Preview

Essay On John Proctor In The Crucible

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1307 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Essay On John Proctor In The Crucible
Taryn Bilberry
Mrs. Wulz
B3
2 December 2016

Salem, Massachusetts in sixteen ninety two was a puritan theocracy that feared the Devil and believed twelve young girls that witches were in Salem. The idea that the Devil could be in Salem consumed most and killed several innocent people who were accused of either being seen with the Devil, signing his book, and or their spirit affected one of the young girls. If anyone was against the church or disagreeing with the decisions the court made they more than likely turned up in the trials or were jailed. Nineteen innocent people died including some of the most devote people in Salem. Of the nineteen was John Proctor who Miller used as a main character in the Crucible and showed how John yes made
…show more content…
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

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    It was with ardent horror that the prehistoric man first witnessed a solar eclipse---the sun swallowed by the predator moon until all light ceased and darkness fell on to the land. We, the more enlightened descendants, have also suffered eclipses. One such eclipse was the darkness of evil that fell upon Salem in 1692, when many men and women were accused of compacting with the Devil. These charges were what snowballed into the huge misfortune known as the "Salem Witch Trials." The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, is a play based upon these witch trials, in which John Proctor, a prominent member of their Puritan community, falls into the hurricane of the accusations. Not willing to blacken his name, John hangs for not confessing to compacting with the Devil. When John destroys his untruthful confession, he condemns himself to die and by doing so becomes a true symbol of tragedy.…

    • 1228 Words
    • 5 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
  • Satisfactory Essays

    One of the characters in “The Crucible” that undergoes a major change is John Proctor. Proctor is one of the most important characters and he gradually changes throughout the course of the play. At the start of the play John Proctor has a strong willed personality and shows good leadership and authority. Through the changes that he makes, Proctor becomes a better person who finds a sense of goodness in himself. John Proctor goes from being someone who only cares about himself to a person who cares about what is really important to him. In the beginning, he has an affair with Abigail Williams, which causes all the problems because Abigail believes that if she can accuse Elizabeth Proctor, Proctor’s wife, of being a witch, than John Proctor will love her. This does not work out because towards the end Proctor realizes that his wife is the most important thing and confesses to having an affair with Abigail. He also tells everyone that he would rather die than have his name be ruined. Proctor almost gives in to saving his life by signing a confession that confirms him being a witch but at the end of the play he is more concerned with what is important than his public reputation. Proctor claims that God will save him for telling the truth and he will go to heaven. When Hale is begging Elizabeth to convince Proctor to confess, she says “He have goodness now. God forbid I take it from…

    • 259 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory 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

    Dear Diary:Today I am very upset with myself because my wife Elizabeth has found out about my affair with Abigail. She was so mad, that she promptly dismissed Abigail from working at our home. Now Mary Warren works for us, but I have to constantly remind her that she cannot leave our house. I told her that I would whip her if she does not obey my rules.…

    • 460 Words
    • 2 Pages
    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

    Often in true tests of moral character where people are tempted to deceive, be dishonest, or take advantage of each other, there are few who truly succeed. The story of The Crucible gives one of the strongest tests of morality, where the truly ethical are punished and those of low morale are free to live their lives. The Crucible very well represents that when a situation is life or death human decency crumbles rapidly. The Crucible takes place in Salem, Massachusetts where religion and corruption are rampant, and soon two girls fall ill unexplainably and it sparks ideas of evil and witchery in the town. This results in the citizens of the town pointing fingers at those who appear to have dealings with the devil, which inspires grave misfortune for many. Throughout The Crucible one character John Proctor remains remarkably honest, ethical, he fought for others, and what he stood for even when it meant his life.…

    • 1038 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    John Proctor in The Crucible is faced with a decision; to live with a lie, or die for his belief. John Proctor made the best decision possible, to die for his belief and carry his good name. In doing this, he secures his children’s future by leaving a good reputation. He only has one name in his lifetime, so he chose to die to keep it instead of lie and tear his reputation down for himself and his future kin. Your name is legacy, and is more important than life itself.…

