences, were very similar.…

    • 1361 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Here’re more specific reasons why John Proctor is a tragic hero. First, he committed adultery with his servant, Abbigail Williams, and thought he can hide and conceal this fact. But, this thought reflects his hubris and selfishness. Because he had plenty of lands and wealthy, he doesn’t want to let people know about this fact. His hubris also make his wife to get in risk. His wife Elizabeth indicated as a witch by Abby, who jealous of Elizabeth that she had being a Proctor’s wife. But after Elizabeth arrested, Proctor convinced Mary, who could be a witness, and tried to prove that she is not a witch. Through these, we can guess that John Proctor has high estate, and neither entirely virtuous nor entirely evil, which can support that he is…

    • 134 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Leaders within a society who influence public opinion and command the respect of their peers are subject to the desire to preserve the public’s opinion of their good character within the community. John Proctor is a strong-willed, level-headed local farmer who valued his public reputation over his better judgment to challenge the accusations driven by hysteria and put an end to the trials. In the scene at Parris’s house, Proctor misses an opportunity to stop the consideration of witchcraft as the source of Betty’s illness, due to his fear of admitting his amoral relationship with Abigail. His secret relationship with Abigail threatens to diminish his moral standing and influence in the community, as well as, damage his perception of his personal integrity. In the…

    • 627 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The first aspect of Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero, nobility, is one where the hero is in a high social or political standing. John Proctor, however, is a farmer living outside of town with very little contact with those living in Salem Village. While the aspects of Proctor’s life negate Artistotle’s for requirement to be a “tragic hero”, Miller himself wrote an article entitles “Tragedy and the…

    • 672 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Moreover, the play sets John as an individual of many sins. John has an affair with one of his servants Abigail whom is younger than he is; Which is a form of sin titled “Adultery”. He has no intention of telling other people in fear of ruining his good name. This is shown in the two quotes, “I cannot speak, every moment judged for lies, as though I enter into a court when I come into this house.” and “Proctor: Because it speaks deceit, and I am honest! But I will not plead anymore! I see now your spirit twists around the little mistake of my life, and I will never tear it free.” (Miller,52-59). This proves that Proctor exists in his head as guilty and there is also a bit of foreshadowing because he does eventually go to the court. Every problem has a beginning.…

    • 347 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Proctor is well respected in Salem but one of the problems that is seen by his wife is Adultery. In the beginning of The Crucible, Miller calls him a sinner. “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 husband any more. I have forgot Abigail, and-” Proctor thinks before he charges Abagail because he has to prove she is either innocent or not. Abagail has a thing for John and he has a hard time with that temptation so it is difficult for him to charge Abagail. “It [Abigail] is a whore!” What is hard for John…

    • 638 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    As human beings, we each display specific traits and qualities that define our character and shape our personalities. The way in which we carry ourselves establishes our reputations, as well as how others identify us. We are each prone to making mistakes, and unfortunately, the mistakes we make can affect the way people see us as well. The struggle to regain a good name can be difficult and uncertain once someone’s reputation is tarnished. In Arthur Miller’s timeless play, The Crucible, a well-respected man named John Proctor betrays his wife and struggles to gain her forgiveness and his good name in the village of Salem. Although John Proctor betrays his wife, he remains the tragic hero of the play for he recognizes his faulty actions and dies with integrity and honesty in the end.…

    • 952 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The society in which John Proctor and his wife Elizabeth live in is a Puritan community. All of the citizens strive to be upstanding Christians and follow the Bible literally. The town's government is a theocracy making the Holy Bible law. On the surface Proctor portrays a good Christian man. "Proctor, respected and even feared in Salem has come to regard himself as a kind of fraud." (21). The reader is quickly informed that Proctor has had an affair with a teenage girl named Abigail Williams, while his wife was ill. Although Proctor and his wife knew of the sin they hid it from the rest of the Puritan Community in fear of being judged, criticized and ruining the Proctor name.…

    • 846 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays