Jacob Grant Mrs. Prudhomme English III honors Jan. 27, 2016 The crucible character analysis The crucible is a book about the Salem witch trials that took place in the late 1600’s and was written by Arthur Miller. There is two characters named John Proctor a harsh, man.who speaks his mind and also is; Elizabeth is often cold and is John’s wife. John is an aggressive soul and Elizabeth Proctor who is very scared and constantly worried.
Not every hero lives to tell his story. This is exactly what happened in Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible, a story focused on the Salem Witch Trials. In Spring of 1692 in the town of Salem, Massachusetts a group of teenage girls were caught by Reverend Parris, a selfish and materialistic man, dancing around a campfire in the woods during the middle of the night. In order to avoid punishment, they began to blame innocent people of witchcraft. The court was established with judges Danforth and Hathorne in charge to question the people who were accused.
Though the Crucible is fiction, the allegorical character of John Proctor reflects the author, Arthur MIller in the following ways. The Crucible is a comparison to the real life “witch trials “ which we're going on in the real world. Arthur Miller used The Crucible as a way to protest the Red Scare to compare how very similar Salem’s witch trials were to this accusation of communism. The red scare was the inoperable fear of communism within the United States. The Salem trials and communism were times so fearful, when accused you were guilty no matter the verdict.
A reputation is the beliefs or opinions that are generally held about someone or something. In fear of tarnishing one's reputation, individuals tends to go to extreme lengths in order to protect it. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, the actions and choices of John Proctor, Reverend Samuel Parris and Abigail Williams serve to prove this to the audience. First of all, John Proctor will protect his reputation at all costs, even if it ultimately ends his life. Second, Reverend Parris will stop at nothing to keep his authority, even if he has to sacrifice his faith.
In The Crucible, John Proctor takes the role of a Colonial wheat farmer for Salem Village. He, easily comparable to every other respected American at the time, was a righteous, God-fearing man that wanted nothing, but a new start to their lives outside of the control of King William III of England and his influences. But unlike the horde, Proctor did not believe that witches had possibly squirmed their way into Salem Village. In fact, he knew that they hadn’t made their way into the Village. This was because he knew the reason that it all started, a teenage girl named, Abigail, her undying love for him and and her extreme resentment of his wife, Elizabeth Proctor.
There has come a time in everyone’s life when their character was called into question, or someone accused them wrongly of something they did not do. This puts a person’s morality on the line and tests whether they will do what’s best for them or the masses. The Crucible by Arthur Miller shows the characters John Proctor, Deputy Governor Danforth, and Abigail Williams going through this same test. The play provides a narrative on how people choose to value their own reputation and honor over protecting the lives of themselves and others.
Miller crafted the crucible as an allegory, because at the village was going through McCarthy Era, which lead to communism. He basically put himself in John Proctors point of view and created a play talking about how women were being accused of being witches with no proof and being killed. That is exactly how communism worked, if the government though there was anything sneaky the personwould be sent to jail. The witches signified as the communist. When John proctor is having an affair with his wife, he sees the wrong being done, becauase at this point Abigail starts to accuse Proctors wife of being a witch and he realizes that hes trying to defened her and tries to defend his wifes name.
The Crucible Essay In the novel The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, the main character John Proctor struggles with Appearance vs. Reality throughout the novel. John Proctor, husband of Elizabeth Proctor, wants to be seen as an innocent family man. His wants are despite the fact he had an affair with Abigail Williams prior to the novel starting. Williams constantly taunts Proctor, trying to reveal his true self: Abigail [with a bitter anger]: Oh, I marvel how such a strong man may let such a sickly wife be-
Why point a finger at someone, when four are pointing right back at you; history continues to repeat itself over and over again. The Salem Witch Trials were a time when Puritans turned on their own kind, accusing them of witchcraft. This continuous accusation turned the Puritan’s well-being upside down. Over hundred years ago, the Red Scare occurred and people with higher states were getting accused of being named Communist. These allegations have been just as ruinous as being called a witch throughout the 1800’s.
John Proctor is another character who risks the people in Salem to maintain his reputation. When Abigail Williams, a seventeen-year-old, was a maid in the Proctor’s home, John had an affair with her. Upon discovering this affair, Elizabeth, the wife of John Proctor, discharged Abigail for her services, which leads to Abigail’s fury. In this case, Abigail’s desire for Proctor leads to her vengeance against Elizabeth and the killings of innocent people. Knowing this undisclosed information, Elizabeth tells John Proctor, “I think you must go to Salem, John.
Protection and Its Effects A main motivation for characters’ actions in The Crucible was protection of themselves or others. There are many causes and motives for the cast of The Crucible to act as they did, but the one that stuck out to me was the need to protect and save the people of Salem, whether it be for selfish reasons or compassion for others. The focus will land on Abigail and Mercy, Parris, Mary Warren, Proctor, Elizabeth, Giles Corey, and Reverend Hale, who all share a common motive within the story, and that’s to protect someone from the events that occur. Of course, other motivations for the events in the story exist, but as a more personal push for action, it seems fitting to put more focus on protecting themselves and others.
In the Crucible, reputation could be seen as the driving force of the play. One could see that reputation can affect a character in an extreme manner, to the point where they make sudden drastic decisions that will protect their good name, but affect either themselves or others in a negative way. Such as how John Proctor dies for his name, or how Danforth lies and has others executed to protect himself, or lastly, how Parris lets Abigail blab because he realises his home may be the source of the problem. To begin, John Proctor, the protagonist in The Crucible, is an extremely reputable man. Proctor would do anything in his ability to protect his reputation.
John Proctor is a good man despite anything others may say about him. He displays three very noble qualities throughout the witch trials which are bravery, honesty, and an overall goal to save lives even to the point where he sacrificed his. While many argue John is a bad man because he committed adultery they are entirely mistaken. Just because he had one bad sin gives no right to anybody to call him a bad person when clearly the good side of him is shown more than the bad. John Proctor is a good man who displays the characteristics of a hero and could be seen as one for giving his life for his friends.
When people think of the play, “The Crucible”, they usually picture the witch trials and women being hanged, but Arthur Miller depicts the witch trials in a completely new light. He shows through a story that the witch trials were much more than just people calling others witches. There was deceit, pain, greed, and more. Through the play, we follow the character, Abigail, observe her actions and their consequences. We witness the lives of people she impacts, what happens to them, and how many times she lies to get her way.
