John Proctor In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

Andy Biersack once said “Stand up for what you believe in, even if it means standing alone…”. People should always speak out if something bad is happening, no matter if they are standing against one person or a whole army. People can always be wrong and will sometimes need someone to push them into the right direction. John Proctor, a character in the novel The Crucible by Arthur Miller who is a farmer and is married to a woman accused of witchcraft named Elizabeth, does not agree with the witchcraft trials going on in Salem at that time. He tries to go to court with Mary Warren, a girl who was originally part of the scheme, but now says that it is fake, to prove that the witch trials are all a hoax. Proctor knows that the majority of Salem thinks that the witch trials are real, but he doesn’t care. Proctor tells Danforth (the judge) that the witch trials are ridiculous because “These are landholding farmers, members of the church” and how “never saw no

Giles Corey was a character who never let anything change his mind, no matter how many people were against him. When he was asked to confess for the witch trials, he refused, so the court put heavy stones on him to get him to talk. Although he was being crushed, all he did was, “They say he give them but two words. ‘More weight ,’ he says. And died” (135). This quote shows how a person should never back down from what they believe in just because they are pressured too, literally. No one should ever stand down even when they are opposed by a huge group and/or pressured to do something against what you believe. These quotes from The Crucible by Arthur Miller, help prove this point. Always stand up for what you believe in because, “We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” - Elie