John Proctor's Conflict With Society

There are many ways that John Proctor’s actions, speech, and decisions in Acts 3 and 4 illustrate a man in conflict with his society. One way that his speech shows him being in conflict with society is when he yells --with a cry of his whole soul “Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies! Because I am not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang! How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name!”-- Proctors yelling of this shows his conflict with society because in his theocratic society, it is a form of repentance to have your name, that you signed, on the church door. In his society, that is the thing you must do for your sins. He didn't want to sign it because he

He shows slight affection for her and then brushes it off, “Ah, you're wicked yet, aren't y’! You'll be clapped in the stocks before you're twenty!” He says all of this with a smile and then when Abigail returns the affection, he realizes the sin and backs off. One way Proctors decisions show his conflict with society is how he lives his life. He doesn't go to church regularly which is extremely odd in a theocratic society, He plows on Sunday which is supposed to be a “day of rest,” He did not baptize his third son, he doesn't truly participate in his society's activities, and he didn't know the commandments. He made these decisions which at the time didn't seem all that bad but as the witch trials started those decisions became the critical pieces that damned him and his wife. He didn't want to go to church because he thought the church was all about money, he plowed on sunday because his farm wasn't yielding a lot of crop. He made all of these conscious decisions that ultimately killed him. In conclusion, these are just a few ways that John Proctors actions, speech, and decisions in Acts 3 and 4 illustrate a man in conflict with his