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Character analysis of john proctor essay
Character and characterisation of the crucible
Tragic hero in the Crucible
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John Proctor’s desire to keep his good name motivates him to make the heroic choice of going to his death without signing his name to an untrue statement. Proctor is the voice of reason whose integrity defines him and clearly distinguishes him as the protagonist. His honesty and acumen endows him with heroic qualities as we see him repeatedly being able to perceive the truth from the false and the moral from the corrupt when he claims that he “cannot mount the gibbet like a saint. It is fraud. [He] is not that man. [His] honesty is broke…” (136). The fact that Proctor doesn’t consider himself good enough to die as a saint like hero, makes him a hero. This is because his betrayal reveals his strong sense of self-reproach and morality, which intensifies his inability to forgive himself. In this statement …show more content…
Because I lie and sign myself to lies! 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!” (143). Proctor’s cry for the defense of his name, demonstrates his obsession with his good name. Early in the play, Proctor’s desire to protect his good name prevents him from testifying against Abigail. Now, he has come to a complete understanding that the meaning of a good reputation signifies the truth. As he realizes that the truth is more important, he “tears the paper and crumples it, as he is weeping in fury” (144). Proctor tearing the paper is significant as it is possibly the highest climactic point of this play. In order to save his integrity and the innocent, Proctor surrenders his physical body, the more materialistic element of himself. This reflects his desire not to dishonor his fellow prisoners, as he wouldn’t be able to live with himself knowing that others died while he quaked at death. The paper is also a symbol for higher, more powerful societies such as the Church and the courts; thereby ripping it signifies their
In act two of The Crucible, a poppet with a needle in it’s stomach is how Elizabeth is accused of stabbing Abigail. Abigail cannot let the affair she had with John Proctor seven months ago. She will do anything she can to get John Proctor for herself, even accusing Elizabeth of witchcraft. While Abigail Williams isn’t physically in act two, her dark shadow is noticed throughout the act causing trouble for the characters, especially Elizabeth Proctor.
In this excerpt from the book, the reader is able to learn the true intentions and motives behind Abigail’s actions. Throughout the book one is able to see how Abigail is repeatedly trying to protect herself by creating false accusations against innocent people. Abigail tries to protect her reputation by creating a hostile atmosphere; forcing others into agreeing on lying about what actually happened in the woods. What sets this quote aside from others, is how Abigail uses threats of violence and, the belief that the she might know some form of witchcraft. Abigail uses these threats in order to try to save herself and her reputation throughout the book.
In the story, “The Crucible”, John Proctor is thought to be a sinful person because he does not know all of the commandments and sometimes plows on Sundays. The author does not reveal this to the readers directly but tells them what others have been saying about him. Readers can also learn that Proctor is quite prideful. His main goal was to save Elizabeth from hanging, but when Danforth gave him a deal that would save Elizabeth he did not take it. Proctor was too proud to take the deal. Also when Proctor confessed to seeing the devil, his pride got in the way from saving his life. He did not want his name to be slandered.
John Proctor depicts a courageous individual with an image of a sincere and an honorable man, not only in minds of the Salem community, but also in his own. His death implies more than a “tragedy”, but rather a strong action that inspires and encourages citizens in Salem to follow his footstep for change. Proctor is frustrated at how the court for believing Abigail and not the innocents. He says, “My wife is innocent, except she knew a whore when she saw one! You are pulling Heaven down and raising up a whore!” (Act III). He is infuriated that the officials in the court believe the ridiculous pretenses and acting of the Salem girls, that everyone’s the belief in god seems to be deteriorating.
...r a confession from Proctor, if only to save the life of a godly man. The world desperately seeks wise men who can see through deception. John however, even with his wife pleading, refused to name any others as a servant of Satan and damage the name of Proctor. His pride led to his death. He could not stand being a coward, and I respect him deeply for that. If John Proctor did not ascend to Heaven, then I and all others should burn in hell.
In the play The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, the character John Proctor will not lie and confess to something he did not do. Thus, he is hanged for his principles. Proctor has two main principles he felt were more important to respect and uphold than his own life. The most obvious one was his reputation. In theocratic Salem, where private and public ethics are regarded equally, one’s reputation plays an important role. In such an environment where reputation is regarded so highly many are afraid of guilt by association. Various characters base their actions on the desire to protect their own reputations, in order to keep them in the best light possible. Towards the beginning of the play, John Proctor sought to keep his good name protected, despite the fact it could have easily been tarnished if his secret affair with Abigail Williams had been found out. Because of this, he misses his opportunity to stop the group of girl’s accusations because he’d rather preserve his own reputation then testify against Abigail. Eventually, he is forced to relinquish his good name to save his wife from being persecuted against for a crime she did not commit. When she is asked to back up her husband’s confession, Elizabeth chooses to protect her husband’s reputation rather than tell the truth about his affair. Because of this Proctor is eventually accused as a witch and is to hang. By the end of the play, right before Proctor’s hanging is to commence, he is given the choice to sign a confession. The confession being that he was a witch, he trafficked with the devil, and that he saw other prosecuted witches trafficking with the devil. After much inner turmoil and debate he agrees to sign the confession, but refuses to give it to Judge Danforth or Judge Hathorne. He exclaims, “I have given you my soul; leave me my name!” asking that he be allowed to keep the paper and his reputable name. When they refused, claiming that they had to nail it to the church door so all of Salem Village may see, John rips it up. He will not allow his name to be tarnished, even if the only way to keep his good reputation is to die for a crime he didn’t commit.
