John Proctor In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

In The Crucible, a play by Arthur Miller, a farmer named John Proctor lived in the late 1600's in Salem, Massachusetts during the time of witch hysteria when greed, lust, jealousy, and revenge haunted the village. In this period a person's name and reputation was extremely important and religion was the center of families and of the community. Proctor was a man who was jailed because he was accused of witchcraft - which at the time was the worst thing possible since they were puritans and witchcraft was the devil's work. The main issues running throughout the plot are the series of conflicts Proctor faces such as committing adultery, hestitation to confess in court, and his final decision to make the ultimate choice of his moral: whether to lie to save his life or to die in sin.

Although his wife Elizabeth forgave him, he judges himself as "a sinner not only against the moral fashion of the time, but against his own vision of decent conduct." The affair between them caused the start of witchery and accusation due to Abigail being jealous of Elizabeth Proctor and her relationship with John. As accusations get worst and people are hanged, Proctor knows Abigail and the girls are lying and the only way to stop it is to confess and come clean of what happend with Abigail. He knows what he has to do but since he wants to protect his reputation he doesn't say anything. Abigail then goes on to accuse Elizabeth so she can be hanged and keep proctor to herself. She also tries to turn Proctor against Elizabeth, "She is blackening my name in the village! She is telling lies about me! She is a cold, sniveling woman, and you bend to her! Let her turn you like a-", which shows her