Preview

Evolution of John Proctor

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
709 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Evolution of John Proctor
In one’s life, everyone experiences a situation that gets blown out of proportion. Things get twisted and turned in the wrong direction and the truth seems to be lost in it all. The resolution may take a painstakingly amount of time and work to unravel, but in the end, the truth shall be revealed. In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, John Proctor first does not realize the gravity of the witchcraft trials in Salem, as he discovers what is at stake he notices he has some eternal conflict, but in the end he is at peace with himself. As the Salem witchcraft trials had started to emerge, John Proctor did not seem affected by the situation. While he meets with Abigail, he has a feeling that she is lying to him he tries to brush her off by saying, “Abby, I may think of you softly from time to time, but I will cut off my hand before I reach for you again.” (Miller, 1359). John Proctor did not want to have to get involved in something that did not necessarily involve him. His first move seemed to be to try and deny her and stay away. Another situation is when Proctor is talking to his wife, Elizabeth. Elizabeth interrogates him about the witchcraft trials but Proctor denies that he has anything to do with them and to try and save the girls. As John denies his association with the situation, he starts to dig himself deeper and deeper in his lies. Without realizing it, he starts up an argument and that decision of lying sets up a new playing field for more lies. When Proctor tries to roll with the punches and just tag along in the lies, he starts to realize the situation is getting out of hand and tries to fight back. As the trials go on, Abigail decides to try and get Elizabeth Proctor to become her newest target to frame. John Proctor takes action and finally reveals the truth that the girls are all frauds. But as he is telling the truth, the townspeople and the court jury are so caught up in the girls’ lies that do not believe a word he says. John Proctor’s attempt
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    John Proctor's Character Changes In The Crucible
    • 486 Words
    • 2 Pages

    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.…

    • 486 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    THe Follies and Triumphs of John Proctor
    • 763 Words
    • 2 Pages

    THe Follies and Triumphs of John Proctor

    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
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Examples Of Abigale In The Crucible
    • 434 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Examples Of Abigale In The Crucible

    John proceeds to confront abigale for all that she has done and he threatens that if she accuses elizabeth he will kill her. At this point of the play John proctor is fed up with the games that abigail is playing accusing people of witchcraft and the anxiety caused by the accusations of innocent people sent to death for witchcraft.…

    • 434 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    John Proctor Change In The Crucible
    • 257 Words
    • 2 Pages

    John Proctor Change In The Crucible

    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
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Role Of John Proctor In The Crucible
    • 830 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Role Of John Proctor In The Crucible

    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
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    John Proctor Research Paper
    • 595 Words
    • 3 Pages

    John Proctor Research Paper

    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…

    • 595 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Who Is John Proctor A Tragic Hero In The Crucible
    • 404 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Who Is John Proctor A Tragic Hero In The Crucible

    Inside a windowless room illuminated by a single candle, the flame is given the responsibility of filling the area with light; that same brightness will inevitably produce its own shadows. In the play, based off of true events,“The Crucible” written by Arthur Miller recalls a series of unlawful behaviors within a paranoid society that sparked innocent people's deaths. One of the only rationalist in this play is eventualled executed after his attempts to return justice to Salem. John Proctor resembles a tragic hero through in his regrets of adulterous relationship with Abigail, his desire to end the trials, and his family oriented pride.…

    • 404 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    How Is John Proctor Strong In The Crucible
    • 509 Words
    • 3 Pages

    How Is John Proctor Strong In The Crucible

    John Proctor appears to be an authentic, honorable, and candid man. In act one, Proctor exuberates love for authority and exercises his power to the best of his ability. Readers see through Proctor’s witty persona and analyze his fatal sin that fills him with guilt, his affair with Abigail Williams. In the midst of the play, John Proctor undergoes a plethora of self-torment and guilt. Meanwhile, the witch trials continue to be investigated. Only John can free innocent men and women tried for practicing witchcraft, but in the process will ruin his reputation. Proctor later confesses to his act of lechery and rests in the gallows with his neighbors. By doing so, John is perceived as a…

    • 509 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Reverend Hale's Decisions In The Crucible
    • 1126 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Reverend Hale's Decisions In The Crucible

    Even though being discovered was a concern it was lesser a problem to Proctor than the fact that innocent people, including his wife Elizabeth who was accused by Abigail, could be and are being accused of witchcraft. Despite John’s previous efforts, Abigail and her band of young women have the courts convinced, forcing John to tell the courts “I have known her” (to know meaning to have sexual relations with) in order to establish Abigail’s motives, seeing as the affair would establish Abigail as a liar in the sense that she lied about Elizabeth stabbing her (this was the way Abigail accused Elizabeth), discrediting Abigail once and for all (Miller 189). Discrediting Abigail would be a big deal since she was a great driving force to the mass hysteria. Had it not been for his love for the truth and strive for justice, these events would not have never been known. John had quite valid reasons to make these decisions, and seeing the background to these decisions and the hoped outcome, the reason was obvious, he could not see such injustice…

    • 1126 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    How Does Arthur Miller Present Motivation In The Crucible
    • 651 Words
    • 3 Pages

    How Does Arthur Miller Present Motivation In The Crucible

    Between confessing the affair to Elizabeth to even telling the entire town, Proctor is driven by getting the guilt off of his chest, telling the truth. Overall, Miller accurately displayed the story of the Salem Witch Trials in The Crucible by vividly flaunting the motivation behind multiple characters and allowing the readers to dive into their thoughts. The play depicts that the people that are driven by the truth are the ones that have the most abundant…

    • 651 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    John Proctor's Death
    • 1298 Words
    • 6 Pages

    John Proctor's Death

    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
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    John Proctor: A Tragic Hero
    • 850 Words
    • 4 Pages

    John Proctor: A Tragic Hero

    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
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Examples Of Integrity In The Crucible
    • 487 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Examples Of Integrity In The Crucible

    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
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    John Proctor's Decisions In The Crucible
    • 843 Words
    • 4 Pages

    John Proctor's Decisions In The Crucible

    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
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    John Proctor Characteristics
    • 818 Words
    • 4 Pages

    John Proctor Characteristics

    Even though he knows that Elizabeth is saved because of her pregnancy, he still continues to fight for the other women that are charged with the witchcraft issue. He supports fairness. All his actions were made to save many people from the witchhunt. He pays it with his own life, a symbol of goodness. John Proctor's decision to die is very important. He had to choose between dying and saving a whole society. John Proctor was willing to die than damn all the others. “You use not use me! I am no Sarah Good or Tituba, I am John Proctor! You will not use me! It is no part of salvation that you should use me! (Miller 62).” This statement shows the sense of pride that John still withholds in himself. John Proctor becomes so proud that he shocks the whole counsel by ripping the confession up in front of their faces. John Proctor then states the following: “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 143-144).” He always wanted to keep his name clean. He took the right decision as it also allowed him to compensate his sin with Abigail. John Proctor wanted to protect the truth, even if he has to pay with his own…

    • 818 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics