John Proctor's Struggle in Miller's The Crucible

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John Proctor's Struggle in Miller's The Crucible

Coursework

The Massachusetts Bay Colony was founded by a group of Puritan

settlers who arrived from England in 1630. The Massachusetts Bay

colony was driven by the religious principles of Congregationalism.

Each church and its community were supposed to be independent, but in

fact they all followed the same strict code of belief and behavior.

Members of the congregation who swayed from these norms were severely

punished. As the community were strong Puritans, executions were

public, and could take the form of hanging, beheading or pressing to

death, if not a less cruel punishment would take place such as an ear,

nose or limb being cut off.

In 1692 In Salem Massachusetts, many people, both men and women, were

hung for being witches. Arthur Miller based 'The Crucible' on the

Salem witchcraft trails. When the witchcraft hysteria hit Salem, the

jails were full of people accused of witchcraft and being in contact

with the devil or 'evil'. As they were such a solid Puritan religion,

they assosciated any kind of witchcraft with Satan.

The whole witchcraft hysteria began with young girls, being rebellious

and dancing naked in the forest. When discovered, the children pointed

fingers at many innocent people, so they themselves would not be

punished for being involved in witchcraft. The whole situation soon

grew beyond everybody's control, but in December of 1692, the jails

were cleared and all persons under suspicion were free once again.

However, by this time nineteen people had been hanged one pressed for

not confessing to this then thought crime, and at least two more

people...

... middle of paper ...

..., and she, as well as Proctor himself, can see the goodness in

him. John Proctor has found, and what's more faced, his essential

goodness, but more importantly people close to him recognised it in

him.

Throughout the play John Proctor has wavered and at times lacked

courage. We discovered his weaknesses. We know about his lechery with

Abigail. This disturbed character is a tragic hero, he is flawed, as

he has not been completely faithful to Elizabeth. He does, however,

redeem himself by almost insisting he give up his own life, along with

the support and well-earned respect from his saintly friends and

loving wife. At the very end of the play, he has found his strength

and a belief in himself, that he was desperately struggling to

discover. He goes to his death with dignity and courage, his

self-respect restored.

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