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Character analysis of john proctor essay
Character analysis of john proctor essay
Character analysis of john proctor essay
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In the play The Crucible we find ourselves in a love triangle. This is between Abigail Williams, John Proctor, and Elizabeth Proctor. It is all over a silly man, that and getting caught for doing what is believed that a few teenaged girls were not being the proper girls that fit in this time frame. This was strongly frowned upon. Something that we realize as we read the play is that there is a major role between two women and this keeps both the trials and the issues alive. Elizabeth is a mother and a wife, she has two boys and her husband was John Proctor. They were not the typical townsfolk. She had keep what is referred as a cold house. This meaning that she was not the proper wife and this really strained on their relationship. It is prominent that the life for Elizabeth was not an easy ride. She was ill for a while and during this time Abigail had taken advantage and made the affair with John. There was pain and the need to feel loved between the two. In all honesty, Elizabeth is the victim. In all truth, she was the wife of the man that Abigail wanted. Elizabeth was the target for the scored woman. …show more content…
She worked for the Proctor family which back in this time frame this was not uncommon. We do not have the full story behind any of the characters in the play. Although we are given important information. Abigail being rejected by John and fired from her services at the Proctor’s home. She still believed that she loved John. She had the mindset of a psychopath. As we have learned after the truth began to come out and the true reason she called for Elizabeth, she became very defensive in her reactions. This should have stopped when the truth of the affair came
The first reason Abigail is to blame for the deaths of the innocent Puritans is her lustful personal ambition to be John Proctor’s wife. John and Abigail previously had an affair, which basically began the hysteria. An exasperated John attempted to tell Abigail the affair is a thing of the past, by saying, “Abby, I may think of you softly from time to time. But I will cut off my hand before I’ll ever reach for you again.” Abigail, however, relentlessly strives to keep their “romance” alive. Because of this intense jealousy of John’s wife, there is an enormous amount of tension between Abigail Williams and Elizabeth Proctor. Abigail even goes as far as to consume a potion with the intent to murder Elizabeth, which Betty confronts her about by saying, “You drank a charm to kill John Proctor’s wife! You drank a charm to kill Goody Proctor!” Abigail is so envious of Elizabeth, she does the unthinkable by accusing her of witchcraft. She claims that Goody Proctor’s spirit came to her and stabbed her with a needle. She felt that if she could dispose of Elizabeth Proctor, she could take her rightful position as John’s wife.
Before the play takes place, Abigail Williams and John Proctor had an affair while Abigail was working as a servant in their home. Eventually, John confessed and apologized to Elizabeth, pledging his faithfulness to her. Nonetheless, at the time the play takes place, Elizabeth still hasn’t fully forgiven him, and gives him a hard time about it. Abigail confessed the pretense of her accusations to him when they were alone, and now he has no way to prove that she’s lying to the court. But because he was alone with her again, Elizabeth becomes angry with him. She still doubts her husband because she feels that if it were any other girl he had to go testify against, he would not hesitate. But, because it’s Abigail, John feels he has to think harder on making a decision. He doesn’t want his name spoiled by a counter-testimony. John feels he is now justified in becoming angry because for the seven months since his confession, he has done nothing but try to please his wife, and she still approaches him with suspicion and accusatio...
She was put in the middle of the situation because she lied to the court about the affair with Abigail not knowing that John already admitted to it. That situation made both Elizabeth and John look bad. Some say that the truths will you set you free but in this case all it did was digging a deeper hole for the Proctor’s. Abigail tried to say that Elizabeth was dancing with the devil and the people believed it and started prosecuting every potential
Throughout Act I and II Elizabeth Proctor is a cold, yet moral character. Elizabeth had just recently found out that her husband had an affair with their housekeeper, Abigail. Elizabeth’s relationship with John is now cold as ice, which makes her suspicious. In Act II Elizabeth asks John, “You were alone with her?” John then replies, “Woman. I’ll not have your suspicion anymore.” (1237). When the couple discusses the affair, it starts to show us how skeptical she is of John and the whole relationship.
