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John Proctor the Wrongly Accused In The Crucible there are many people condemned and hanged for witchcraft, one of these, John Proctor, I believe to be innocent. A man with as much integrity and honesty as John Proctor, could never perform the act of witchcraft. Undoubtedly he wasn’t a perfect man but no one ever is. As we are proved time and time again, John is an honest, hardworking man; who is haunted by his past misdeeds.
Life or Death: Did John Proctor Make the Right Decision? Countless people have learned about the lies and horrors of witches in 1692 during the Salem Witch trials. In The Crucible, a tragedy written by Arthur Miller, it displays the tragedy and wrongful convictions of the townsfolk of Salem. One notable character being John Proctor a well respected upperclassman in Salem who was willing to confess his sins, sacrificing his life for the greater good of his family and friends. There are many reasons people choose to do things in life whether or not they will turn out well in the end.
The reason Proctor gives is that he wants to be remembered as a man who is honest and royal to his wife, and gets annoyed when the judge asks for a signature for confession. He insists what he has said is enough, and even so they would not let him off the hook (A. Miller). John Proctor, in fact, is strong willed enough to ignore herd mentality that pressures him to his last moments, but even his decision wavers between confess and not to confess, showing how powerful herd mentality is. That is from those who are accused, there are also the by-standers, like the judges, villagers, and etcetera. Nobody stands up for the accused directly in the entire play, even if they feel really guilty about all the people dying, they still did not step up and say something (Sundstrand).
Proctor knows that this is not fair to anyone. The use of stage directions show that John Proctor is more willing to die than continue to live a life of dishonor and lack of justice. Many people in the sixteen hundreds
The end of the Crucible is very suspenseful when the protagonist, John Proctor, is faced with choosing between confessing to a lie or dying for the truth. At first, Proctor is hesitant and signs the papers, confessing himself to evil, but before the signed paper is collected by the court, he tears it apart and is sentenced to death. This was his best option, for it stopped him from living a remorseful life. His decision to tear apart the signed confession was the most correct not only for himself but for his family and the community as well.
Do you think that Proctor should have confessed? Why or Why not? a.) I think John Proctor chose to die in order to not ruin his self image and reputation from others. He would rather die than live with a stained name where people would think badly of him. Proctor states, “How may I live without my name?
Moreover, he would be justifying the existence of witches, which would further galvanize future spurious accusations. In addition, Proctor claimed, “I have three children - how may I teach them to walk like men in the world, and I sold my friends?” This quote insinuates that if he were to lie to his kids, they would not admire him as a role model and instead feel ashamed of him. Clearly, Proctor’s honor contributed to the ultimate decision of ripping up the signed
In the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller, the town of Salem is afflicted with hysteria, intolerance, and accusations that lead to death. According to philosopher Aristotle, a tragic hero possesses a tragic flaw, excessive pride, and an inevitable downfall. Protagonist John Proctor illustrates a tragic hero because he is presented as happy, powerful, and privileged, which later leads him to suffer because of his own actions. First of all, John Proctor possesses a fatal flaw, pride, which is a characteristic of a tragic hero. Proctor’s fatal flaws includes honesty and pride.
When Proctor was asked to expose his name to admit to the lies of the declaration, he refused because he can't "lie and sign [himself] to lies" which shows his integrity for himself (Miller 211). In this way he cannot keep the lies, he must face the consequences to keep his sincerity. He ignored what the accusers had to say and he made his own decision to be an honest man at that time. Such as when people lie their consequences can be much more severe and their virtue is
John Proctor: Tragic Hero or not? By definition a Tragic Hero is a literary character who makes a judgment error or come in contact with a fatal flaw that inevitably leads to his or her own destruction. John Proctor, a farmer in the play The Crucible, is debated as a tragic hero. John Proctor suffers from a tragic flaw that leads to his demise, that fatal flaw is his excessive pride.
Finally in act 4, Proctor is asked by the court to confess of having contact with the devil and avoid being hanging and a possible rebellion against the court and they used Elizabeth to convince him but she only tell him that he has the last word, first Proctor decided that he wanted to confess and keep his life, but when he was ready to confess Rebecca, another innocent accused of witchcraft, appeared and said what was happening, said “Oh, John-God send his mercy on you!”(Miller 140) and when she is asked to confess “it is a lie, how may I damn myself?(Miller 140).This event provoked that John had second thoughts, and he confess and sign the deposition but he kept it arguing “I have three children-how may teach them to walk like a men in the world, and I sold my friends?”(Miller 143), and also explain that court already have his word and “I cannot have another life” and “leave me my name”(Miller 143), and he finally ends his fight for keeping his reputation and name clean and do what is right even though if that includes being
Proctor says “ You are the high court, your word is good enough! tell them i confessed myself; say proctor broke his knees and wept like a woman, but my name cannot!”. In the quote John Proctor does not want written proof that he was a witch because he wants to protect his friends and not throw them under the bus. This means he cares for his friends and is truly a good man. Proctor says; “ let them that near dead now take their souls, it is pretence to me.”
John Proctor was a man of honor and had a well respected name in the town of Salem. Sadly he died tragically but as a hero. He was hanged because he was accused of doing the devil’s work. He was given the chance to save his life if he admitted on a piece of paper that he was working with the devil but he refused to tell that lie. He wanted his sons to be able to walk the streets without being shunned from the world because they deserved better.
Does your word mean anything to you? Does what you stand for as a person mean anything even when someone tries to take it away from you? A word John Proctor lived by, integrity, which stands for honest and moral. The religious background adds to more for their moral compass so they will go to heaven and not be sinful. The author of this play Therefore, to die for the truth is better than to live a lie.
Arthur Miller utilizes John Proctor to prove that one is either with or against the court. The court wants Proctor to confess of witchcraft in order for him to live, but he is reluctant to do so. He is hanged because he stood up for his moral rights, and he does not say what the court wants to hear from him, a confession. Proctor might have been right in denying the
