The Trial Of John Proctor In The Crucible

In the Crucicle, John Proctor confesses his affair with Abigail. Danforth asks for Elizabeth Proctor to confirm or deny this without knowing that John has already confessed. The result is ironic because for perhaps the first time in her life, she lies to protect her husband. She then finds out he had already made his confession.
John Proctor is a good example of a struggle to find a place in society. He’s the type of person that wants to plow his fields on the good days even if the good day is only on Sunday of that week. His struggle to make a living with his crops gets him into trouble with the very religious Puritan community of Salem Massachusettsthem as well as himself. And so he refuses to confess and goes to his hanging a free man.

He mentions that Parris is the first minister who ever wanted to own his house, indicating that he thinks Parris is greedy. When Proctor suggests that the witchcraft accusations are absurd, Parris accuses Proctor of leading factions against him. A week later, Proctor and his wife, Elizabeth, discuss the goings-on about the town. Proctor has been pretty ignorant about what’s happening and he soon learns that things are crazy, with all kinds of witchcraft accusations being made. He wants Elizabeth’s forgiveness for his adultery, but she says he is the only one judging himself. He says and does things that indicate he is tiptoeing around the house, trying to please his wife. He gets angry when Elizabeth urges him to tell everybody what Abigail told him. He gets angry when Elizabeth says he made a “physical” promise to Abigail that he needs to break. But he knows deep down that Elizabeth is

The defense is pointless because his wife is arrested shortly thereafter. After his wife leaves with Cheever and Herrick, he tells Mary Warren that she will tell the truth about what’s going on—about the poppet that she made, about the pretense that’s going on. Mary Warren lets him know that Abigail has told her about their relationship, which he realizes gives him the freedom to open up his own mouth. He will not, he says, let his wife, a good woman, die for him. Proctor brings Mary Warren to the court. He has brought a deposition, signed by her, that she lied about seeing spirits. When Abigail manages to turn the tables on Proctor, and Mary Warren starts to backtrack on the truth about the girls, Proctor confesses his sin of adultery to the court and both ministers. Proctor says his wife cannot lie, so Danforth sends for Elizabeth to see the truth of this. Unfortunately, this is the one moment when Elizabeth decides to lie, to protect her husband. Reverend Hale defends Proctor against Abigail’s lies. Abigail begins to fly into hysteria, pretending that spirits are around. Mary Warren breaks down and accuses Proctor of bewitching her, of making her sign her name in the Devil’s book. Proctor is arrested as a witch. The day he is supposed to hang, Proctor gets a chance to see his wife Elizabeth. Heavy with emotion, they discuss whether he should confess or