The Crucible John Proctor's Confession

During the Salem witch trials of 1692, nineteen people were hung due to the accusation of them being witches. The Salem witch trial is the subject of the play The Crucible, by Arthur Miller. In the play, the protagonist is John Proctor and he does not believe in witchcraft and attempts to avoid the chaos, until he is drawn into it. Abigail Williams, a previous house maid of the Proctor family, had an affair with Mr. Proctor, and when Abigail admits to being a witch she realizes she has the power to make John hers. Elizabeth, John’s wife, is accused of witchcraft and shortly after John admits to the mistake he made with Abigail. This confession leads to John being condemned to witchcraft. Since John Proctor is motivated by revealing the truth

Each choice lead to another choice creating a domino effect. One decision he made was to testify in court in an attempt to bring Abigail Williams down. John replied to the judges in the courts saying, “...she thinks to dance with me on my wife’s grave! And well she might, for I thought of her softly. God help me, I lusted, and there is a promise in such sweat. But it is a whore’s vengeance, and you must see it; I set myself entirely in your hands. I know you must see it now” (1259). This quote is significant because John confesses to having an affair with Abigail, yet Abigail denies the truth. Proctor describes her as a whore and repeatedly calls her that throughout the text noting that she would dance on Elizabeth’s grave in celebration of her death. Therefore making John hers, and giving her the feeling of more power. During the time this play took place and the religion the people believed in, committing adultery was the ultimate sin next to conforming with the devil. In this case, John not only was charged with adultery but also conforming with the devil because both his wife and Elizabeth lied to the judges denying the affair causing him to be accused of

This was another decision that John had to make, and one that would change his life forever.After pondering the options he concluded that he was going to sign his name to witchcraft. He signed his name, knowing this paper would be placed on the doors of the church he onced worshiped in. Reality set it and John raised his voice and said, “Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! 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!” (1272). Following this quote, he ripped up his confession. Proctor’s true feelings are exposed in this quote as he decides that being saved by a lie is worse than dying by the truth. By signing the paper, his name would be tied to witchcraft along with lies. With his wife being pregnant, John decided he wanted his child to remember him as being a good honest man and not a man of lies. Proctor’s decisions made him evolve from the beginning of the play to the end which gives rise to him becoming a tragic hero because he was forced to overcome what society felt was the right thing to do, and do what he felt was the right thing to