How Is John Proctor Rebellious

We first see John Proctor introduced as a somewhat rebellious character when he is discovered to have committed several actions rebellious to the church. I will go over some of the actions he committed that were or seem to be in direct rebellion and/or violation of the church’s beliefs.
Upon meeting Proctor, we see him as a somewhat closed off and overall disliked character by Salem and the authorities. Within the first few pages we start to see some of Proctors views such as his dislike of Parris and his view of Christianity in the society of Salem. We begin to realize Proctor is not too happy with the way things are in Salem nor is he too respectful of them either. He showed that notion when he stopped attending church regularly as stated

However, as we know, Proctor has his own reasons for not attending church, and that primary reason is Parris. Proctor does not much care for Parris. Proctor feels that Parris is more focused on his wealth than anything else, and that is not the sort of person Proctor would have preach to him as shown by his statement ”I – I have no love for Mr Paris. It is no secret. But God I surely love.” Blatantly admitting his dislike for Parris and showing his clear love for God perhaps not in the eyes of all of Salem, but to himself. Furthermore it made it clear to me that my particular thinking was not incorrect, Proctor had no love for Parris. This is also the reason Proctor did not get his third son baptised. There is justification for why Proctor rebels, he does not do it out of spite for the church, he does it out of lack of respect for the people running the church. Proctor is still a firm believer in Christ, he just chooses not to follow a system that he does not believe in, and that system is the way Salem is run, by corruption, hatred for others and self-serving lies. Proctor also just does not feel that he

“What’s your suspicion, Mr Hale?” this was Proctor’s response to a question asked by Hale, this is also what led me to believe that Hale seemed to be prying into Proctor’s life, giving Hale more insight into Proctors views. This was the first example of rebellion that Miller showed us from John, him not going to church as often as he used to. We the readers know how important it is to show your love and your belief in god, not to mention it being the law in Salem. Any deviation from god is considered to be heretical. That’s why attending church was so important, and not attending church was so risky, because in a situation like the one that was presented in the play, it could be used as leverage against you if wielded by the right tongue. In spite of that Proctor still chose to go to church of his own accord, not listening to anyone and doing what he felt was right, despite the consequences. In doing so Miller portrayed what seems to be a rebellious character who went against Salem’s authority and