There has come a time in everyone’s life when their character was called into question, or someone accused them wrongly of something they did not do. This puts a person’s morality on the line and tests whether they will do what’s best for them or the masses. The Crucible by Arthur Miller shows the characters John Proctor, Deputy Governor Danforth, and Abigail Williams going through this same test. The play provides a narrative on how people choose to value their own reputation and honor over protecting the lives of themselves and others.
The Crucible Essay In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, John Proctor is facing the decision of living but ruining his friends’ reputation as well as his own, or dying and defending the remaining amount of his goodness. Proctor chooses the ladder and dies to protect his friends and himself to prove he still has some goodness and for forgiveness of his past sins. What makes his claim believable is the fact that John Proctor refuses to give Danforth the confession with the argument that he would like to defend his name, and his friend’s name aswell. As he states “They think to go like saints.
In the play The Crucible, John Proctor, the protagonist, pays the ultimate price in the end. In Salem, Massachusetts, at the time, if you were accused of witchcraft, the only way to save your life was to admit that you were guilty of committing witchcraft and that you would like to repent. Even if you never committed the crime, it was the only way to spare yourself from the gallows. John Proctor did not agree with this idea. He thought that it was better to die with honor and dignity than to live the life of a coward and liar.
In my opinion John Proctor is the protagonist of the crucible, because there are some reasons. One reason for me is that John Proctor is starting the Salem witch trials indirectly. It is Abigail who starts the trials, but she only does it to kill John’s wife to be the only one John love and they finally can get married. Because of that the relationship between John, his wife and Abigail is in the foreground. Another reason why John is very important in the Crucible is that he has a strong voice in the community.
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.
“He was the kind of man, powerful of body, even tempered, and not easily led (Arthur 19). Arthur Miller’s, The Crucible, portrays John Proctor as a guilty husband that only holds on to two things, his wife and his reputation. Despite his efforts to save both, he was ultimately hung for being accused of witchcraft, defending both his wife and reputation until his last breath. While both John Procter and I care about our reputations and have a well kept temper, we have priotitized our relationships completely differant. John Procter and I have the ability to hide our anger well, but when pushed too far can seem to explode in a state of malice.
The Crucible In The Crucible by Arthur Miller the villagers of Salem find themselves amidst a witch hunt where people will go to great and dark lengths to defend their reputation. John Proctor for example shows how much he cherishes his reputation when he was going to confess to witchcraft but stopped when he learned that his confession would be nailed to the door of the church, he then preached how he would not accept that being that his name would be all that is left of him in the world. “Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! I lie and sign my life to lies!
John Proctor’s brave confession was not the only heroic action he took
By saving his reputation, John Proctor is not only saving himself but he is helping his children by providing them a positive legacy. The main reason John Proctor wants to preserve his status is because he desires to save his name. John has such a strong desire to keep his name clean he begins to scream at Judge Danforth “because it is my name!” (Miller 1334). This outburst expresses John’s immense yearning to protect his name at all costs.
The name John Proctor may be recognizable from the well-known play The Crucible. The play does an amazing job at giving the audience a descriptive visual of his looks and makes us feel like we actually know him. However, all these facts, no matter how well-written they may be, aren’t completely accurate with how he was in real life. When comparing the play, The Crucible, and the article, John Proctor, many differences can be seen such as his affair with Abigail, his communication to the clergy, and his time period in prison.
In the Salem community Proctor was looked at as a very honorable man. Yet, John Proctor was not a perfect guy by any means. He cheated on Elizabeth with Abigail, and sometimes he would get violent towards Elizabeth. He felt guilty about it all though and just could not forgive himself.
In the play The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, I believe that John Proctor’s decision to hang at the end of the play was an act of honor, because in order to keep his good name and to show everyone that he is a good person, is to die for everyone he cares about. This essay will show the reasons why John Proctor is a good man and that his decision was honorable. When John confessed about his affair with Abigail, this was an example of his pride. When Elizabeth was arrested, Proctor had to choose, show his great pride, or try to save his wife.
A tragic hero is a great and noble character in a tragedy that has a tragic flaw which leads him to his downfall. In the play, The Crucible, Arthur Miller portrays John Proctor as a tragic hero. John Proctor’s tragic flaw was that he had an affair with Abigail, a 16 year old girl. Eventually, Proctor realized what he had done was wrong and decided to end his relationship with Abigail but soon this caused many other problems for him. Abigail started the accusation of witchcraft and many were arrested including Elizabeth Proctor.
According to Aristotle, “A man doesn’t become a hero until he can see the root of his own downfall.” Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible, written about the Salem Witch trials, presents itself as an allegory for McCarthyism. In this work, protagonist John Proctor is the tragic hero of the play. John most clearly fits the mold of a tragic hero in the play based on his effort to save his wife, his change of character, and his pride that not only lead him to his death, but to a sacrifice for Salem. To begin, John went to extensive lengths to try and help save his wife, Elizabeth Proctor, who was accused of witchcraft and ultimately imprisoned.
This showcases the ‘true’ side of John Proctor's’ character, he is a man who although has committed clear sin, believes in doing the right thing by being moral, and fully and willingly attempts to do right
