In the play The Crucible written by Arthur Miller, John Proctor was internally triumphant when he gained respect for himself, primarily due to his mission of personal redemption and his integrity. Overwrought by regret of his actions, John Proctor is driven on a mission to personally prove himself. He realizes the enormous mistake of committing lechery with Abigail, and wants to prove to himself he has a good will. Near the final pages of the play, Proctor was asked if he was accompanied when doing the devil’s work, he responded “I speak my own sins; I cannot judge another. I have no tongue for it” (Miller 141). John could have used this opportunity to get revenge on Abigail. Instead he makes the honorable decision to personally redeem himself from his previous mistakes. Earlier in the play he claimed that Mary and the girls were “God damn all liars” (Miller 117). This quote demonstrates John judging people for their sins, which is exactly what he claimed he does not do. It shows a dramatic change in his character, a change in personal …show more content…
This is demonstrated in this excerpt, “Because I lie and sign myself to lies! Because I am not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang!” (Miller 143). This quote shows the audience he thinks he is worth nothing. Proctor undergoes a transformation where he retrieves his dignity and respect for himself. Shortly after ripping the confession up Proctor states “You have made you magic now, for now I do think I see some shred of goodness in John Proctor. Not Enough to weave a banner with, but white enough to keep it from such dogs” (Miller 144). Proctor is displaying the self-respect he has obtained from doing the moral thing. This quote also indicates Proctor’s personal change of attitude towards himself. For example, he was hard on himself earlier in the play, comparing himself with dust and later he claims he sees good in
Nothing’s spoiled by giving them this lie that were not rotten long before” (Miller 1352). He is ultimately giving up his confession even though he knows it is not the right thing to do. A previous break to Proctor’s Christianity beliefs is when he commits adultery; however, instead of standing up for himself he gives into the court’s desire. When John Proctor confesses, his actions prove a huge weakness John Proctor has. However, his actions of confessing result in a strength.
Proctor was telling Abigail that he is never going to do a sin of committing adultery again like he did. On page fifty you see that Proctor feels a lot of guilt and is starting to feel worse. You can tell he is feeling bad on how he wasn’t loyal to his wife. Abigail says, “Him! Oh, John, I will make you such a wife when the world is white again!
This shows that John is a merciful being and desires forgiveness from his wife and God, therefore demonstrating traits of a good man. Furthermore, John has a heated argument with his wife, due to his encounter with Abigail, alone. Although, he thinks his wife will doubt him, she states on the contrary, “I do not judge you. The magistrate sits in your heart that judges you. I never thought you but a good man, John - only somewhat bewildered” (55).
In the Crucible, many of the characters go through changes because of the intensity of the situation. But there is only one character that I think changed the most, and that is John Proctor who is the protagonist of the novel The Crucible by Arthur Miller. I think that John Procotor changes the most in the Crucible because he is in every act and mostly in every scene, and throughtout the play I see more drama (Dynamic Character) in him than any other character in the Crucible and I will go through and tell you how John Proctor changes in the Crucible. In the beginning of the play (Acts 1 and 2), we focus on John Proctor and we know that he is a good puritan citizen, a hard-working farmer and who is a husband and father.
Because I cannot have another one in my life!... Proctor tears the paper and crumples it. ”(143 & 144) This quote proves that John Proctor preserved his dignity and soul, and followed his moral compass in doing the right thing. Contributing to the previous detail, “I do think I see some shred of goodness in John Proctor...
Proctor even told them he is not something to be used to help them, “you will not use me” (4, 699). Proctor will not allow the town to use his name to save themselves for killing all the innocent people before him. Proctor even pleads with them, “I have given you my soul; leave me my name” (4, 730). Proctor is saying how the integrity he has is only left in his name since his soul has been sinned.
John Proctor is the well-regarded protagonist of Arthur Miller's "The Crucible." Throughout the play, John struggles with his own inner demons and is ultimately forced to make a life-or-death decision to maintain his honor. John's character undergoes a significant transformation over the course of the play, moving from a guilt-ridden husband to an honorable man. This transformation is evident in John's actions and words as he grapples with the events of the witch trials. At the beginning of the play, John is depicted as a flawed character who is guilty of committing adultery.
John Proctor suffers from a sense of excessive pride throughout the entirety of the play. In Act II of The Crucible the reader sees Proctors pride when he is arguing with Elizabeth, his wife, about sin he committed with Abbigail. One line that supports this is “I have not moved from there to there without I think to please you, and still an everlasting funeral marches round your heart. I cannot speak but I am doubted, every moment judged for lies, as though I come into a court when I come into this house!” (Miller 58) Proctor acts as if he has done no wrong and will not have a soft heart towards his wife who is doubtful after he committed
I have given you my soul; leave me my name!” (Miller 153). This quote truly demonstrates Proctors character as a whole, as he is willing to be hung for the sake of proving his worth to the court. Specifically, Proctor knows he is truly innocent, and wants to make the courts aware of his innocence. His unwillingness to confess to witchcraft, is because of his personal beliefs regarding reputation.
Proctor doubts his goodness and constantly seeks forgiveness. This is evident when he says "I cannot mount the giblet like a saint, my honesty is broke elizebeth, I am no good man. When Proctor finally has the bravery to go to court, despite the risk of exposure, he breaks down under the pressure of Abigails power and denounces god in frustration. As a result of this he is arrested. In act four, Proctor's integrity outweighs his will to live.
The play The Crucible by Arthur Miller is based on true events of the Salem Witchcraft Trials but is changed in some parts to make it a better story. One exaggerated part of the play is a character named John Proctor, who has an affair with a girl named Abigale and is trying to stop the Salem Witchcraft Trials because he knows that the afflicted girls are false. While he is trying to stop the trials he ends up being accused and is hanged because he would not “confess” to being a witch. Some people think John Proctor is a flawed person because he made a lot of poor decisions, but he is actually an honorable person because he tried to make up for his mistakes. Some people think John Proctor is a flawed person because he had an affair with a younger girl named Abigale
(Miller. 1. 539-540). In committing these actions with Abigail John cheated on his wife and used Abigal purely for pleasure and gave her false hope that there was a connection between the two of them. Furthermore, John is filled with anger when Mary Warren goes against his word and tells him she will
Early in the play, Proctor is highly ashamed of his past sins. When he is being introduced, Proctor is described as a, “troubled soul”, and a, “sinner…against his own vision of decent conduct” who “regarded himself as a kind of fraud” (Miller 19). Before he even speaks a single line, the audience sees Proctor as someone who is conflicted with himself. Proctor’s feelings of shame follow him around and affect his actions and decisions. In his great shame, Proctor would prefer to simply forget his affair with Abby and move on with his life.
In The Crucible, a drama by Arthur Miller, John Proctor demonstrates courage by speaking out for what he believes in while knowing his consequences, admitting his wrong doings with Abigail to save Elizabeth’s life, and choosing to be hanged over having his name posted on the church door because the second his signed confession is posted, his and his loved ones reputations will be ruined. In the beginning of the play all John Proctor cared about was his reputation. However, ultimately he sacrificed his reputation by telling the court he committed adultery. John telling the court he was guilty ruined his reputation, which made all hell break loose.
In Arthur Miller’s dramatic play The Crucible, John Proctor, the protagonist, symbolized truth and justice by displaying honor and pride in his name. The change in balance between those two attributes acted as a catalyst in defining moments of the play. In the beginning, Proctor equally reflected both pride and honor in separate events. However, when forced to make a decision, he chose honor over pride. Ultimately, both his honor and pride pushed him to commit the ultimate sacrifice.