Preview

Loss Of Innocence In The Crucible

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
775 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Loss Of Innocence In The Crucible
A disastrous, wicked, and shameful story of the vengeance of a teen are the only descriptions for this story. The Crucible, by Author Miller a play about a vengeful teen who accuses her rival of witchcraft. The story takes place in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692 when anything can spark a fear. When a group of girls start accusing some of the population of Salem of witchcraft, the remaining townspeople become afraid and can only agree with them. During the time period this story took place, fear was high and when an accusation as huge as witchcraft is heard, the people have no choice but to believe the accusation. John Proctor is a farmer is his mid-thirties, and is one of the characters who becomes feared. He has almost signed his own death warrant, by committed sins which are recognized by the community. Some of the sins include not …show more content…

He does not and is hanged, but he is loyal to friends and doesn’t turn them in. Plus he does not turn his wife in, and remains loyal to her until his death. John Proctor’s final characteristic is his Adulterous behavior. In Act two Elizabeth, his wife, and him argue because he has committed adultery against her. He has committed adultery with Abigail, their former servant, and that is the main reason Elizabeth fired her, even though she claims it was because she was not working hard. The adultery is revealed in Appendix, Act two scene two which was taken out of the play. But in this scene Proctor goes to Abigail and tries to get her to confess that she is a liar and is making the whole witch hunt up and that Elizabeth is not a with. She does not but she does remind Proctor of there adulterous relationship and how shewants him back. The final example of his adultery is when he is forced to confess the adultery to the court, but denies the accusations. John Proctor has proved to be an independent man, who is loyal to his family, but has

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The Crucible is a play, and film, set in Massachusetts during February 1692 and May 1693. The play is written by Arthur Miller that portrays a court case, in the village Salem, called The Salem Witch Trials. The film was written after the play, therefore Arthur Miller was able to fill and take away in places that needed, which gives lots of comparison and contrast between them. In Act I of The Crucible, it starts with the girls gathering up and meeting Tituba in the woods.…

    • 542 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    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
  • Good Essays

    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
  • Good Essays

    Before the Salem witch trials start, John Proctor is already suffering from an internal conflict when he commits adultery. He is unable to forgive himself and wholeheartedly believes that God and his wife Elizabeth will never see him the same way. To make matters even worse he must reveal his horrible acts to save his wife from being killed…

    • 421 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the Proctor household, there is so much tension between Elizabeth Proctor, Proctor’s wife, and John Proctor. Proctor has committed adultery with a teenage servant, Abigail Williams. Although Abigail has been gone for 7 months, Elizabeth still cannot trust Proctor. Proctor is constantly trying to please his wife, knowing full well Elizabeth is still upset. Proctor finally had…

    • 381 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    John Proctor fears his name’s identity, which is evident near the end of the play when he resists Deputy Danforth and Reverend Hale’s posting his name on the church door, accusing him of witchcraft (IV.712-717). John Proctor is Elizabeth Proctor’s husband, who involved in an affair with Abigail Williams when she was still working as the Proctor’s maid. Elizabeth fires Abigail, once she realizes her maid and her husband’s covert relationship. Elizabeth’s dismissal causes Abigail to become very angry, for women had little power at the time, let alone unmarried women like herself. By playing her Mafia-like wailing and doll piercing games and forcing the other Salem girl to participate, Abigail determines to terminate Elizabeth and keep John for herself (460-473). Nevertheless, the court concludes John as a witch when Elizabeth—hoping to keep the Proctor’s honor—twists the story about how she dismissed Abigail. Even though the court understands John to be innocuous man, fearing their reputation, they persist in delivering his a death sentence,…

    • 395 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Of the over 40,000 words brilliantly crafted into a story, only two are able of capturing the meaning of Arthur Miller's play, The Crucible. Set in Salem, Massachusetts during the witch trials, Miller depicts the town and the strong puritan values vested in its people. When accusations of witchcraft run ravage through the streets, such puritan purity is in question. The Crucible is a fitting title for Arthur Miller’s play.The English noun crucible symbolizes Salem, the trials and the resulting changes that occur.…

    • 683 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    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
  • Good Essays

    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
  • Good Essays

    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…

    • 1307 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good 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

    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
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Guilt pushes John Proctor to not only protect his wife but to protect the whole town at the end of the play. protects his wife by owning up to committing adultery with Abigail. “I have known her, sir. I have known her.” (Miller, 220). This…

    • 353 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    John Proctor enters the room to see how Betty is doing which leaves only him, Betty and Abigail in the room. Abigail asks Proctor if he has come to see her, but Proctor denies it. She seduces him by trying to repeat history. “Gah, I almost forgot how strong you are, John Proctor” (Miller, p.21)! The conversation reveals that seven months earlier, Abigail and Proctor had an affair while Abigail lived and worked in the Proctor household. Abigail is convinced that John Proctor is in love with her, he does not admit that to Abigail nor himself.…

    • 872 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Crucible

    • 879 Words
    • 4 Pages

    In the story The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, it explains a play that involves historical events like witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. This drama is an example of the unjust events that happened, due to the terrible lies that some young girls made up, who were supposedly witchcraft. This was a hard situation for the entire town because of the accusation of witchcraft toward innocent people. In The Crucible, Miller shows us several examples of themes, some interesting themes were man vs. society, man vs. man, and man vs. self-internal.…

    • 879 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays