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Motivations In the play, The Crucible,by Arthur Miller.Many characters have desires that drive them to pursue certain things.This affects the plot in many ways.In this puritan society,people strongly cared what other people think of them and how their reputation stands in the village.They always strive to make sure their actions reflect wisely on their names.A major motivation John Proctor,Abagail,and Parris share is pride in their names,which eventually leads to their ultimate downfall. When the play sets in action, John has had a past affair with his servant, Abigail Williams. His wife, Elizabeth Proctor, is very forgiving of his sin, but John has his mind set that he will not confess to anyone else, in fear of ruining his good name and reputation. The affair between John and Abigail causes the start of chaotic witchery and accusation. After the affair, Abigail becomes horribly jealous of Elizabeth Proctor. Proctor realizes there is only one way to stop all the witch hysteria in Salem, and that would be to admit to adultery which is considered a sin. . Also in the beginning R...
When the play sets in to action, John has had a past affair with his servant Abigail Williams. His wife, Elizabeth Proctor is very forgiving of his sin, but John has his mind set that he will not confess to anyone else, in fear of ruining his good name, and reputation. The affair between John and Abigail caused the start of chaotic witchery and accusation. After the affair, Abigail became horribly jealous of Elizabeth Proctor. Proctor realizes there is only one way to stop all the witch hysteria in Salem, and that would be to confess his sin of adultery. Although he knows he should, he continues to be determined not to confess. Also in the beginning Reverend Paris is new to town, and John insist continually that he is only speaking of hell, and hardly ever of God, as Proctor goes on to say to Parris, "Can you speak one minute without we land in Hell again? I am sick of Hell!" (Miller 30). In the drama, Mary Warren places a needle in a poppet she gave to Elizabeth; John firmly demands that Mary Warren tell the courts that she really put the needle in the poppet that day. Proctor says to her, "You're coming to the court with me, Mary. You will tell it in the court." (Miller 80). Furthermore, at the end of the play Proctor is persistent by saying that no matter what anyone says to convince him differently, he would rather die an honest man and save his name. John Proctor took pride in his thoughts, feelings, values, and his name. It took persistency to make his intent clear to others.
In spite of John being an honorable man, his affair does lead him to his downfall. The affair between John and Abigail leads to serious chaos in Salem. In the court, John had already confessed that he committed adultery. When the court brought in Elizabeth Proctor to say that he had confessed, she lied to save his name. “She only thought to save my name!” (p 195 line 964). Elizabeth wanted to save his name and his life even though she knows he had an affair, even though she does not lie. However, John was a genuine man for confessing that he did commit
In The Crucible, there are many examples that ambition can corrupt even the most steady and kind, through the use of characters such as Elizabeth Proctor, Reverend Hale and John Proctor as well as others. Rev. Hale, as an example, came to Salem with an ambition to rid the town of witchcraft, but at the same time disregarded the fact of the matter, innocent people are being put to death for the sake of reputation. As Hale says in Arthur Millers' The Crucible, book/movie/play,
Greed and envy are two of the seven deadly sins in the Christian world that adherents must dispel from their lives. This fact makes it all the more ironic when many Christians during the Salem witch trials display these two offenses in The Crucible by Arthur Miller. One reason explaining the prevalence of sin in a society that thinks of itself as pure is that leaders demonstrate that they care more about actions rather than pureness of thought. For example, clergymen who feature themselves in the play, like Parris and Hale, often measure a person’s connection with the divine through the number of times he or she attends church. In actuality, according to many prominent officials of the Christian Church, that connection can only be achieved
The only thing John Proctor wants to be is an honorable man in the eyes of Puritan society. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible John Proctor repeatedly tries to do good for other people. John’s motivation motivation to retain his honor is seen throughout his actions. Since John Proctor is motivated by his honor, his decision to admit he committed adultery creates doubt in the guilt of the accused.
It was easier for them to blame the devil for the problems of society than fix the problems of their own strict way of life. So the girls involved with Abigail, like Mercy Lewis and Mary Warren, named many people in the town as witches. These people were put in jail and would be hanged if they did not confess to the crime of devil worship or witchcraft. Another part of the developing plot is that John Proctor knows Abigail and her friends are lying, but he is afraid to say anything because eight months before he had an affair with Abigail and did not want to be seen by the town as a lecher, which means wife cheater. So, Mr. Proctor has to fight with himself to come out and tell the truth, or his wife might die because of Abigail saying she was a witch.
In the crucible characters are motivated by various themes such as, reputation, power, witchcraft and society. John Proctor, Reverend Hale and Reverend Parris’s actions are prime examples of how in the crucible these themes are dominant.
