The Reputation Of John Proctor In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

In The Crucible, a book written by Arthur Miller, the story follows the lives of the community and multiple accusations during the Salem witch trials of Massachusetts. The Crucible demonstrates all aspects of a tragedy story through the liked farmer John Proctor not being able to resist committing adultery, his wife Elizabeth and him suffering from Abigail because of his act, and his acceptance towards his crimes and the resulting events. To begin, John Proctor’s reputation in Salem is nobler and higher than usual people, which is an element of a protagonist in a tragedy. On the first introduction of John Proctor in the first act, the author describes him as, “...powerful of body, even tempered, and not easily led” (Miller 1. 19). Because

For one, because John has a previous relationship with Abigail while married with Elizabeth, it causes Abigail to want his wife executed to take her place. She tries doing this by getting stabbed with a needle after seeing the Proctor family’s servant making a doll with a needle, so Elizabeth would look like she made a voodoo doll for her with witchcraft (Miller 2. 69-72). Likewise, John’s entanglement with Abigail Williams causes him to be so angered with her that he insults her and admits to his crime punishable by death (Miller 3. 102). The significance of his flaw of having an affair was that not only does his reputation lower by admitting this crime, but both he and his wife now has an execution incoming (Miller 2. 73)(Miller 3. 110). Next, Proctor has to suffer from struggling with the large amount of guilt when he is about to confess his previous lust for Abigail. During his confession with Dansworth, the text describes that he “...is being overcome,” and is “...as though to cry out his only means of speech left” (Miller 3. 102). It is not usual for someone to commit and admit to adultery with a high amount of despair, as no other character in The Crucible has. These events all occurring after his crime with Abigail demonstrates the uncommon suffering and downhill of his luck after this flaw, which are both element of

For example, when John grabs Abigail by the hair, and then Danforth asks if John is an adulterer, Proctor doesn’t deny it and admits, “God help me, I lusted, and there is a promise in such sweat” (Miller 3. 102). Since this is the first time in the story John admits to his crime, that means that this is the time he accepts it instead of hiding or denying it, such as when he is alone with Abigail and says they did not ever touch (Miller 1. 22). Furthermore, on act four after John Proctor tears the paper he is supposed to sign, reverend Hale yells that he is going to be hanged if he does that, but John says, “I can” (Miller 4. 133). Before John Proctor accepts his death, he is in the hall and confirms that he saw the devil, did the devil’s work, and connected himself to it (Miller 4. 128-129) These three confirmations are all ideas he previously does not accept and refuses to believe in during act one (Miller 1.