John Proctor Dishonesness In The Crucible

Many characters in The Crucible succumb to dishonesty by virtue of fear. On the contrary, I argue that the character Proctor was an exception, standing out from the rest with his bravery. Proctor spoke up to Reverend Parris when no one else did, he confessed to committing adultery with Abigail, and he sacrificed his life to uphold the truth. John Proctor was not faultless, yet he displayed the most considerable acts of courage compared to any other character. John Proctor bravely challenged the accusations of witchcraft and tries to shed light on the truth. When Hale and John discuss the matter of witchcraft, John points out that the girls may have confessed to these lies, but “why not, if they must hang for denyin' it? There are them that

He did this to show the court that Abigail had a cause behind accusing Elizabeth of witchcraft. Proctor knew that confessing this mistake would discredit Abigail and cause the judges to look at her differently. This was not an easy crime for Proctor to confess as he states, “trembling, his life collapsing about him: I have known her, sir. I have known her”. (III.374-384) Proctor realized that by revealing this secret that it would also ruin his reputation, for adultery violated Puritan religious code of behavior. Also, Proctor was well aware that Abigail had earned great power in the court system by falsely accusing people of witchcraft. For this reason, anyone else who had not been caught in the hysteria of witchcraft felt that they could not contradict Abigail’s lies. People feared that they would be accused of witchery if they were to oppose the accusations. John Proctor had to choose between preserving his reputation and allowing lies to continue to flourish Salem, or show his immoral actions to give to ending the fraudulence. Proctor had the best rebuttal to Abigail’s lies and, therefore, he felt that it was his duty to start the end to the madness. The willingness of Proctor to sacrifice his good name to protect the life of his wife and bring forth justice exhibits his goodness. Proctor was in no way obligated to tell the truth, but he had grown to develop morals of righteousness and he valiantly

John came face to face to a very hard decision, to live and dishonor his name and family, or to die a falsely accused man. John knew that confessing to witchcraft would be lying and that it would only make his afterlife worse. So he asked Elizabeth what she would do, but she only told him to follow his heart and that she supported whatever choice he decided to make. Proctor at first falsely confesses to witchcraft to save his life, which is what Hale, Danforth, and Parris wanted him to do. This would promise him to live life in jail and a condemned soul. However, after he signed the confession document, he then took it and ripped it up. Some may claim that since Proctor signed the paper at first it shows weakness, yet Proctor only signed the paper because he believed that his “honesty is broke... I am no good man.” (IV.188-200) He would not let his family’s name be dishonored by his lies. He would rather die than have his family name soiled, that takes a lot of bravery. John also could not let the other innocent victims hang while he lied to live. John Proctor, all in all, stood by what he believed in, till the end of his life, that is