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. Let’s start
with his personality at the beginning of the play. John was a hard working man that earned everything that he owned. He was a respected member of society. John is a good man, but he has a secret, fatal flaw. His love for Abigail Williams. This led to their affair (which occurs before the play begins). The affair created Abigail’s jealousy of Elizabeth. After Abigail is discovered in the woods with friends “summoning spirits”, her and her friends go on the defensive and start accusing others of witchcraft by saying that they can see people with the devil (189). Proctor, scared to be accused also, turns another cheek. As the play goes on, the girls begin to accuse more and more people of witchcraft. The girls accuse Goody Sibber, Martha Bellows, Alice Barrow, Goody Hawkins, Goody Bibber, Goody Booth, and many more people, including an innocent old man who was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, like a lot of other people that were accused. When John hears of this, he begins to get angry at the girls; mainly Abigail. Abigail is staring to realize how much power she has at this point of the play. She can take down anyone she wants with one quick accusation. She decides to use this power to take down Elizabeth Proctor. After accusing Elizabeth of being a witch, Abigail goes to John and tells him that she wants to be with him. John is infuriated and this causes another change in personality. John begins to threaten Abigail. He says that he will tell everyone about their affair, despite his public appearance, which is the reason he has not told everyone yet. Abigail refuses to take back the accusation and it begins to become axiomatic that she is going to take down Elizabeth no matter what John does. This brings out a whole new side of John. He begins to plot to take down Abigail and all of the girls. Abigail tries to say that Elizabeth stabbed her with a sewing needle that she planted on Elizabeth in a doll that she made.