Cotton Mather “from: Wonders of the Invisible World.” contains an official court transcript of the trial against Martha Carrier. Carrier was accused of the crime of witchcraft, the evidence against her being spectral evidence and testimonies from other townsfolk. John Proctor goes through a similar trial in The Crucible by Arthur Miller. Proctor is eventually arrested for perjury and of witchcraft after going against the court. The Salem trial was headed by biased judges, who were given power through lying witnesses, making for a flawed court to execute John Proctor.
The court system itself had many faults, in that it was missing many components of a modern day court. A court today would throw out a case at the mention of a spectral yellow bird attacking the witnesses, but the Salem court fully accepted this as Mary Warren sending her shape out (106). Even if a court accepted spectral evidence as a viable option, the Salem court would still be missing two key things: a jury and a lawyer for the defense. Without an unbiased panel of jury members, John Proctor’s trial was left solely to the magistrates. These magistrates were biased and relied on the word of the unreliable witnesses, and Proctor should have been represented by a defense attorney to simply cross-examine the children; thus the witness’ lies would be revealed and conflicting accounts would be made. Danforth though, mentions several times that Proctor did not need one: “The pure in heart need no lawyers.” (86). This proves to be untrue as Proctor exposes his actual crime of lechery to the court, but is still hanged for witchcraft.
Accompanied with the flawed court, the judges were a major detriment to John Proctor’s case. Judge Danforth visibly takes Abigail William’s...
... middle of paper ...
...will leave and I will never come back again!” (103). She later does leave Salem entirely, leaving behind Danforth the truth, but he still refuses to see it.
John Proctor was hanged after refusing to confess for the crime the court had wrongfully determined he committed. John Proctor was not only forced to defend himself from Abigail Williams and Judge Danforth, but he also tried to undermine the flawed court of Salem. Proctor could not have possibly fought against a law that believes children over respected persons (87), spectral evidence over good opinion, and false testimonies over actual confessions (105). The Salem court was set up to eradicate any found witches, not to give them due process. Had John Proctor been tried in a modern day court, he would not even make it up to the stand; an unbiased judge would have thrown it out before it reached the courtroom.
The year 1692 was full of lies in Salem, Massachusetts. With a few exceptions, one of them being John Proctor, farmer and husband to Elizabeth Proctor. In all, 19 people were hanged during the Salem Witch Trials caused by lies in The Crucible. John Proctor tried to make things right by being a man of truth, was willing to stick up for innocent people, even if it meant his life and reputation diminished, and by being a man of pride.
...people his confession. If the rest of the town knew he had confessed, his image and his name would be destroyed. He wants his private life to remain private at least within the court. He begs for his privacy because it is so important to him. However, he changes his mind because his name is too important, and he is hung because of it. Proctor believes so strongly about the separation of public and private life, that he is willing to die for it.
Another counterargument is that he refused for the signed paper to go public, but that was because since Salem was such a small village, and your reputation basically defined you as a person. (ex: Sarah Good for being homeless), so him ‘confessing’ to be a witch would most likely ruin him, and his family’s reputations, so it is very understandable as to why he refused. The court also denied him of many rights he had, and had little to no evidence for him to be a witch. John Proctor should have been exonerated since the court had no actual evidence for him to be a witch, only saying he was due to him not attending church regularly, not remembering the commandments, plowing on Sundays, and his statement towards the end of the story without the court’s insight into it. There’s nothing logical about the evidence. The court also violated his rights in the 5th & 6th amendments, and denied him of fair treatment in the due
John Proctor, a prominent individual in both the Salem Witch Trials and The Crucible, was tried and executed for witchcraft in 1692.
Over 200 people were accused of witchcraft between 1962 and 1963 in the town of Salem. A dark time built upon the circle of lies that commenced from teenage girls searching for entertainment in an authoritarian Puritan society. One of those innocently accused and then later hanged was the tragic hero John Proctor. Proctor was a simple farmer who unjustly was brought into this circle because of his past. This is why Abigail Williams is most responsible for John Proctors death.
To begin with, Proctor was considered a strong person in the community, and he was respected for it. He was a handsome, hard-working, and revered man in the community. To the people of Salem, he was a dedicated farmer that had done nothing to blacken his family name. His attitude was “. . . even-tempered, and [he was] not easily lead. . .” by the rumors and hysteria surrounding Salem at the time of the witch accusations (Miller 21). When other were jumping to the conclusion of witchcraft and starting to fear, Proctor kept a realistic, skeptical look on the situation. Contrary to the ideas of the time, Proctor would miss church and openly disagree with Reverend Parris (Scheidt and Calandra). Despite this, he had a strong belief in God and followed his own moral standards more than strict rules the Puritan church set out at that time. He was revered in Salem as an honest man who always spoke his mind, and who had the ability to silence the hypocrites with his quick logic (Sparknotes Editors). Whenever Reverend Parris would try to tear Proctor down with criticism on his church attendance and Sunday activities, Proctor would always cou...
