John Proctor Character Analysis

Human nature is the common feelings, characteristics, and behaviors of humans. One characteristic of human nature is fear. Humans fear the things they can not understand and when things happen that no one can explain, fear takes over and spreads like wildfire. “The Crucible,” a play written by Author Miller to express the panic and fear of witchcraft in the city of Salem, Massachusetts in the 1600s, follows the lives of multiple Salem residents and shows how the Salem Witch Trials affected their lives. One character in particular, John Proctor, is largely affected when the young girl he’d had an affair with starts the accusations against people in Salem for practicing witchcraft. John Proctor’s character is the epitome of human nature; his sins, guilt, loyalty, redemption, and his realization that he is in fact a good man make him an entirely human character
He carries around the burden of the sins he has committed and does not seem to have the ability to forgive himself. So in addition to the looming accusations of witchcraft in the city of Salem, John Proctor is also dealing with the weight of the sins he’s committed. Proctor’s own guilt over the situation leads him to blame his wife, Elizabeth, for the affair. In the play, Proctor tells Elizabeth “You forget nothin’ and forgive nothin’” and that there is “an everlasting funeral” that marches around her heart. (Act II, pg. 852) He blames Elizabeth for not forgiving him even though he has done everything to make up for it. His guilt is still there and he tries to push it down, but when Reverend Hale comes to their home to question them it is obvious he feels guilty when he cannot name all the Ten Commandments. The one he leaves out is the one that states, “Thou shalt not commit