A strong man will be willing to die, if it means he did it for what he believed was right. "I can. And there's your first marvel, that I can. You have made your magic now, for now I do think I see some shread of goodness in John Proctor. Not enough to weave a banner with, but white enough to keep it from such dogs. Elizabeth, in a burst of terror, rushes to him and weeps against his hand. Give them no tear! Tears pleasure them! Show a stony heart and sink them with it! He has lifted her, and kisses her now with great passion." (Miller. 1232. John Proctor.) These are the words of John Proctor just before he went to the gallows to hang, for denying witchcraft. The quote above can help justify that John Proctor is the most admirable character …show more content…
When asked by Reverend Hale, why John thinks it's a scam, John simply said " And why not, if they must hang for denyin' it? there are them that will swear to anything before they'll hang; have you never thought of that?"(Miller. 1173. John Proctor.) this statement was a turning point on the outlook of witchcraft in Salem. Not long after this statement was said, other men began to question the idea of witchcraft when their wives where convicted for witchcraft. As the accusations went on, many men believed that the accusations were a way to get to other peoples’ land from neighbors by simply accusing them to get them hung. It's amazing how a simple statement can become the turning point of an entire town. Not only is the statement incredible but also the person who asked the question. Why, you ask, because it means that John Proctor is using his mind to think of what caused the sudden outburst of witchcraft. John also you one of the girls close to Abigail Williams to learn that the girls are simply pretending to have seen the devil, to help Abigail Williams get rid of Elizabeth Proctor. When John Proctor hear of this plan his mind immediately went into protection mode for his wife, thus making him want to do anything in the world to save his wife from the gallows. Even if it means getting himself into
Although John Proctor isn’t much of a pious man, he does choose to do the right thing in the end. He doesn’t go down to the level of Danforth, he stays truthful and prideful to himself. Not many people would confess to something if it meant they would be hanged or imprisoned for their actions, John Proctor did. These three personalities of John Proctor prove that he is an overall good man even if he made a few poor choices in his lifetime. He ultimately shows that everyone should be proud of who they are and always tell the truth because if you want to be successful, you must be true to
What is a tragic hero? A tragic hero is typically defined as a character in a literary work who has a lot of pride and makes a judgment error that leads to their ultimate demise. The downfall usually has to do with their pride.
[A cell in Salem jail, that fall, The accused women sat on the cold stone floor. Hale quietly came seeking justice. The cold of the night stabbed the accused women like daggers, knowing all they had was their dignity and pride. Reminiscing of her husband, Elizabeth caressed her now 3 month pregnant paunch]
...fess to them Elizabeth” (238). He’s thinking about giving in to the corrupt church to save his own life like everyone else. But when the Judge Danforth asks him to sign his name on a document confessing of witch craft he won’t do it because he explains, “It is my name I cannot have another in my life because I lie and sign myself to lies. Proctor finally stands up for what’s right and he shows that he won’t taint his name in order to save his own life. So they send him to be hung but he dies with his honor and his integrity.
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.
Salem citizens in general were afraid of all ungodly things with their Puritan views. They had no trouble believing that, because Parris had called Reverend Hale, (known for his studies in demonic arts), there must truly be witchcraft within the town. The play progresses and certain characters begin to develop: here is a community full of underlying personal grudges. Religion pervades every aspect of life, 'A man may think that God sleeps, but God sees everything, I know it now.'; but it is a religion that lacks the ritual of confession. Here and throughout the play we see how this affects John Proctor, a man so proud of his name that guilt eats at his very heart, as he will not let out his secret pain in a vain attempt to keep his integrity.
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.
People make life or death choices every day. In The Crucible, John Proctor and others decided dying honestly was better than living a lie. At this time, countless were accused of witchcraft and working with the devil in the town of Salem, MA. In this play, Reverend Hale told Elizabeth proctor “no principle, however glorious, is worth dying for.” He argued that living a life of dishonesty is better than dying for the truth, trying to persuade John to live, but as a devil's advocate. But John believed no life was worth living if it was full of falsifies information.
The primary dramatic focus in the play The Crucible is the moral struggle of its protagonist, John Proctor. Certain characteristics of John Proctor's character and also the environment of the Puritanical Salem alleviated this problem for him. The main issues running through out the play are a series of dilemmas that John Proctor faces. The first and foremost of these is his guilt over his adulterous affair with Abigail Williams, the second his hesitation to testify against Abigail to bring out the truth and the third, his final decision to make the ultimate sacrifice.
Zig Ziglar once said, “The foundation stones for a balanced success are honesty, character, integrity, faith, love and loyalty.” I feel that this quote relating to The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, means that you have to have loyalty to have success in life. This quote explains itself in the Crucible by how Elizabeth was hurt by the affair Proctor had with Abigail. Since Elizabeth is motivated by loyalty her decision to lie in court results in her loss of John Proctor by the end of the play.
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.
“I have given you my soul, leave me my name” (143). John Proctor does not want people to look at him and think that he is a witch, and he knows that they will if he signs to it. Proctor admitted to witchcraft; though he wasn’t guilty, but it was only to save his life; he knows that he isn’t a witch, and the people who were there to hear him admit to it don’t matter because they will think that he is a witch anyhow and he doesn’t care to change their minds.
In John Proctor’s sudden confession of committing adultery, Miller used strong ethos and pathos to help further his agenda. He used disinterest, a rhetorical ethos device, to show that he reluctantly confessed for the greater good. By casting away his reputation, he made a personal sacrifice to show that his revelation helped the people of Salem more than it helped him. Throughout the play, Proctor concealed his disloyalty to his wife from the public; however, he finally came to terms with his sin to save Elizabeth and other innocent people from the trials. John used a rhetorical tool called the reluctant conclusion during his confession, which is blatant by the uneasiness/hesitancy he displayed. John Proctor lost his credibility and appeared
right about selling out the other innocent prisoners to save himself, he feels as if he's betraying them. Such as when Proctor says “ you will not use me! I am no Sarah good or Titubia, I am John Proctor! you will not use me…” ( Miller 1356). At the end of the play John is taken away to the gallows after he refuses to sign the confession, because he feels like that is the right and moral thing to do. “ He were not hanged. He would not answer aye or nay to his indictment…” (Miller 1352). Elizabeth explained how the court wanted him to confess of witchcraft. Instead, he died standing for himself.
John was talked into simply confess to witchcraft to save himself from the gallows. In this confession, John was asked about seeing others who were accused practicing witchcraft, which he denied. John was asked to give his signature that he confessed to witchcraft, and stubbornly refused, knowing that it would be used against the others accused. When asked why he would not sign his name by the judge, Proctor replied “‘Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another name in my life! 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 my name!”’ (Miller 143) Proctor’s refusal to give his signature shows that he is unwilling to dishonor the others who were falsely imprisoned. Proctor would rather give his life than slander them to escape his death. Because of this, John dies heroically with his humanity undefiled. Without courage, he certainly would not have been able to do this.