John Proctor's Reaction To The Crucible

519 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Essays on The Crucible

The Crucible is a fictionalized story of salem witch trials, it took place in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1692. In the story, Arthur Miller interprets the characters to have some kind of “beef” toward each other. Arthur Miller foreshadowed the truth to make the reader feel uncomfortable and want to know what will happen, this is actually made this story interesting. Arthur Miller shows that fate is something you can realize, but it can be changed. In the story, John Proctor change his mind and tear up the confession. The reason for him to did that could be because he wants to protect his name as his perception of a morally righteous person. Rebecca Nurse shocked with John Proctor’s decision, Mr. Danforth accused that the confession is …show more content…

Arthur Miller also wrote the play as an allegory for McCarthyism, when the United States government ostracized people for being communists.
American essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, "Fear defeats more people than any other one thing in the world." Although fear is a common human emotion, our response to it varies. This quote can be related to The Crucible at some point. The first thing that first came up on my mind about this quote is about Mr. Danforth with his decision. He choose to believe the children that pretending over the adults that try to speak the truth.
The quote “Fear defeats more people than any other one thing in the world." can also be mean that fear is a state of mind that can cause inaction and is generally harmful. The other scene from The Crucible that can be related to this quote is when Tituba confessed something that she doesn’t even did, she lied to avoid from being punished. Another story is when Mary Warren get sported by the other girls such as pretending that they got some kind of spell when she was trying to tell the truth, even if Mr. Hale said they are pretending, Mr. Danforth choose to believe the girls. Mary Warren then also lied to the court just to avoid

Show More
Related

  • John Proctor's Lies In The Crucible

    603 Words  | 2 Pages

    After Elizabeth, his wife, finds out about his affair with Abigail he tries his hardest to prevent anyone from finding out because he doesn’t want to go to prison and doesn’t want his good name ruined. Again, that isn’t the best thing to do but it proves that Proctor has immense pride in himself and what he has accomplished in his lifetime that he doesn’t want to be looked down on after years of being a role model to all the civilians of Salem. At the end of the play, the only way to save himself from hanging is by confessing to the act of witchcraft. He almost does it, but he says, “I am John Proctor! You will not use me! It is no part of salvation that you should use me!”(pg.538, lines 879-82) He doesn’t confess because can’t handle ruining his name anymore than it has been and because he is a man of truth.

    Read More

  • The Role Of Betty In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

    557 Words  | 2 Pages

    The definition of fear is when someone feels scared or threatened or feels like they’re in danger. For example think you’re in a house by yourself and you hear something outside and you hear something outside in your backyard or in another room, and your heart start beating and our thinking in your mind what to do. That’s fear and it’s something that you feel time to time. It’s something from a little spider to a fear drowning. The main point or theme of The Crucible is when people accuse each other of witchery but, not knowing if so.

    Read More

  • The Crucible Fear Analysis

    1710 Words  | 4 Pages

    In addition to that the common citizen often saw this in local news on a daily basis, increasing the prevalence of fear within citizens (“Red Scare”). This reasserts the presence of fear within the US during the time of the Red Scare, and because of this constant threat they see pushed by the people around them the more inclined they are to take unreasonable action such as turning on people within their community. Similarly in the town of Salem, as written by Arthur Miller’s crucible, Judge Danforth reveals the opinions of the court promoting the infallibility of the court. He touts an idea that if one is not aligned with the court they are then against it. The use of court to display this message is symbolic of the overall beliefs of the society displayed in the novel, as the court often represents the fundamental values within a society. In this moment Danforth reveals that true effect fear has on this society, the people within the town are so frightened, of the idea of witches they are able to place their values in a system that doesn't work or make sense within the town. The people of Salem unjustly give more power to the organization that is causing the problems, because they are scared of

    Read More

  • Courage, Weakness, And Truth In Arthur Miller's The Crucible

    1171 Words  | 3 Pages

    The statement,“The Crucible is essentially about courage, weakness, and truth,” is proven true numerous times, throughout the play. The Crucible was written by Arthur Miller, about the true events that happened in Salem, Massachusetts, between the years 1692 and 1693. The Salem witch trials consisted of many hangings, lies, and complete mass hysteria. The citizens of Salem followed the religion of Puritanism, and the ideas of predestination. The root of the mass hysteria comes from their belief in the sense that in something happens then it must have been planned by God. In Miller’s portrayal of the story, Abigail Williams was the ringleader of the witch trials, and she used the idea of predestination to cover up her own sins. Abigail was a very manipulative girl and ruined many lives. John Proctor, Mary Warren, and Elizabeth Proctor were just a few of the victims in Abby’s game. John, Mary, and Elizabeth exhibit the traits courage, weakness, and truth, whether it was in a positive or negative way.

    Read More

  • Similarities Between Good Night And Good Luck And The Crucible

    302 Words  | 1 Pages

    The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, focuses on the Salem witch trials and the extreme behavior that follows the trials. Miller shows how the dark desires and hidden agendas provokes such extreme behavior. The Crucible was written in a time when the anti-communist movement was strongly protested. During the Salem witch trials, a person was guilty until he proved himself

    Read More

  • How Fear Motivates the Characters in Arthur Miller’s Play, The Crucible

    770 Words  | 2 Pages

    At times, fear motivates people to behave unscrupulously. Personal fears instigate some characters in Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible to cry witch. Reverend Parris fears losing his job, Abigail fears prosecution and losing John Proctor, and Tituba fears physical retribution. Fear induces people to defend their personal whims and use their power to harm others.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Lies In The Crucible

    1146 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Lies And Deceit In The Crucible

    1080 Words  | 3 Pages

    Many characters in The Crucible fall under the trap of lying, if not to other people, then to themselves. The Crucible is a fictional retelling of events in history, surrounding the Salem witch trials. It takes place in Salem, Massachusetts during 1692 and 1693. Additionally, Miller wrote the play as an allegory to mccarthyism, which is the practice of making accusations without evidence. In the play, Arthur Miller develops the theme of lies and deceit by showing Abigail lying for her own benefit, John Proctor committing adultery, and Elizabeth lying to protect her husband.

