Why Is John Proctor Wrong In The Crucible

A wise woman named Eleanor Roosevelt once said, "Do what you feel in your heart to be right for you'll be criticized anyway. You'll be damned if you do, and damned if you don't”. In the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller, there is a number of characters whose true and honest actions eventually lead them to their unfortunate downfall. This play takes place in the 1600s during the Salem Witch Trials in Salem, Massachusetts. In the beginning of the play they introduce the protagonist John Proctor, a married farmer who in the past committed the heinous act of adultery with his former servant girl Abigail Williams, a moral less and manipulative seventeen year old girl. After the affair Abigail began to obsess over John and she became jealous of

In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, John may have done an unforgettable act, but if you dig a little deeper into his character there is ample evidence that shows that what John Proctor did is forgivable and he makes up for that in his actions and what he does to do the right

One of the many rules of the puritan religion is that you must have all your children baptised and you have to attend church. In act two the Reverend Hale comes to Salem inspecting all the accused and when he arrives at the Proctor's household and asks why his youngest son hasn’t been baptised yet, John replies “I like it not that Mr. Parris should lay his hand upon my baby. I see no light of God in that man. I’ll not conceal it” (Miller). It’s clear to see that John Proctor is a believer in God but he doesn’t agree with the ideas Parris has and puts across in the church. But to the people of Salem this isn’t viewed as a simple disliking but it is seen as Proctor denying the church and God into his son's life. Still trying to understand what the Proctors are like, and to test their degree of faith Reverend Hale asks that John recite to him the ten commandments, he surely names them all however he forgets one of the commandments and Elizabeth delicately says “Adultery, John” (Miller II.1129), in which he replies “You see, sir, between the two of us we do know them all” (Miller II. 1130). This could be seen as John's way of trying to be unsuspecting as he had committed adultery but he purposely “forgets” hoping that it would seem as if he wouldn’t think twice about performing such an unlawful act. Proctors lack of knowledge in the faith and his lack of church attendance and the fact that he openly