John Proctor is guilty of both spoken lies and lies conveyed from his actions. John Proctor has to deal with the decision to stay true to himself and not let his frustration condemn him to falsify the truth. Accused of conjuring with the devil among many other innocent Puritans in the town, John has to face making the right decision to either be hanged and keep his soul pure or lie to save his life and oblige to the magistrates that he did indeed conjure with devil. The tendency to want to keep your life is within any human being on this Earth, however John is faced with the decision of saving his life or faulting his already remorseful heart by lying. As John Proctor makes the decision to lie and keep his life, he begins to doubt how others will now think of him knowing he conjured with the devil. When asked to sign his name on paper for the entire town to see he refuses and exclaims, “Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies…” (143) While John passionately speaks this, his immense frustration is finally released and shows his desire to stay true to himself and others in the town. Refusing to sign the paper conveys the lie he initially told and the truth he sought for once realizing the guilt and remorse he would have for the rest of his life. John Proctor’s feeling of frustration
John Proctor is portrayed throughout the play to be a man who has high moral values that he must abide by. He can spot hypocrisy in others easily and judges himself no less harshly. Elizabeth Proctor says to him in the second act:
In essence, John Proctor was in fact a tragic hero, he successfully saved the life of his wife and children. His tragic flaw was that he chose lust over his family, which ultimately caused the series of events that occurred. He chose to die rather than to have his name ruined and for his wife to be punished for something that he did. He admitted to himself that he done wrong, and for that, he chose to end his
When Danforth, a judge of the court, asks him to hand over his signed confession, Proctor refused, became very upset and said “Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies!...I have given you my soul leave me my name!” (1132). Proctor was willing to sign the confession but it was the hanging of the document on the church door that he disapproved of since he did not want it to tarnish his reputation. In fact, he preferred to keep his reputation well rather than his own life. Although some may think Proctor is a selfish person, his reasons might have been justified. Proctor was aware that if he let them place his confession on the church door it would bring shame and dishonor upon him, his family, and their name. He did not want his sons to walk around and overhear the townspeople speaking ill of their name. He also believed he would have lost the right to speak to his sons about
John Proctor is, at first, willing to offer up a false confession that his life may be spared. Inevitably, John Proctor possesses that fateful attribute known to fall fatal to many human beings - pride. While he has, indeed, been ashamed of his many sins throughout his life, Proctor's soul still clings to his pride and his good name, however soiled it may have become. On the morning scheduled for his execution, Proctor wrestles with the realization that one more sin so heaped upon the rest in his life will make precious little difference in the end; "I cannot mount the gibbet like a saint. It is a fraud. I am not that man.... My honesty is broke... I am no good man. Nothing's spoiled by giving them this lie." (126) He attempts to calm his pride by telling himself that the other accused witches who will not give false testimony to save themselves from the gallows have every right to do so; they led lives free of blame. He, however, he tells himself, did no such thing; what right has he to hang among the righteous? "Let them that never lied die now to keep their souls. It is pretense for me, a vanity that will nor blind God nor keep my children out of the wind." (126) Thus the conviction first reached by John Proctor is to save his life rather than to throw it away in mock martyrdom.
John Proctor is a good man. He is a puritan, a husband, a citizen, and an all around valuable member of the community. All of this is represented by his name. The name of John Proctor could be considered his most prized possession. It is his most priceless asset. Proctor is very strong-willed and caring. He does not set out with any intentions of hurting anyone. He is a farmer and village commoner who is faced with incredible inner turmoil. He has committed adultery and had absolutely no intentions of joining in the witch trials. After his wife got involved and eventually was set free due to the fact that she was pregnant, he feels that he can't sit back and accept what is happening to the town. John Proctor is a good and noble man and because of this he believes that he can't be hanged and die a martyr when he has this sin blooming over him every waking moment.
How can a girl who condemned seventy two to a death sentence and drank a charm to kill a man’s wife, a man she has slept with on more than one occasion be the victim? It’s possible when the town she lives in is worse than her. Although Abigail Williams is typically thought of as the antagonist of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, she is in fact a victim as much as any other tragic character in the play.
The first, the importance of personal integrity, is brought to light through John Proctor, who finds himself facing personal conflict when making the decision of whether to lie and 'confess' to the court, saving his own life, or to tell the truth and be condemned by it. Upon first deciding to confess and live, Proctor acknowledges he has given his soul to the devil, but refuses to also tarnish his name by allowing his confession to be stuck to the door of the church.
...g! How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name!” The notion that reputation is the most important thing, that having a clean name is what matters most, that it is more important than even life itself, is given to the reader. The idea that John Proctor has given up his soul, his moral principles, his honesty, just to keep his good name is one that is hard to understand in our time but, by this speech, the reader realises the importance accorded to reputation and status.