The Salem witch trials were a time period when any individual could be accused of witchcraft for numerous reasons. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller focuses on the deviation of the trials and how the town’s most religious and honest members of the community are tried with witchcraft. John Proctor, the town’s most honest man, is accused of being a witch and must decide if he should confess or not. Proctor’s confession will stop the town from rebelling and uphold the reputations of Deputy Governor Danforth and Reverend Parris. Hale also wishes for Proctor’s confession so he does not have to feel responsible if Proctor were to be hanged for his witchcraft accusations. The confession of Proctor would convince others in the town to confess to their
A judge is someone who presides over court proceedings, and makes impartial decisions in the pursuit of justice. Danforth is a loyal judge to the court and is passionate about making sure justice is served. When Proctor and Cory try to free their wives, he informs them that, “In an ordinary crime… one calls up witnesses to prove his innocence. But witchcraft is… on its face and by its nature, an invisible crime… Therefore, who may possibly be witness to it? The witch and the victim. None other. Now we cannot hope the witch will accuse herself; granted? Therefore, we must rely upon her victims… ” (Pg. 93) Danforth has authority in the court and has the power to determine who is guilty and who is innocent. Deep down inside, Danforth probably realizes that by relying on spectral evidence, innocent people will probably be hung; yet, he goes through with it because he values the court system. Miller also used the theme of reputation to illustrate how society can pressure individuals into going against what they think is right. Although he might not realize it, Danforth is afraid that going against the court trials for individuals he thinks are innocent could damage his reputation as a judge. Then when Proctor has Mary Warren, one of the accusers, confess that she lied about witchcraft, Danforth thoroughly interrogates her to make certain that her new claim is the truth. He says, “ you tell me that you sat in my court, callously lying,
The Crucible was a rather strong book, it had battles both internal and external, there were also betrayals and vendettas… but a few stuck strong to their morals of what was wrong, and what was right. After the girl’s acts were, undoubtedly, in the eyes of the law, seen as entirely real, people who would not otherwise have been accused of witchcraft were now eligible to be under Satan’s spell. One John Proctor, saw himself above the nonsense, that witches could not exist in Salem, his wife, his children nor him; But, when Mary Warren said to the court that he used his spirit to drag her into court to testify against the girls, the judges deemed her word more truthful than his. After actively and repeatedly denying the claims, he was sentenced to death, for only a witch could lie in the face of god.
Another important work Miller wrote, The Crucible, takes place in Salem, Massachusetts, during the 17th century. It is a time when jealousy and suspicion poisoned the thinking of an entire town. Neighbor turned against neighbor when events happened that could not be explained. Accusations turned into a mad hunt for witches who did not exist. One of the main characters of the play is John Proctor, a well-respected man with a good name in the town. As the play develops, John Proctor’s moral dilemma becomes evident: he must decide whether to lie and confess to witchcraft in order to save his life, or to die an honest man, true to his beliefs.
Lies. Death. Affairs. John Proctor had fornication with Abigail, who hates his wife and would do anything to make sure she was out of the picture. Abigail started the talk of witchcraft because her and the girls were caught dancing in the woods and she did not want to get into any trouble. John died because he was accused of witchcraft . Reverend Hale came into town and aided in pursuing the “witchcraft hunt”. In the book The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, Hale is the most responsible for John Proctor’s death because when he arrived in town he started the gossip of witchcraft, he pressured and inquired the girls to give him a name, and he left the court when he could have tried to salvage the innocent people.
...and accusations. The extend to which Abigail has manipulated Judge Danforth is shown here. Danforth’s unconditional reliability in Abigail motivated the people in Salem to accused each other to save their own skins. This brought about chaos and commotion to the people of Salem.
John Proctor is, at first, willing to offer up a false confession that his life may be spared. Inevitably, John Proctor possesses that fateful attribute known to fall fatal to many human beings - pride. While he has, indeed, been ashamed of his many sins throughout his life, Proctor's soul still clings to his pride and his good name, however soiled it may have become. On the morning scheduled for his execution, Proctor wrestles with the realization that one more sin so heaped upon the rest in his life will make precious little difference in the end; "I cannot mount the gibbet like a saint. It is a fraud. I am not that man.... My honesty is broke... I am no good man. Nothing's spoiled by giving them this lie." (126) He attempts to calm his pride by telling himself that the other accused witches who will not give false testimony to save themselves from the gallows have every right to do so; they led lives free of blame. He, however, he tells himself, did no such thing; what right has he to hang among the righteous? "Let them that never lied die now to keep their souls. It is pretense for me, a vanity that will nor blind God nor keep my children out of the wind." (126) Thus the conviction first reached by John Proctor is to save his life rather than to throw it away in mock martyrdom.
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.
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.