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Hester Prynne And John Proctor Analysis

705 Words3 Pages

Hester Prynne and John Proctor were very similar in certain aspects, but when you dig deeper into their lives you find that they differed greatly. They both lived in the Puritan settlement of Salem, Massachusetts. Many deeds that were committed, such as adultery, were viewed as a sin and offenders were punished. Also, during this time period the Salem Witch Trials condemned people for participating in witchcraft. This was the cause of Proctor’s suffering. The punishment was hanging. Hester and John both committed adultery. Hester was shamed and was ostracized. Proctor’s sin was not revealed until Act 3 of “The Crucible.” Hester and Proctor suffered from their punishments. Hester was shamed and left to fend and provide for herself and her daughter alone. Proctor suffered a much greater loss than Hester, as he lost friends and his …show more content…

The scarlet letter ‘A’ did not stand for “adultery” anymore. It stood for “able.” “The letter was the symbol of her calling. Such helpfulness was found in her, —so much power to do, and power to sympathize, —that many people refused to interpret the scarlet A by its original signification. They said that it meant Able; so strong was Hester Prynne, with a woman's strength.” (Ch. 13, pg 107) She had gained respect for having raised her child as a well behaved young girl, and having provided for the both of them with an honest living as a seamstress, all the while being cut off from the rest of society. Hester was allowed to assimilate back into the community. John proctor was only given one chance to save himself and his wife, and that chance forced him to fall out of God’s good graces by lying. John Proctor fancied death over the guilt of being a sinner, and was content with knowing that his refusal to confess to witchcraft would preserve the good that he believed was still in him. Elizabeth Proctor - “He have his goodness now. God forbid I take it from him.” The Crucible Act

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John Proctor changed significantly from the beginning of the play to the end. At first, he is a farmer outside of Salem. He cuts wood, plows, and owns a great amount of property. John is married to Elizabeth Proctor. He had an affair with Abigail Williams, who was the Proctor’s former servant.

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1076 Words | 5 Pages

Both John Proctor and Hester Prynne feel remorse at some point. John feels it almost immediately because he continues to be close to his wife. The one major similarity that the two adulterers share is the ability to escape. Each is provided with a way to free themselves from any more consequences of their sin, but neither of them take it. John is able to confess to a sin he did not commit to free himself, and Hester is able to leave Boston and stay in Europe, but neither take their opportunities.

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755 Words | 4 Pages

Proctor knows that Abigail has participated in witchcraft, but has no way to prove this. Abigail wants Elizabeth dead, and proceeds with this idea by wishing death upon her, so she can live happily ever after with John Proctor. Abigail the antagonist in The Crucible is the source of John Proctors many mistakes and failed relationship with God. When Reverend Hale asks Elizabeth and John to say the 10 commandments John confidently says, “Thou shalt not steal.

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627 Words | 3 Pages

People have to go through a hard crucible situation when someone point finger at them such as jews. It is kind of like nature of human to think about themselves first and protect themselves, but it takes too much courage for a person to stay with what they believe or accept their fault. Arthur Miller’s story which was played in The Crucible had actually happened in a village when people had to go through a difficult life choice in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. For a guilt/adultery, John Proctor faced a terrible persecution, Rebecca Nurse, a honorable woman in the society, who faced a horrible penalty of death; even though Reverend Parris (minister of the Salem) could have saved all the people if he hadn’t cared about his rising reputation so much. Arthur Miller expresses people’s reactions to turmoil in The Crucible: the title effectively captures the struggles the character have to face.

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912 Words | 4 Pages

John Proctor is put through a trial just like metal is put in a crucible. The metal is melted down just like John is hung. In the end, both come out in the purest form. Proctor lived with lies, but finally confesses and not selling out his friends. He was hung at the end of the play, but his name be remembered exactly how he wanted it to be.

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1350 Words | 6 Pages

There are many different texts in the modern world of literature. From poems to novels, and plays to movies, people have been recording stories for many years. When reading these different texts, readers begin to make comparisons and find differences among the many texts they have read. Two texts that are commonly used for this purpose are Arthur Miller’s The Crucible and Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter.

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823 Words | 4 Pages

In The Crucible John Proctor goes to his death falsely being a witch, but he redeems and gains his esteem by confessing he committed adultery. Proctor chooses death over having a bad reputation and perceives his social standing. “How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name!”

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799 Words | 4 Pages

Proctor motivates to learn how the truth can still not matter if it is not what the court wants to hear causing people to be killed and put in jail. John Proctor chooses to try to hide the affair between him and Abigail Williams , which causes half of the town of Salem going to jail for witchcraft. John is talking to Mary Warren when she is talking to him about the Devil being in Salem and they must find where he is:"I

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794 Words | 4 Pages

At the beginning of the play, John Proctor is depicted both as a proud man who kept his affair a secret from the public to protect his name, and an honorable man who built the Salem church. Before Elizabeth Proctor was accused, John Proctor tried to distance

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682 Words | 3 Pages

Unlike the others, throughout the story John doesn’t buy into the wive’s tales of witchcraft. He among a few others continue to battle against the bogus claims of the girls and the court. In the beginning, Proctor plays by the rules of the court and prepares depositions that any court would have to accept on a normal occurrence. Instead, the court chooses to deny most of these depositions and decides to bring all the others who signed one into court. Towards the end, Proctor, who is driven by the fear his wife might be hanged, confesses to his adulterous acts with Abigail Williams.

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835 Words | 4 Pages

The first impressive characteristic of John Proctor is his bravery. Speaking out against the “afflicted” girls in the way he did could cause serious question of him as a person. From the court’s standpoint John could be seen as directly opposing the court, which would have him jailed, or could even have him be accused of witchcraft. Also, he would have had to have known that Abigail Williams would have immediately accused him of being a witch once he spoke out against them. However, that did not stop him from delivering the truth to the court.

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705 Words | 3 Pages

John Proctor was a man of honor and had a well respected name in the town of Salem. Sadly he died tragically but as a hero. He was hanged because he was accused of doing the devil’s work. He was given the chance to save his life if he admitted on a piece of paper that he was working with the devil but he refused to tell that lie. He wanted his sons to be able to walk the streets without being shunned from the world because they deserved better.

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566 Words | 3 Pages

In the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller, John Proctor was accused of witchcraft. John Proctor was a man of great integrity and knew he did nothing wrong. He was given the choice to confess and lie or be hung. Being the honest and stubborn man that he was, he decided his name was more important than his life. John struggled both internally and with others while trying to fight for what he thought was right.

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640 Words | 3 Pages

Hester's punishment was a judicial sentence; however, being forced to stand on the scaffold for three hours, and to wear the scarlet letter "A" for the rest of her life. It was socially humiliating. Hester was sent to prison for committing adultery. Hester was forced to live with the consequences by wearing the scarlet letter "A". Hester is physically and emotionally reminded of her sin, while wearing the scarlet letter "A".

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959 Words | 4 Pages

With Hester changing her ways and helping the poor, the community changed, “They said that it meant Able; so strong was Hester Prynne, with a woman’s strength” (Hawthorne 168). While the community originally viewed the “A” as a symbol of sin, they began to see it too as a symbol of being “Able” because all that Hester Prynne had overcome. The Scarlet Letter had many examples of symbolism, but none were more significant that the letter “A”

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