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The theme of power in the crucible
Characterisation in the crucible
The theme of power in the crucible
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Gilbert-Jimenez Hiram
Period 1
9/23/2015
The Crucible At the end of the play, John proctor is faced with the biggest calamity of his life. He was given the the choose to lie and say he is a witch or stand by his honesty and die as a marauder. john proctor name was everything to him. It made him who he is so he based his actions on it.. John wanted to live and keep his good name John Proctor refused verbally saying that he is a witch, or even signing an document because of his christian identity. He faced this hard trial hoping he would find himself again after the tragic affair. He knew if he would have lied he would have to stand before God on the day of his trial and answer for the sins he has committed.
At one part in Act 4 he signs the paper but refuses to show anybody he signed. He did this because all though he would rather die for the truth, he knew his sons would be orphans and have no father. Also his wife Elizabeth was pregnant and it just made his death sentence worse. John felt even if he did lie and lived, his sons would be forever ashamed of him. John is really stubborn when it comes to living up to his name to the point of death. John has no
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He tried finding some other way possible to stay alive without showing guilt. He Faced internal struggle with himself to confess of witchcraft. “It is evil is it not, It is evil” (The Crucible, Act 4) He knew the trial had been corrupted because of Abigail deceitful tongue. It only lead him believe in his truth and stand his ground. The whole village had be corrupted in john eyes. Abigail, floundering with lies, got so many people exacted, so John felt it in his power to stop this madness. He would not let evil prevail. He had hated Abigail and everything that she stood for. He wanted to be the opposite which influenced his final decision. Salem would be the same knowing hatred and lies were spread all throughout the
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.
In the final act, John went crazy after he signed a contract admitting he was a witch. He claimed the only thing he had left besides his family was his name and it's all he wanted to keep. Soon he was pushed over the edge and ripped up the paper, taking his pride away with him. Rebecca Nurse and other people from the village made John feel ashamed for signing the paper, this made a major impact on his final decision also. John was killed with his “good name”.
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 well-respected man in the city of Salem has a deep secret that plays a major role later on in the story. He had an intimate affair with a younger single girl named Abigail which he regrets greatly. Proctor shows his disgust when he argues with Abigail by insisting, “Abby I never give you hope to wait for me” (page168). Proctor exclaims that he surely regrets his sin and doesn’t want Abigail to think that he loves her and not his own wife. Although Proctor may still have feelings about Abigail he reassures her that he will never have emotional relationships with her ever again. He had the ultimate opportunity to get back at Abigail and stop the witch trials from happening when he meets Abigail alone in the woods; upon their encounter she confesses to John, “We were dancing in the woods last night and my uncle leaped in ...
He misled Abigail into falling in love with him. He refused to have a relationship with Abigail, in return she accused people of witchcraft. John Proctor was hanged due to the conspiracy of black magic. However, John always said that kind of magic never existed.
This creates tension in the home between John and Elizabeth Proctor. “You were alone with her?” Elizabeth says, John responds “for a moment alone aye” “why then it is not what you told me”.(222) This angers John because he is floating in his guilt for being unfaithful to his wife. Its builds a strain on their marriage and keep the couple in a cold house. Proctor has been faith full to his religion, only attending church only once a month. These actions put more reason for people to suspect that john is participating in witchcraft. “I am no good man. Nothing's spoiled by giving them this lie that were not rotten long before.”(239) John is selfish by going with the lie saying, he participated in witchcraft than to confess and say he didn’t to be with his wife and his unborn child. John lived in a lie and he Salem government took his life from
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
If he lived, he felt he would be alive but with no purpose. To survive, and falsely confess to witchcraft, John knew he would lose his name in the town. When asked why he refused to sign a declaration binding himself to the devil Proctor responded, “ Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies! Because I am not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang! How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name” (MIller, 1163)!
By sleeping with Abigail Williams he had completely lost his honor and all hope for a reputable reputation, but towards the end of the story, John begins to realize his sins and the mess that has been made by one foolish act. John slowly beings to attempt redemption to his prestige. In the final act of this performance, John has a choice to make; save his own life by signing a confession to witchcraft, or be sentenced to hang if he did not. At first he began to lie, signing the false confession, then he snatched it back, “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 my how black my sins are! It is enough!” John does not want his name and his false confession hanging in public for all to see, his name means too much to him. John also talks about the effects it would have on his sons, “I have three children-how may I teach them to walk like men in the world, and I sold my friends?” In John’s eyes it would be more honorable to die than to hang his lie for all to see. All would know it was a lie, and how could John raise his sons, living a lie? In short, John’s reputation meant more to him than his
... integrity are among the most important things. He also uses Proctor to demonstrate what an unjust system can do to an individual with good intents. The play is a parallel to the anti-Communist McCarthy era. Through John Proctor we see the ludicrous nature of mass hysteria that exists when society has gone awry.
John Proctor faces many decisions in response to his moral dilemma to try to save his life. One of the difficult decisions John makes is to reveal that he had an affair with Abigail Williams and thereby has committed adultery. If the local court convicts him of this crime, he faces being jailed. Also by admitting this crime, John reveals a weakness in his character. This flaw in his personality will make it harder for him to stand up in the community as an honorable and believable person. In trying to convince others that witchcraft does not exist John’s dishonesty with his wife will make him less convincing to the community.
“I have given you my soul, leave me my name” (143). John Proctor does not want people to look at him and think that he is a witch, and he knows that they will if he signs to it. Proctor admitted to witchcraft; though he wasn’t guilty, but it was only to save his life; he knows that he isn’t a witch, and the people who were there to hear him admit to it don’t matter because they will think that he is a witch anyhow and he doesn’t care to change their minds.
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.
Abigail accuses innocent people of witchcraft, including John’s wife, Elizabeth. She does this so her and John would be together and Elizabeth wouldn’t be in his life, even after John told Abigail he does not love her. He faces this crucible throughout the play and changes his demeanor towards Abigail. John becomes infuriated and he wants to expose Abigail for making false accusations of witchcraft, although it might include his confession of adultery. John eventually confesses his sin of adultery but refuses for it to be made public and posted on the church door, resulting in his
In the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller goes into detail about the historical event, the Salem witchcraft trials which took place in Massachusetts in 1692. The drama centers on John and Elizabeth Proctor and a young girl Abigail Williams, whom John Proctor has committed adultery with. In order to get rid of Elizabeth so that Abigail can have John to herself Abigail accuses John’s wife of witchcraft, a crime that was highly frowned upon. John proctor goes through a series of changes from being a horrible person who cheated on his wife to a tragic hero who will give up his life to say his wife. John proctor is viewed as many things in this play but at the end he come out an honest and noble man.