ipl-logo

The Crucible John Proctor Lies Analysis

790 Words4 Pages

Reputation Crumbles on the Structure of Lies
William Shakespeare, a distinguished English playwright, poet and actor once said, “No legacy is as rich as honesty.” Reputation cannot be built upon lies. When the inevitable uprising of the truth appears, all status will crumble. John Proctor from The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a prime example of a tragic hero facing the consequences of telling the truth of a dark lie to save others in his town. Proctor is a farmer in his mid-thirties and married to Elizabeth Proctor with whom he has three children. His community respects and fears him due to his commanding presence. When hysteria erupts in Salem, Proctor risks his reputation so everyone can see the truth in his heart. John Proctor is a good …show more content…

Proctor is a wheat farmer for his community and owns many acres of land which signifies wealth and power during these times. He puts a lot of time and effort into helping out the town. He is respected and feared by everyone due to his involvement. When Miller explains the characterization of Proctor to the reader, he writes, “In Proctor’s presence a fool felt it’s foolishness” (Miller 1.166). Everyone knew of Proctor and kept their heads down around him because he held such a high status, taking on traits of a tragic hero. According to Aristotle, a tragic hero takes on many characteristics. The first of which is to be virtuous. A tragic hero must be high in the totem pole. They must be a noble citizen of society and are usually viewed as a hero. This hero must be held culpable of the responsibilities of the town. Proctor is an exemplar of Aristotle's first characteristic of a tragic …show more content…

Proctor had an affair with 17 year old Abigail Williams, 7 months prior to the start of the Salem Witch Trials. Proctor was ashamed by this and hid it from everyone so he wouldn’t ruin his reputation. While Abigail was still feeling lust towards Proctor, he knew that he had to shut their relationship down for the sake of his marriage. In a moment of weakness between Abigail and Proctor, Proctor firmly informed Abigail, “Abby, I may think of you softly from time to time. But I will cut off my hand before I’ll ever reach for you again. Wipe it out of your mind. We never touched, Abby (1.198)”. Proctor's wife knows all about the affair but believes that Abigail has left his mind and his life. The reader learns at this moment that Proctor still thinks about Abigail from time to time but pushes away his feelings to restore his life at home with his wife. No matter how much Proctor tries to hide his flaw, it will always interfere with his life. In the drama, Proctor holds the second characteristic of a tragic hero, portraying a

Show More
Related
507 Words | 3 Pages

Proctor after a long day of work comes home and has dinner, complements Elizabeth's food, and talks with Elizabeth about her day, and then Elizabeth tells proctor that abigail is the leading accuser in the court, accusing innocent people of witchcraft, and finally tells proctor to confess to the court but he cowardly says, “I know I cannot keep it. I say I will think on it“ (Miller 4.481). Knowing that many people will die the next morning, Proctor, restrains himself of going to the court to confess that Abigail is a fraud, thus he knows that if he confesses, Abigail will accuse him of adultery and his good name in the town will be

Read More
395 Words | 2 Pages

John Proctor is a person who lies to save himself and for his benefit. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller. He lied in his confession so he could be with his family. But many people saw him as a honest respectable man.

Read More
668 Words | 3 Pages

In the crucible by Arthur Miller, the character John Proctor seeks to protect his and his family’s reputation. However, this becomes a difficult task because the community has sought to destroy him. Lies begin being told about Elizabeth (John’s wife) being a witch. Because Proctor is trying to save his family’s reputation, he chose to die a man suspected of witchcraft than actually confess to it. Eventually the whole community joins in on the process of tearing apart John Proctor and his family’s reputation.

Read More
730 Words | 3 Pages

Since Proctor did not confess, this allowed for his children to inherit his land which is an important resource in the village. His death leaves his children with a father that they can look up to, and his wife’s relationship with him ‘good.’ Elizabeth : “He have his goodness now. God forbid I take it from him!” (Miller, 116) Before his wife is thrown into custody, there is tension between them because he was alone with Abigail for an instance and this reminds Elizabeth of the affair, but most importantly instills regret in Proctor’s heart, “still an everlasting funeral marches round your heart.”

