ipl-logo

John Proctor And Thomas Putnam: Alike?

557 Words3 Pages

John Proctor and Thomas Putnam: Alike?
Noah Headley

In Arthur Miller's renowned play, "The Crucible," two significant characters, John Proctor and Thomas Putnam, emerge with contrasting personalities and motivations that shape their actions and impact the events in the story. While both men reside in Salem and play crucial roles in the witch trials, their approaches and objectives diverge significantly. This essay will compare and contrast John Proctor and Thomas Putnam, shedding light on their similarities and differences, and provide evidence from the novel to support these assertions.
Although John Proctor and Thomas Putnam have distinct backgrounds and personalities, they share certain similarities. Firstly, both characters hold positions …show more content…

Firstly, Proctor's main concern is truth and justice. He opposes the witch trials from the beginning, seeing them as a tool of manipulation and revenge. Proctor's integrity leads him to speak out against the accusations, and he becomes a voice of reason in the midst of the hysteria. In contrast, Putnam manipulates the trials to serve his personal interests. He uses the chaos and paranoia to accuse others and acquire their land, further expanding his influence. Putnam's actions reveal his greed and ambition, making him a central antagonist in the play. Secondly, Proctor and Putnam have differing attitudes towards religion and authority. Proctor is skeptical of the religious fervor driving the trials, recognizing the manipulative nature of the accusations. He sees the hypocrisy of the town's religious leaders and their willingness to condemn innocent people. Putnam, on the other hand, uses the trials to justify his actions and beliefs. He views himself as a righteous man, acting in the name of God to cleanse the community of supposed witches. Putnam's strong belief in religious authority blinds him to the potential for manipulation and corruption within the

Show More
Related
162 Words | 1 Pages

The Putnam family was one of the strongest influential forces behind the accusations. Author Anastasia Karson, described the Putnam family as “strait-laced and self righteous, the family placed themselves at the forefront of the social and political circles of the village.” They had positions as Village Committeemen, deacons, and church elders (Carlson). Their positions gave them lots of political power, which enabled them to accuse people without being doubted. The family started to abuse their power by accusing the people that they did not get along with (Wallenfeldt).

Read More
900 Words | 4 Pages

Peter Appleton and John Proctor are both similar and different in their own way. They both are in similar situations when they are faced with similar moral dilemmas. They both are coming from different time eras so the dilemma for both of them are of course going to be different. In John Proctors case he is facing the dilemma of him and his wife being accused of witchcraft, and with just being accused of witchcraft no one wanted to associate with you in any way. Peter Appleton’s dilemma is that he is a big Hollywood film writer and living the American dream, but things start to go down because he has been accused of communism.

Read More
612 Words | 3 Pages

Thomas Putnam is a greedy man who is bitter and use to getting his own way, which motivates him to falsely accuse his neighbors of witchcraft. He is a rich man who can afford to buy any land forfeited by a witch. To him the, Salem witchcraft trials, is an opportunity to get rid of his neighbors and take land away from them. He does this to a man named George

Read More
485 Words | 2 Pages

Proctor’s Opposition to His Society In the book, The Crucible, Arthur Miller introduces us to John Proctor. Proctor is married and simple, yet he's argumentative toward his town for the persecution of “witches.” Proctor faces conflict throughout the town, his morals are challenged and his view on ethical implication are changing.

Read More
378 Words | 2 Pages

In the book “The Crucible” John Proctor and Thomas Putnam have many similarities but also have many differences. Proctor is a moral man who is very high minded while Putman is a very wealthy and influential landowner, both of these men play a major role in the Salem witch trials. They both possess a desire for power and influence. These men are both very respected in the town. Proctor and Putnam provide a certain level of ruthlessness in their pursuit of their life.

Read More
1198 Words | 5 Pages

In The Crucible, John Proctor the protagonist, becomes a victim of the witch trials when his wife Elizabeth, is accused of witchcraft. In order to free his wife, Proctor must convince Judge Danforth of his wife’s innocence. Judge Danforth does not sign condemnations lightly and takes meticulous inspection of his cases to determine the guilty party. He is also a highly religious man who takes matters between God and men seriously. It is because of Danforth’s dedication to the law and God that Proctor utilizes ethos, logos, and pathos to persuade him.

