John Proctor is an integral character in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible; he serves as the play’s common man tragic hero, often adding bursts of clarity and reasonable thought to the incoherent chaos of constant accusations and cynical attacks in Salem. In Act II of Miller’s play, Proctor’s obstacles and flaws become more apparent than ever as his relationship with his wife, Elizabeth Proctor, is strained even further in the wake of Abigail’s controversial actions. In response to these events, among others, Proctor’s reputation, relationships, and overall character are completely altered as he adapts to his environment. Before describing the change that occurred during the second act, it is important to characterize Proctor before these events
The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a play involving numerous conflicts and relationships between multiple characters with the setting of Salem, Massachusetts 1692 during the Witch Trials. The most prominent one of them all is between the protagonist, John Proctor, and the antagonist, Abigail Williams. Their relationship changes drastically throughout the four acts due to Abigail’s actions. This then leads to John Proctor becoming aware of her true personality and intentions. Before the play, John was on much better terms with Abigail, seeing as they had an affair, but in Act 1 those feelings seem to be a lot more muted.
Proctor then reveals Abigail’s actions, jealousy and desire, “She thinks to dance with me on my wife's grave! And well she might, for I thought of her softly. God help me, I lusted, and there is a promise in such sweat”(p 110) . Abigail’s jealousy caused a lot of damage in the town, as she tries to kill
In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, Abigail Williams and John Proctor are known to have had an adulterous affair with one another. Even though both John Proctor and Abigail are worthy of blame for their actions, Abigail is the most culpable of the two. In The Crucible, Abigail is the most to blame because of her “tempting” Proctor to carrying out the act more. During Act 1, Abigail is shown to keep egging on Proctor although he does not want to have the affair with her anymore.
The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a story about how a group of girls blamed other people in their town for witchcraft and changed the whole ways of the town. One of the biggest characters in the story is John Proctor who is Abigail’s (the main character's) past lover who John committed an affair with. Abigail wants him back so she tries to get his wife out of the picture by blaming her for witchcraft. John is a very proud man who wasn’t really scared to die, but since John Proctor is motivated by keeping his own integrity and protecting his family his decision to admit his sin of adultery, however by the end of the play he still stays positive. “A man may think God sleeps, but God sees everything, I know it now.
Likewise, when Elizabeth is brought before Danforth to verify Proctor’s confession, she lies to protect her husband, whom she refers to as a “goodly man,” from suspicion (Miller, 113). The affair may have caused Elizabeth to doubt Proctor but both parties still care deeply for each other and try to protect each other from harm. Even in his last moments, Proctor’s last words- “Show honor now, show a stony heart and sink them with it!”- were directed toward Elizabeth and were full of love and care (Miller, 144). Proctor may have sinned but his regret over his affair with Abigail and the trouble he had brought upon his wife justifies his
John Proctor has a secret, though he had an affair with Abigail Williams. But despite that, he is still very much a Tragic Hero. One of the characteristics of a tragic hero is a common man/ woman that has been wounded in some way. I feel John Proctor demonstrates this trait when Abigail
In "The Crucible" by Arthur Miller, John Proctor is the play's protagonist, he faces injustice and inner struggles against his own guilt creating a compelling vision of a character torn between societal demands and his own moral conscience. Arthur Miller explores John Proctors' guilt through his moral conscience and actions, emphasizing that guilt is both a burden and a drive for personal growth and redemption. Firstly, Proctor's affair put his relationship with Elizabeth to the test, causing mistrust and tension between them. You will not judge me, Elizabeth.
JOHN PROCTOR: TRAGIC HERO Arthur Miller’s The Crucible is a greatly revered work, and it reflected the times of America in the days of McCarthyism. Perhaps the character that connected to the audience most was John Proctor, the protagonist of the play. He reflects the mistakes that we have made in our lives, and the struggle that some of have while trying to take the blindfold off of other people. He should be considered a hero because he feels guilt, and therefore tries to make up for the fact that he once had an affair.
Abigail, in tears, “I look for John Proctor that took me from my sleep and put knowledge in my heart! I never knew what pretense Salem was, I never knew the lying lessons I was taught by all these Christian women and their covenanted men! And now you bid me tear the light out of my eyes? I will not, I cannot! You loved me, John Proctor, and whatever sin it is, you love me yet!”
John Proctor shows that very clearly in Act Four when he is signing his confession. He was going to confess until Danforth wanted him to sign his name on a confession that they would post up on the church doors. Proctor cries that he does not want his name to be ruined (The Crucible, 143) and proceeds to rip up his confession saying "I do think I see some shred of goodness in John Proctor" (The Crucible, 144), meaning that he was keeping his "rightful status" by refusing to sign lies. This also makes John Proctor a modern day tragic hero described by Arthur Miller in "Tragedy and the Common Man". John Proctor's affair with Abigail, the "fateful wound" that led to the Salem witch trials in 1692 and his tragic downfall is the first characteristic which makes Proctor a tragic hero.
Literary Analysis: A Character from The Crucible John Proctor, the main protagonist in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, gets caught having an affair with Abigail Williams. Because he has had an affair with Abigail Williams, he will do anything to protect his reputation. As a result, John Proctor represents integrity and helps to hysteria by dying to protect is name and innocent people. Integrity motivates John Proctor to deny that witchcraft exists in the village. John Proctor chooses to keep defending his wife and going against the court, which causes the people to question his loyalty to the court and salem.
Abigail Williams used to be his family's servant. John Proctor throughout the play felt guilty for committing adultery. He can best best be described as a classic tragic hero. Although, John Proctor never had the need to increase in self-awareness, he still had extreme pride for his downfall.
In The Crucible, the story outlines a young girl, Abigail Williams’, love and lust for an older man, John Proctor, who is not only older but is married. In Abigail’s venture for John she develops an overwhelming hate for his wife, Elizabeth. John refuses
Abigail Williams accused John Proctor of participating in witchcraft. Seven months earlier Proctor had an affair with Abigail who worked as his maid. When John’s wife Elizabeth Proctor found out, she fired Abigail immediately. This left Elizabeth feeling doubtful of John.
