Proctor's Contribution to the Effectiveness of Arthur Miller's The Crucible

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Proctor's Contribution to the Effectiveness of Arthur Miller's The Crucible The name 'John Proctor' resembles a man of utmost character and dominance. From when he first enters the scene of the play, he instantly makes a huge impact on the atmosphere on stage before he even mutters a word. No matter where you are in the Salem, there is no way you can ignore or disregard his presence. John Proctor is the heart of this play and is the key contributor to the striking effectiveness of Arthur Miller's dark and mysterious drama. Due to his extreme authority and command on the stage, Proctor always seems to be at the centre of conflict within the play. Whenever he appears, he is always liable to create a sense of insecurity. He is the source of tensional conflict and because of this, he has a very distinct effect on the characters that surround him. Proctor's attendance is always made incredibly obvious and this alone gives people difficulty feeling comfortable when he is around. One of the best examples of this is expressed when he first enters the play, giving Mary Warren quite a serious fright: "Enter John Proctor. On seeing him, Mary Warren leaps in fright."(p16) As said before, he has not even muttered or said a word. His reputation and personal conveyance is enough to disturb others. "Be you foolish Mary Warren? Be you deaf? I forbid you to leave the house, did I not? Why shall I pay you? I am looking for you more often than my cows!" (p16) "I'll show you a great doin' on your arse one of these days. Now get you home, my wife is waitin' with your work!" (p16) These quotes emphasise that this man's bite is just as ... ... middle of paper ... ...s up to fall back down. - Vehicle of protest against social disorder: by expressing Miller's thoughts. Arthur Miller put his own heart and soul into the character of John Proctor and as a result placed himself and the audience into the play. Thus, he has expressed his opinions to the crowd and given them an underlying habit of thought concerning the social disorder in modern society. Without a character like Proctor in this play, Arthur Miller would have had a harder time creating drama and conflict. It would have been difficult to raise interests and affairs concerning the audience and there would have been no way to reach such a climatic ending. As said before, Proctor is the key contributor to the striking effectiveness of this story and without some to play a role like this, a play is just not the same.

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