Who Is John Selfless In The Crucible

Fear, Death, Hysteria, Life; all of these words describe the award-winning play, The Crucible by Arthur Miller. The play is an elegant story of controversy, death, and human emotion following the events of the Salem Witch trials. An aspect of the play is the appearance of characters willing to Live or die for their own selfless or selfish reasons. Some characters will live and die for the sake of their peers and their morals, while others will live and die for the sake of their reputation and getting what they want. An aspect of selflessness and especially honesty portrayed in the play is the idea of sticking to your morals and not changing to please others. A character that is a prime example of these traits would be John Proctor. John reflects

Even despite this John is still human, you see this when explained in Act I that, “ He is a sinner, a sinner not only against the moral fashion of the time, but against his own vision of decent conduct” (Miller 19). This explains that John has sinned in the past, however, he feels guilty about it as it didn’t follow his own morals. The regretful sin he committed was having an affair with a 17-year-old girl, Abigail Williams. Even despite this, John is a man of god. John is later prosecuted in Act II because he does not actively attend church, John didn’t attend church because of the action of Reverend Parris. This action shows that John isn’t afraid to say what he feels and will not be easily influenced by those around him. John’s resolve is put to the test when he goes to court in Act III and is put on the spot of if he sinned or not. John isn’t afraid however and admits to his wrongdoing. The court is astonished to hear this, but those who know and love John don’t hold this against him and know he is regretful of his past actions. All of these actions remain as just drops of rain in the storm of morality that is John Proctor’s actions in Act IV. In this act, John’s truth is truly tested, as he has been

Abigail attempted to have Tituba conjure up something that would kill Elizabeth Proctor so that Abigail could be with John Proctor instead. This action shows Abigail’s resolve and the selfishness that she believes it takes to be with John Proctor. In Act II Abigail plays a minor role in the grand scheme of things, however, she is responsible for getting Elizabeth Proctor accused of witchcraft. Abigail lies about a poppet that Elizabeth supposedly stabbed with a needle which then stabbed Abigail. Abigail is so determined she would literally stab herself in the stomach with a needle just to have the chance to get rid of Elizabeth. Abigail believes that if Elizabeths gone then she would take her place as John Proctor’s wife. Abigail is mischievous in nature and tries whatever she can to keep her supposed innocence in the court. She portrays herself as a victim. She shows this when she says to Judge Dandorth, ““I have been hurt, Mr. Danforth; I have seen my blood runnin’ out! I have been near to murdered every day because I done my duty pointing out the Devil’s people-and this is my reward? To be mistrusted, denied, questioned like a- (Miller 100). Abigail is pleading for her innocence and is in turn showing just how easily she’s able to lie. In Act IV Abigail does something seemingly out of nowhere. Abigail leaves town. Did she do this because she regretted her actions? Did she finally realize all of those