When faced with all the false accusations, she also exhibited grace, good judgment, and dignified behavior. Her case involves a love triangle between her, Abigail Williams and John Proctor. I couldn't imagine being in her shoes where you are forced to face both your internal dilemma of whether to forgive your husband and an external one. The jealousy and wickedness of a young girl who used to be Elizabeth’s husband’s mistress is the main reason why she is accused and charged. Abigail Williams childishly refuses to accept the truth when she was rejected by John Proctor. She plotted against his wife, Elizabeth, in a desperate attempt to take her husband and also, her place in the society as a mistress of a prospering home. Elizabeth Proctor bravely replies, “I cannot think the Devil may own a woman's soul, Mr. Hale, when she keeps an upright way as I have. I am a good woman, I know it; and if you believe I may do only good work in the world, and yet be secretly bound to Satan, then I must tell you I do not believe it.” when questioned by Reverend Hale. Furthermore, she exhibits a much greater strength and courage than her husband, despite her gentle and meek appearance. Elizabeth is the one who is not afraid to speak her mind openly and plainly and is not afraid to stand up to the judges. At one point she inspired her husband to act in a similar way when she openly challenged the doctrine. Elizabeth was the
Basically there is not an evil bone in her body. Elizabeth lied about John’s adultery to protect him, saying he’s a “goodly man” (113). Yes, that does not sound like that big of a deal, but for Elizabeth this is a monumental thing. She's going against everything she believes in, even her own morals of being a good christian morals and following the ten commandments to protect John. This is shows her selflessness on a higher level because she such a strong will women. Another example of her selflessness is when she asks John to “forgive” (137) her for being “cold wife” (137). Elizabeth does this because she begins to believe that she is the reason John committed adultery. Elizabeth said “ it were a cold house I kept” (137), which goes to show she believed she was the reactant which led to the product of Johns mistake. Selflessness is shown because first, she is taking on the responsibility so John does not worry and blame himself. In the movie she saved his life for a little longer because she gave him some self worth and made him feel like a better person. If she would not have told John it was her fault he would of died with the burden of ruining the family, but instead she took the responsibility. Secondly she comes to think that because she was self conscious and did not lover herself she was “cold” (137) or did not let her husband love her. This made her believe that she made him feel like there was little compassion between him and her which led John to give “a promise that a stallion gives a mare” (62) to Abigail. Elizabeth is all around a selfless human being. Always trying to make it better for the other person and take the responsibility on her self which is opposite of
Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible is a story about Puritans, a group of people not happy with the path religion was taking and were in search of reform. The Puritans in this play live in Salem, Massachusetts and it takes place in 1692. In this story Arthur Miller tells the reader about the Red Scare and the Salem Witch Trials. The Red Scare was Miller’s way of addressing mass hysteria induced by ignorant people searching for trust and acceptance in the colonies. The Salem Witch Trials are an example of the society’s needs to conform to the political, social, and religious beliefs of the time. The girls and their actions in The Crucible represent the unknown and the threat to the court system. Each of the women in Arthur Miller’s play represent and display many different views and characteristics that are still present to this day.
Elizabeth is often cold and not open towards people yet she changes as the novel progresses. Abigail accuses her friends and the townspeople of witchcraft; her motivations for turning against her friends are mainly because of Elizabeth Proctor. Abigail had an affair with Elizabeth's husband, which made Elizabeth fire Abigail. Abigail is in love with John and while talking to him she says, "I wake and walk about the house as though I'd find you comin' through some door" (Act I). This illustrates her love towards John and that she will never forget their affair and how Elizabeth broke them up.
Abigail was able to easily deceive and manipulate the court to try and get what she had set her eyes on, being John Proctor; a much older, married man who had had an affair with Abigail once when she was a sort of servant in his household. After finding of this, his wife Elizabeth had banished Abigail from their house. Abigail sought revenge...
Elizabeth had a good personality and an even better attitude. Elizabeth was respectful, loving and kind. When Cheever and Hale came to Proctor’s house to take Elizabeth away she told Proctor, “John – I think I must go with them. Mary, there is bread enough for the morning; you will bake, in the afternoon. Help Mr. Proctor as you were his daughter – you owe me that, and much more. To Proctor: when the children wake, speak nothing of witchcraft – it will frighten them” (Act II pg 77). While Elizabeth was about to be arrested she goes to Mary and tells her to take care of her family while she was away. Elizabeth was only concerned about her family; she wanted to make sure her family was taken care of. Elizabeth showed respect by agreeing to go with Hale and not argue about her arrest. Elizabeth also showed kindness and her love for her family by making sure her husband and sons were taken care of, she was concerned for her family more than she was concerned about what will happen to her later. Elizabeth’s actions were just as caring as her personality and attitude. John Proctor confessed to committing adultery with Abigail, Danforth brought Elizabeth into the court to see if Proctor was telling him the truth. When Elizabeth was in court Danforth told ...