    Read More

  • John Proctor's Courage Throughout The Crucible

    1328 Words  | 3 Pages

    In this act he finds the goodness in himself to take responsibility for something he did not do just to make up for his sins. He says to Elizabeth, “Spite only gives me silent. It is hard to give a lie to dogs…” (4.136) He wants to confess, but he has to find the courage in him to confess it. He has to swallow his pride in order to confess of something he did not do. After he finds the courage to confess, Danforth makes him sign a confession statement, but he cannot. In support of this Proctor says, “I have confessed myself! Is there no good penitence but it be public? God does not need my name nailed upon the church! God sees my name; God knows how black my sins are! It is enough!” (4.142) Proctor has already confessed and he feels as if that is already enough, but he has to sign the confession or he will be hung. He finds the courage to sign it but then rips it apart before it is hung upon the church, and he could not build up the courage to re-write it. This leads him to being executed. Henry Popkin once again helps support my sources by stating, “The real, the ultimate victim in this play is John Proctor, the one independent man, the one skeptic who sees through the witchcraft "craze" from the first…This is a climactic moment, a turning point in the play. New witches may continue to be named, but The Crucible now narrows its focus to John Proctor, caught in the trap, destroyed by his effort to save his wife, threatened by the irrationality that only he has comprehended.” (143) Abigail’s idea did not go as planned because Proctor rebelled against her. Therefore Proctor was accused and died because he was not going to let Abigail ruin the pureness of his

    Read More

  • John Proctor's Ethos In The Crucible

    579 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • What Does Mary Warren Mean In The Crucible

    572 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the play The Crucible, Arthur Miller explores the topic of fear and how it can be used to silence people or force them into false testimony. In this play we can see the fear of witchcraft and becoming condemned, or having a family member condemned, can take over a person and get them to act unusually. Mary Warren makes the decision to switch between siding with the girls and with Proctor out of fear for her life, yet only some of her decisions are justified as only sometimes she was trying to make the right decision and others were to save herself.

    Read More

  • Fear Tactics in The Crucible

    653 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, fear is used as a control tactic. Fear escalates quickly through the responsible parties – Abigail Williams, Reverend John Hale, and Deputy Governor Danforth – and soon the town succumbs to it. Fear is not used by all of the responsible parties for control, as in controlling the people in order to be the “top dog” so to speak, but as a way to prevent their own accusation or conviction of witchcraft. They each used their own methods of creating fear in order to beat the stakes.

    Read More

  • Arthur Miller's Comparing of Similarities in The McCarthy Era and The Salem Witch Trials Illustrated in The Crucible

    1005 Words  | 3 Pages

    “She thinks to dance with me on my wife’s grave! And well she might, for I thought of her softly. God help me, I lusted, and there is a promise in such sweat. But it is a whore’s vengeance, and you must see it, I set myself entirely in your hands.” John Proctor says this to Danforth in the movie “The Crucible,” which is a fascinating, and disturbing story based on an important event in history. This event was the Salem Witch Trials. The author Arthur Miller wrote this story in response to the major event the McCarthy Era. The Crucible showed the similarities between the McCarthy Era and the Salem Witch Trials.

    Read More

  • Fear and Manipulation in Arthur Miller's The Crucible

    1015 Words  | 3 Pages

    Fear holds a great control over any mortal human-being through daunting and restricted words, most commonly seen while anyone is under pressure. While being controlled over fear, you may come to realize that you are being manipulated to the possibilities of a threatened punishment and may also be mislead by lies. Arthur Miller’s classic novel, The Crucible takes place in Salem, Massachusetts, where a lot of times fear would be used to control anyone to blame another of witchcraft. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller elucidates this through Elizabeth Proctor, Abigail Williams, and Mary Warren, that fear holds a great torment on the truth.

    Read More

  • Arthur Miller's The Crucible

    546 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Crucible is a 1953 play by Arthur Miller. Initially, it was known as The Chronicles of Sarah Good. The Crucible was set in the Puritan town of Salem, Massachusetts. It talks of McCarthyism that happened in the late 1600’s whereby the general public and people like Arthur Miller were tried and persecuted. The Crucible exemplifies persecutions during the Salem Witch Trials. The people were convicted and hung without any tangible proof of committing any crime. Persecutions were the order of the day. When a finger was pointed at any individual as a witch, the Deputy Governor Danforth never looked for evidence against them or evidence that incriminated them; he ordered them to be hanged. This can be seen through his words “Hang them high over the town! Who weeps for those, weeps for corruption!” (1273), the people were persecuted aimlessly. The four main characters in the play, John Proctor, Abigail Adams, Reverend Hale and Reverend Parris, are caught in the middle of the witchcraft panic in the religious Salem, Massachusetts in late 1690’s. Persecution is the most important theme in the Crucible, the leaders and citizens of Salem attacks and persecutes one of their own without any tangible evidence against them.

    Read More

More about John Proctor's Reaction To The Crucible

Open Document