Read More
432 Words | 2 Pages

It is evident throughout that the play gives Proctor a sense of righteousness, therefore judging him because he was fully aware that the trials were false. Proctor carried out all his actions eventually aware that the Salem

Read More
676 Words | 3 Pages

This is shown by Putnam’s attitude to his accuser and to his daughter. While he threatened to take legal action against Giles Corey for accusing him of the crime of and how he persuaded his daughter to lie and accuse George Jacobs for witchcraft. Putnam’s character conveys the theme that “ Jealousy and greed can be very destructive” because of how easily others in the village could find him guilty of a horrid crime that started with pure greed and jealousy. In “The Crucible” while in couselship with the other members of the court, Giles Corey makes an accusation against Putnam. He accuses Putnam by saying he “ coldly prompted his daughter to cry witchery upon George Jacobs that is now in jail” (Miller 96).

Read More
794 Words | 4 Pages

When a person like Parris or Putnam manipulate the hysteria for their own desires, it establishes their innermost values and how they achieve them. Parris says about Proctor “since I come to salem this man is blackening my name” (Miller 105) the only reason Parris can make such an accusation is because of the hysteria in affect all around the other characters. Proctor and the other character’s present have good reason to try and pull reverend parris out of his position, he has wasted their money on unnecessary things to make his church seem grand. The hysteria controlled primarily by the girls gives Parris a higher reputation so Parris’ accusation has more weight, especially since the hysteria has made Procor seem guilty of witchcraft. With this accusation, strengthened by the hysteria, it is easy to see that Parris’s values his reputation above everything, he doesn't care that Proctor is an innocent man, and Parris would prefer Proctor sits in jail or hangs rather than continue to stab at his reputation.

Read More
778 Words | 4 Pages

John Proctor is a very dishonest person and isn't afraid to argue with others about things even if heś completely in the wrong. The crucible by Arthur Miller really does a good job of showing proctors true colors in the play. Many of the things Proctor does is cheat on his wife multiple times with a girl that's half his age and then cuts the girl ̈Abigail ̈ off. He says that he is a very faithful man but that wouldn't make sense because he cheated on his wife and when reverend hale asked him to list all ten commandments he could only list nine and the one he forgot his wife repeated for him and it was the commandment that one shall not be an adulterer which goes against the bible. He also made it very clear that he didn't believe in witches

Read More
771 Words | 4 Pages

She is starting to push the rumors of witchcraft towards other people because they are less valuable in the community. Proctor also adopts to this idea of gossip because in the story he states “ if Jacob hangs for a witch he forgot up his property--that's the law! And there is none but Putnam with the coin to buy great a piece[of land], the man is killing neighbors for land”. Proctor is starting rumors in the courtroom that the Putnams want to kill them because they want their land. Proctor is socially outcasted because the Putnams have money, so he is starting rumor that the Putnams are out to get

Read More
414 Words | 2 Pages

Throughout the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller, there is a constant theme that expresses the down side of human nature. Thomas Putnam is the epitome of how cruel one can be to its own kind; Putnam is a very bitter, greedy man who has selfish needs. In the play, it is evident how Putnam is selfish. He does everything for a motive that helps him advance without acknowledging that his deceiving tales can have dynamic effects. Putnam’s vindictive nature, impulsive actions, and reputation guide his character to constantly take advantage of situations where he could benefit from receiving property.

Read More
878 Words | 4 Pages

Putnam felt wronged by them because he was not accepted as a candidate for the ministry. He felt as though he was superior to the people around him. He was a vindictive person even before the witch trials. Putnam resented Salem and wanted everyone around him to suffer for not accepting him. He did this by accusing anyone he could of witchcraft.

Read More
1194 Words | 5 Pages

John Proctor accuses him of this multiple times in the play. Like many others in the play that strive for power Thomas Putnam kills many for no reason. As stated in the afternote of the play, the land of those that were hanged was not sold for many years after the fact. Because of this Thomas Putnam not only destroyed his reputation as a good man but also go no land from it. When the Putnams go into Reverend Parris’s house they begin to accuse Tituba of witchcraft.

Read More
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.

Read More

More about John Proctor And Thomas Putnam: Alike?

Related Topics

Open Document