John Proctor in The Crucible

1026 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Why john proctor is a good man

Crucible Paper

The Puritans had many values that everyone must know and completely obey. One of those values is to know, and obey the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments were one of the most important things for all Puritans to know and obey, because without them there would be no order. For a Puritan not to know his Commandments by heart was nearly unheard of seeing how the Commandments are the basic rules for them. Although almost all of the Puritans knew the Commandments there were a few who didn’t know them all by heart. John Proctor was one of these who didn’t know them all by heart. Its not just the fact that he didn’t know them all by heart that lets him fit into the category of not being a good Puritan because he lacks the Puritan characteristic of knowing and obeying the Ten Commandments. One way he shows that he doesn’t obey the Ten Commandments is the fact the he rarely attends church anymore. This is breaking one of the Ten Commandments, ‘Thou shall remember the Sabbath Day and keep it Holy’ this Commandment states that on every Sunday you must attend church. Yet John doesn’t, which isn’t following what he should do. Another example of not obeying the Commandments is by having an affair with Abigail, who was his housekeeper and who happened to be eleven at the time. In committing this act he directly disobeyed the Commandment ‘Thou shall not commit adultery’. This Commandment states that when one is married to someone they should only be active among themselves. The finally way John shows that he is not a good Puritan is by not knowing all the Commandments when asked to say them by Mr. Hale. John says them all but adultery. These three things made John Proctor ‘an unworthy Christian’ by Puritan standards.

When John was asked to repeat the Ten Commandments by Mr. Hale he was off to a good start but he forgot adultery completely and said one twice (page 63-64). This shows Mr. Hale that in fact John doesn’t know the Commandments, which means he is not a good Puritan. The reason for Mr. Hale’s presents at Proctor’s house was because Elizabeth Proctor, John’s wife, was accused of witchcraft early that day at court. Hale didn’t come representing the courts, but purely to gain knowledge of the people of Salem so that he may gain knowledge of how to get rid of the Devil if he truly is in Salem.

Show More
Related

  • Near The End Of The Play John Proctor Says To Elizabeth ‘I Am A Good Man.’ How Does Miller Present John Proctor? Is He A Good Man In Your View?

    721 Words  | 2 Pages

    Firstly, John Proctor is not seen to be a good man because in chapter one is affair with Abigail is exposed. “Give me a word, John. A soft word. (Her concentrated desire destroys his smile.) From this it can be seen that before they did have an affair but now it is over. The personal pronoun ‘me’ shows how she wants him all to herself and that the meeting is held in secret. The word ‘desire destroy’ in the stage directions is then used to contradict her feelings as Miller suggests how their affair is now over but Abigail doesn’t want it to be and that she still loves Proctor. From this quote it is then shown that John Proctor can’t be a good man if he committed adultery. However, John Proctor also speaks to Abigail to mention how their affair is mentioned and how their affair to him was at his moment of weakness when his wife, Elizabeth was ill. As it was a mistake Proctor mentions how Abigail should, “Wipe it out of mind.” This shows that he wants to forget it ever happened and that he also doesn’t want anybody to find out about this. From this it shows that John Proctor is not a good and as when his wife was ill and when he was at his weakest he committed a sin. If the people of Salem were to hear...

    Read More

  • Examples Of Morally Ambiguous Characters In The Crucible

    464 Words  | 1 Pages

    Proctor has many character traits that contribute to him being so difficult to figure out. His crime of lechery against his wife, and his willingness to save her, are both intermixed in a tangle of ethics. After committing adultery with Abigail, John clearly has a guilty conscious. When

    Read More

  • The Crucible: Is John Proctor A Good Man?

    485 Words  | 1 Pages

    The magistrate sits in your heart, that judges you. I never thought of you but a good man.” In this essay I will explain to you why John Proctor is a good man. During the time when he was in court with his wife, he failed to easily recite the 10 commandments which was “thou shalt not commit adultery.” The mistake he had made was having an affair with Abigail and later on he confesses to that he had an affair with Abigail and forfeits his good name and reputation in an attempt to show the court Abigail is a liar.

    Read More

  • The Crucible’s John Proctor As A Tragic Hero

    821 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Crucible by Arthur Miller is set in Salem in a Puritan community. John Proctor, Elizabeth Proctor, Reverend Hale, Reverend Paris, and Abigail are the main characters. The book is about witchcraft or what the town thinks is witchcraft. John Proctor is the tragic hero because he is loving, loyal, authoritative, but his tragic flaw is his temper.

    Read More

  • Free Essays on The Crucible: John Proctor

    891 Words  | 2 Pages

    John Proctor plays the leading role in The Crucible by Arthur Miller. He was persistent, honest, and full of integrity. He was simply, a man with pride. A wise woman 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." (Eleanor Roosevelt). Proctor was the protagonist of the dramatic piece of literature.