Read More
465 Words | 2 Pages

This affair was never fully proven, but Proctor did say, “Abby, I may think of you from time to time but I will cut off my hand before I’ll reach for you again” (Miller 1140). Abigail was madly in love with Proctor and wanted Elizabeth out of the picture so she could have Proctor all to her self. Abigail was very jealous of Elizabeth. She thought that if Elizabeth would die, she would get Proctor all to her self. She accused Elizabeth of being a “cold, sniveling woman”(Miller 1140).

Read More
446 Words | 2 Pages

In act I, Proctor has an affair with Abigail. Proctor insists that it didn't happen saying, “We never touched, Abby”(0000). He wants to keep the affair a secret so that his reputation as a respected well known married man stays clean. He does not care for the effects the affair had on Abigail but only for his reputation. Towards the end of the play, Proctor is accused of witchcraft and even goes to confess to save his wife.

Read More
501 Words | 3 Pages

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.

Read More
920 Words | 4 Pages

Through the development of the character John Proctor from The Crucible, Arthur Miller strives to portray the extent of the effects leading to the downfall of a great man who made a single human error of adultery which evolved into a mass hysteria of his community and personal life. These unfortunate events changed him from an honest, upstanding community man to the shell of a man that no longer felt worthy in the eyes of his wife or god, and then back to an honorable, honest man who left this world with immense dignity and integrity. John Proctor was a hard-working farmer who took great pride in himself, his family, and farm. He was a loving father and husband to a wife and three children. He was a very righteous, dedicated, and prideful

Read More
1016 Words | 5 Pages

Proctor feels bad about his affair with Abigail, but Elizabeth still has a lack of trust because of it. Arthur Miller allows this quote to be very powerful, because it gives the reader insight as to how their relationship is going in regards to the affair. This is the main example of one of Proctor’s major flaws, because he feels terrible about it and eventually leads to his death. If John Proctor never mentions his affair with Abigail Williams in the courtroom, he would have never gotten to the point of hanging. John Proctor clearly trusts Elizabeth, and believes that she is a good woman.

Read More
761 Words | 4 Pages

To begin, Arthur Miller portrays John Proctor as an honorable man because he is loyal to his friends and family. Proctor goes to the city of Salem because he heard about witches that were found in the city, while he is there he

Read More
1366 Words | 6 Pages

According to Aristotle the characteristics of a tragic hero are to provoke sad emotions, such as pity or fear, from the audience. When these sad emotions are provoked from the audience, it is hoped that after seeing the tragic hero leading themselves to downfall or death it will transform the audience into good human beings. The characteristics of a tragic hero are shown through Blanche in the play A Streetcar Named Desire, showing tragic flaws. Hamartia is when a tragic flaw causes downfall for a hero.

Read More
914 Words | 4 Pages

Proctor is widely respected in the Salem community. However, he has a secret that threatens his reputation. He cheated on his wife Elizebeth Proctor with Abigail Williams. As a result, he has a strong internal conflict regarding his integrity. Proctor is a benevolent man at heart, however he has sinned according to puritan law.

Read More
872 Words | 4 Pages

Proctor’s guilt is present when he, attempts to pay for his sins by giving his wife materialistic objects, hesitates to obey his wife's suggestion to accuse Abigail of false bewitchment, and breaks out in anger for not wanting to be judged any longer. The romantic relationship between the Proctor’s is undoubtedly extinguished, but even casual engagement cannot exist without tension since everything John Proctor says to Elizabeth is a symbol of repentance. He offers Elizabeth the possession of a cow and expresses “with a grin” that all he

Read More
477 Words | 2 Pages

John Proctor’s character is one based on reputation, and guilt. The guilt comes from his affair with Abigail Williams. The reputation aspect comes from when he is accused by Mary Warren of trying to turn her to the Devil. I believe that John Proctor grows tired of the accusations, as to why he speaks of his false involvement with Satan in front of the town. Specifically, Deputy Danforth uses John Proctor as an example for conviction as he is certain he will be able to turn others

Read More
1789 Words | 8 Pages

She also does this to deceive Proctor into having emotions for her. Abigail believes that Proctor still loves her even though they have not seen one another in eight months. Even though Proctor smiles at Abigail’s actions, he is infuriated when she ask him to be with her again. Proctor has told her that their affair is over and is frustrated at Abigail every time she attempts to continue their partnership. Abigail cannot handle herself when Proctor says that they cannot have a

Read More

More about The Crucible John Proctor Lies Analysis

Related Topics

Open Document