The Crucible is one of the most bizarre accounts of a historical event to date. The naïveté of the townspeople leads them down a road of madness and confusion, led by a shameless Puritan girl. Abigail Williams was a ruthless girl who showed no mercy upon accusing her victims of witchcraft. Knowing the entire town of Salem would believe her and the other girls, she would not hesitate at charging anyone she wished with the crime of the Devil’s work. However, a challenge arose to Abigail when she decided to accuse Elizabeth Proctor, and eventually her husband John, of witchcraft. The Proctor marriage was not just any simple marriage; it had its times of cold shoulders, heartfelt truth, and undying love.
From the beginning, she established a licentious and conniving character by having intercourse with John Proctor, while she was out of wedlock, and while he was married to Elizabeth. While ranting, Abigail says, “ She is blackening my name in the village! She is telling lies about me! .She is a cold, sniveling woman, and you bend to her! Let her turn you like a -” (23-24). One of the only things Abigail ever cared about was her “name” within the village. Williams went to extreme lengths to protect her “name” and she was fine with destroying other people's’ lives, reputation, and dignity. Abigail also says, “You loved me, John Proctor, and whatever sin it is, you love me yet! John, pity me, pity me” (24)! By blinding herself with the false idea of someone loving her, Abigail she destroys her self value by asking for the pity of the man who fails to love her back. She would rather have her name pure than admit she danced in the woods, and receive a light whipping. Instead, she seeks revenge on a legitimate housewife, and takes the entire village with her to the
The true antagonist of the play is the town of Salem itself, because of the judgemental and self concerned peoples, and its oppressive views. Abigail;s outrageous actions are due to her desensitized views on death and actions otherwise viewed as unethical. From her youth ABigail recalls: “ I saw indians smash my dear parents’ head on the pillow next to mine and i have seen some reddish work at night” (Miller 20), because of this Abigail is numb to death and suffering and is in fact quite morbid. There is no problem in condemning other to death in Abigail’s eyes because she doesn’t see the issue with it. Abigail does not seem to comprehend that it is unethical to let people be hanged and stoned to death and has no issue telling others that she “ can make you wish you had never seen the sun go down” (Miller 20). Not only is Abigail desensitized to murder and death, she is also numb to other unethical dilemmas. Abigail is desensitized to corrupting the Proctor’s marriage because of her childish lust and obsession for John Proctor. Such desires can be seen through her encounters with Proctor. In regards to their so called “relationship” she says: “it’s she put me out, you cannot pretend it were you. I saw your face when she put me out, and you loved me then and you love me now!” (Miller 22). Abigail does not view her behavior t...
Elizabeth Proctor has many moments which show how she is changing throughout the play. When she is trying to persuade Proctor to tell the court that Abigail said the girls were not practicing witchcraft, Elizabeth blurts out, "John, if it were not Abigail that you must go to hurt, would you falter now? I think not." Elizabeth is confessing that she believes Proctor had an affair with Abigail. She is giving him no mercy by showing that she will never forget what happened. When Elizabeth is being accused of stabbing Abigail, she instructs Proctor to go to court, and tells him "Oh, John, bring me soon!" Elizabeth is gaining trust in John. She is forgetting his act of adultery and now has faith that he will defend her. At the end of the play, when Proctor is sentenced to death, Elizabeth says that "he [has] his goodness now. God forbid I take it from him!" Elizabeth is admitting that John was righteous to confess his sin of lechery, and she should have pardoned him. She considers herself impure for not showing mercy, and does not want to take away from his glory. Elizabeth has transformed from an ignorant victim of adultery, to a forgiving, loving wife.
The year is 1692 in Salem, a small town in Massachusetts, and the Puritans community is in serious trouble. In the story “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller, the Puritans community is in the Salem court where John Proctor admits to committing adultery to Abigail Williams who at the time was very young. Abigail Williams is where the court started after she is involved in the case where John Proctor is accused of committing adultery with her. Abigail also lead the girls and their witchcraft accusations in court. Abigail truly believed that John Proctor still had love for her.