    Read More

  • John Proctor In The Crucible

    634 Words  | 2 Pages

    This creates tension in the home between John and Elizabeth Proctor. “You were alone with her?” Elizabeth says, John responds “for a moment alone aye” “why then it is not what you told me”.(222) This angers John because he is floating in his guilt for being unfaithful to his wife. Its builds a strain on their marriage and keep the couple in a cold house. Proctor has been faith full to his religion, only attending church only once a month. These actions put more reason for people to suspect that john is participating in witchcraft. “I am no good man. Nothing's spoiled by giving them this lie that were not rotten long before.”(239) John is selfish by going with the lie saying, he participated in witchcraft than to confess and say he didn’t to be with his wife and his unborn child. John lived in a lie and he Salem government took his life from

    Read More

  • John Proctor Integrity Analysis

    777 Words  | 2 Pages

    Proctor has integrity is because of the way he handles the people in Salem, and their obsession with church. John Proctor was interrogated by Mr.Hale about his commandments and why he hasn’t been at church every Sunday. “It may be I have been too quick to bring the man to book, but you cannot think we ever desired the destruction of religion,” (III. 530). Mr. Parris, the pastor in Salem, in not who Mr. Proctor wants to baptise his kids. This is why he decides every Sunday not to go to Salem, and attend church. When Mr. Hale asks John about his commandments, John was able to recite nine of the 10, which caused Mr. Hale to believe that the Proctors may praise Satan. Snapping back at Mr. Hales assumption, John Proctor then tells Hale about how he helped build the church, and hung the door. I believe that John Proctor being able to keep his integrity, even when he is targeted by others in his community, makes him a great character in the play.

    Read More

  • Honor in the Crucible

    1778 Words  | 4 Pages

    Though he does make some mistakes, John Proctor is essentially a good man. In act one, Proctor exchanges angry words with Reverend Parris and says, "I may speak my heart, I think!" (30). Parris is more concerned with money than God, and John honestly speaks of how wrong that is even though it would get him into trouble. When Reverend Hale asks him why his third son is not baptized, John tells him, "I like it not that Mr.

    Read More

  • Is John Proctor Innocent In The Crucible Analysis

    995 Words  | 2 Pages

    First off, as people may argue that he is guilty our first piece of evidence of his innocence is that he was an ethical man throughout the play. By no means is Proctor ever afraid to tell you what was on his mind. In the beginning of the play John Proctor tells Parris why he was not at church recently, He said,”I have trouble enough without I come five miles to hear him preach only hellfire and bloody damnation. Take it to heart, Mr. Parris. There are many others who stay away from church these days because you hardly ever mention God anymore.” (Miller need page number) For someone to be that brutally honest to the man that holds the highest position or calling in the Puritan church just goes to show that he is willing to admit anything and everything. Keep in mind that is also the highest status in the town itself. It is equivalent to being the mayor of the town. Another piece of evidence that we found is when John realizes that he has to confess his sin of adultery to the courts, only to stop the madness that is occurring in Salem. He still had courage to admit to his wrong to people that hold

    Read More

  • John Proctor's Moral Struggle in The Crucible

    770 Words  | 2 Pages

    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:

    Read More

  • John Proctor’s Moral Dilemma in The Crucible by Arthur Miller

    713 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • John Proctor's Consecution In The Crucible

    1048 Words  | 3 Pages

    This is in opposition to Puritan norms as Puritanism focuses on self-salvation, and he could have had the Church clear his soul and this would have allowed him to keep living; however, he protected those close to him instead of himself. This also contrasts John Proctor to the other members of this society who sold others out in trade for their own well-being. This demonstrates John Proctor’s religious progressivism by having a viewpoint focused on the salvation and preservation of others, as opposed to self-salvation. Due to his desire to help others before he helps himself, John Proctor is shown in a forward thinking light.

    Read More

  • Free Essays on The Crucible: John Proctor's Search For Identity

    799 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • John Proctor is a Tragic Hero in The Crucible

    857 Words  | 2 Pages

    A tragic hero is a literary character who makes an error of judgment or has a fatal flaw that, combined with fate and external forces, brings on a tragedy. In the play, The Crucible, Arthur Miller portrays John Proctor, the protagonist, as a tragic hero who has a major flaw—lust for Abigail, his teenage house servant. For fear of being exiled in a town where reputation is highly upheld, Proctor initially tries to hide his crime of adultery, but this affair triggers a major series of events in Salem, where unproven accusations lead to internal struggle and eventually to catastrophe.

    Read More

  • The Title of The Crucible by Arthur Miller

    836 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout the play John Proctor was an honest man, as was his wife, Elizabeth until she was asked to testify against her husband about his affair. One thing that never changed about Proctor throughout the whole play was his willingness to stand for his beliefs. Time after time, he was bombarded with questions about why he didn't regularly attend church or why he didn't have one of his sons baptized. He answered these questions with integrity and questioned the ministry of Parris. No one in the town of Salem had done that before.

    Read More

More about John Proctor in The Crucible

Open Document