However, every hero has his or her flaws. For Proctor it is that he is unfaithful. The story shows that John Proctor had an affair with Abigail Williams the Seven Teen Year old Girl. This action took place behind Johns’ wife Elizabeth, until she found out and kicked Abigail out of the house. After this Proctor tried his very best to forget all that had happened, and became a better husband. This crucial mistake is what sparked, Abigail and despised her, and in which she ended up accusing her. In order to prove his wife’s innocence, John realized he would have to confess to his crime. Though he does not come out and say he had an affair, he gives indications of it. “I have known her sir, I have known her” (49), he says as he shows everyone the unfaithful man beneath his great image. Adding on to that, he later states, “And will she might, for I thought of her softly. God help me, I lusted and there is a promise in such sweat” (49). Usually, if one were unfaithful, it would result in the lack of trust from others. However, in John’s case it was the opposite. When Elizabeth were asked if his confession was true, she had lied to save his name, resulting in no one believing him, making him seem like a liar, which only worsened his
John Proctor faces many decisions in response to his moral dilemma to try to save his life. One of the difficult decisions John makes is to reveal that he had an affair with Abigail Williams and thereby has committed adultery. If the local court convicts him of this crime, he faces being jailed. Also by admitting this crime, John reveals a weakness in his character. This flaw in his personality will make it harder for him to stand up in the community as an honorable and believable person. In trying to convince others that witchcraft does not exist John’s dishonesty with his wife will make him less convincing to the community.
John Proctor committed lechery with Abigail Williams. Abigail Williams wants John Proctor to love her, but he is married to Elizabeth, and he doesn’t want to leave her for Abigail. Abigail knows that John doesn’t want to leave his wife, so she tries to get rid of her, first by drinking a charm to kill her, and she then accuses her of witchcraft. John knows that Abigail is trying to get rid of his wife so he knows that he has to tell the courts about what happened between the two of them so that they will realize why she is making the accusations on his wife. When he admits his fault to the court the girls turns around and accuse him of witchcraft in order to save themselves. John is put in jail for three months because of this accusation. After all of this time he nearly decides to admit to it, but he then realizes what it would do to himself and his name.
The Crucible, a play written in the 1950’s by American playwright, Arthur Miller, is based on the chaotic witch hysteria in Salem, Massachusetts during the 1600’s. Abigail, a sinful protagonist in the play, is the root to the myriad problems that conspire throughout the play. She is to blame for the executions of innocent citizens, and for acts of lechery between marriages. An important reappearing theme throughout the play is one’s reputation and the extremes the characters would take in order to preserve their name. The characters in The Crucible, particularly, Parris, John Proctor, and Judge Danforth, use the sanctity of their names to prioritize how they will look in the public eye, rather than what is beneficial to them individually.
John starts interacting with a younger member of the town, Abigail Williams. The two spend time with each other which eventually leads to John having an affair. John and Abigail kept this from the whole town, even after Elizabeth finds out because she realizes that his name will be affected if the word does get spread. “Spoke or silent, a promise is surely made. Elizabeth Proctor to her husband…” “She tells him that by sleeping with her, he made a commitment to her, at least in her eyes. (Elizabeth) After he has the affair with Abigail, Elizabeth has trouble holding the trust she has for John. Abigail also loses faith in John due to the fact that he told her false ideas that he sensed that he had something for her, but then later in the play he admitted that he only did such a thing because of the tension in his
In the previous winter, John’s wife Elizabeth had become very ill. John Proctor had an affair during this time with Abigail Williams, the niece of the Reverend Parris, who worked in their household. Elizabeth found out about the affair, and fired Abigail. This left Abigail jealous of Elizabeth, and seeking revenge against her and her husband. Her vindictiveness expressed itself through witch hysteria, setting in motion a chain of events that would lead to the death of many innocent people.
In The Crucible, John Proctor is a good man with a deadly secret. He has a wife, children, and a good name in the Puritan society. However, his lust for Abigail Williams leads to their affair, which could potentially ruin Proctor’s status in Salem if anyone were to find out. Proctor is, above all, a proud man who places great emphasis on his reputation. Proctor regrets his past actions, and dislikes Abigail for continually provoking him to love her. Proctor’s wife, Elizabeth, is suspicious of his relations with Abigail, which causes tension in their marriage. His negative feelings toward Abigail grow stronger and stronger as the
While in court, Proctor attempts to defend and free his wife through Mary Warren’s confession. Claiming that the girls and specifically Abigail are frauds and merely faking their symptoms of witchcraft. He does so without giving up information that would soil his ‘good name’, leaving him without a strong claim on why Abigail is untrustworthy. As a dynamic character in the story, however, he will change and react to the situations around him. That taken into account, John Proctor then reaches a realization that the only way to protect and defend his wife while also rid of Abigail’s credibility in court is to publicly proclaim that he is an Adulterer.