    • 438 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the story “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller, there are many dramatis personas that are significant. Two very significant characters in the crucible are Abigail and Elizabeth. Elizabeth is married to John proctor and Abigail throughout the story tries to seduce and have an affair with him. This shows that Elizabeth, however, is better than Abigail because good people are able to identify with her, they fight for proctors love in different ways, and they both drive the plot of good versus evil.…

    • 737 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good 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
  • Satisfactory Essays

    I would say that John Proctor is the most courageous character because he speaks up for himself when talking to Reverend. Most importantly he sticks with his beliefs. He confessed about having an affair with Abigail just so his wife wouldn’t be killed. He tries to please Elizabeth as much as possible because of he is left with a guilty conscience. He chose to be hung instead of living in shame. He would always think of others before he thought of himself. He no longer cared about being hanged because he knew he was a sinner and shouldn’t have done what he did. He tried saving others over himself. Throughout the whole story John helped out others when it would put himself in risk. Out of all the people I would easily say that John Proctor…

    • 140 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    John Proctor's Death

    • 1298 Words
    • 6 Pages

    In the play, John Proctor is an ordinary farmer, who has proven himself a hardworking man, with a good name around the village of Salem. John is the type of man who often says what he believes and he does what his heart tells him to. In his past he has done a lot of good and bad deeds, but he is a human and humans do make mistakes for example, he had committed the crime of lechery with Abigail Williams. Abigail used to work at his house as a servant for him and his wife Elizabeth Proctor. Abigail is a two-faced 18 year old who causes a lot of mischief and she is in love with John and will do anything to separate him and his wife, just to take her place. John clearly regrets the mistake he had made in his life, and does his best to pick himself up and attempts to change things in his life. He is a smart man who is somewhat foolish, because from what I have observed, John puts more importance on the present than he does on the future. He is a kind man who is loyal to his wife and friends; he even blackens his own name for the sake of their lives. He is devoted to stop the hangings, and save the people who are accused.…

    • 1298 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    John Proctor is a tragic hero in the efforts to save his wife’s life but sacrifices his life to preserving his pride, dignity, and truth; dying as a man with many flaws but a good man in the eyes of God. John Proctor is the common man who's making an honest living as a farmer in the Puritan town of Salem, Massachusetts. Many describe him as a virtuous, stern man who speaks his mind and is well-respected. He is a man of integrity; a harsh-tongued man whose lust led him to an affair with Abigail Williams, his former servant. This leaves a strain in his marriage and he can’t seem to forgive himself. When introduced to the story, John Proctor is a passive protagonist who does nothing to affect the main plot of the story. During this time, he is motivated by staying out of the witch hunt hysteria to save himself and his reputation. John says to Elizabeth, “I’ll think on it”(Miller, 27); John is trying to avoid getting involved in the witch hunt. His self-serving desire to be silent leads many innocent people to their deaths, leaving those responsible unaccountable. It is until Elizabeth is arrested for “witchcraft” he get involved in proving her innocence and exposing the…

    • 850 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    An emphasis on religion and its significance regarding town politics led to a theocratic Salem. Theocracy, meant to “keep the community together, and to prevent any kind of disunity” (7) from occurring, highlights Salem and its priority placed on conformity. Therefore, Elizabeth Proctor and her internal conflict regarding morality contrasts starkly with the unquestioning society around her. In Miller’s play The Crucible, Arthur Miller utilizes Elizabeth Proctor’s evolving sense of justice and integrity to delineate that in a given world that values the dogmatic adherence to ideas or customs, a person who rejects that world often represses their own internal ethical beliefs in favor of conforming to the majority. In the short term, a person…

    • 983 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Imagine living a life of paranoia, in which you cannot even walk out of the front door without having to peer over your shoulder, wondering if or when you will be struck by an inevitable plague. In 1692, this mere situation was a horrendous reality for the people of Salem, Massachusetts in The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller. This plague, created by one’s burning desire to seek vengeance upon a man through the means of witchcraft, resulted in a tragic ending for many townspeople of all kinds alike. This series of unfortunate events ultimately resulted in the unnecessary death of many; however, this painful journey along with its experiences allowed many people to acknowledge, grow, and change their person and perspective in many aspects. These changes become evident in John Proctor, whose motivations behind his actions sprout from the emotional and spiritual wounds that he self-inflicted while committing to adultery.…

    • 929 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays