In Arthur Miller's "The Crucible", John Proctor is our passive protagonist as he tries to save his wife and others that were accused of witchcraft.Unfortunately, his attempt was in vain and his evidence had backfired.His knowledge did not stop the witch trials because of his self-respect, and the children's high reputations, and Abigail's tactful nature. John Proctor valued his self-respect because it made him confident and helped him stand up for what he believed in. John proctor's name was synonymous with honor and integrity and was most respected in Salem.However, in the Salem witch trials, Proctor became what he hated most: a hypocrite.This causes him to lose his self-respect and confidence that led to his downspiral and made his evidence less believable. Even though Proctor was armed with evidence, the jury would not believe him as he was "either with the court or against it"(Miller, the crucible pg 213).However …show more content…
Abigail and the other girls started to act out in the court accusing Proctor of sending his spirit out on them which is what they claimed caused Mary Warren to faint as she could not do it outside of the courtroom.they also pretended to see a yellow bird that Abigail yelled to " be gone with you"(Miller, The Crucible pg ) these acts further discredited john proctor's case as it convinced the jury the Children were innocent and that John Proctor was lying. Although all the girls played a part in the accusations, the trials would not have been set in motion without Abigail William's unbeatable tactics of manipulation.At first, Abigail manipulates Tituba into doing the sinful work of witchcraft for her and tuned on Tituba, accusing her of forcing her to do witchcraft.Abigail also was obsessed with Proctor and had an affair with him until he ended it which sparked jealousy in Abigail and motivated her to act out and accuse Elizabeth Proctor of