Fear, Death, Hysteria, Life; all of these words describe the award-winning play, The Crucible by Arthur Miller. The play is an elegant story of controversy, death, and human emotion following the events of the Salem Witch trials. An aspect of the play is the appearance of characters willing to Live or die for their own selfless or selfish reasons. Some characters will live and die for the sake of their peers and their morals, while others will live and die for the sake of their reputation and getting what they want. An aspect of selflessness and especially honesty portrayed in the play is the idea of sticking to your morals and not changing to please others. A character that is a prime example of these traits would be John Proctor. John reflects …show more content…
Even despite this John is still human, you see this when explained in Act I that, “ He is a sinner, a sinner not only against the moral fashion of the time, but against his own vision of decent conduct” (Miller 19). This explains that John has sinned in the past, however, he feels guilty about it as it didn’t follow his own morals. The regretful sin he committed was having an affair with a 17-year-old girl, Abigail Williams. Even despite this, John is a man of god. John is later prosecuted in Act II because he does not actively attend church, John didn’t attend church because of the action of Reverend Parris. This action shows that John isn’t afraid to say what he feels and will not be easily influenced by those around him. John’s resolve is put to the test when he goes to court in Act III and is put on the spot of if he sinned or not. John isn’t afraid however and admits to his wrongdoing. The court is astonished to hear this, but those who know and love John don’t hold this against him and know he is regretful of his past actions. All of these actions remain as just drops of rain in the storm of morality that is John Proctor’s actions in Act IV. In this act, John’s truth is truly tested, as he has been …show more content…
Abigail attempted to have Tituba conjure up something that would kill Elizabeth Proctor so that Abigail could be with John Proctor instead. This action shows Abigail’s resolve and the selfishness that she believes it takes to be with John Proctor. In Act II Abigail plays a minor role in the grand scheme of things, however, she is responsible for getting Elizabeth Proctor accused of witchcraft. Abigail lies about a poppet that Elizabeth supposedly stabbed with a needle which then stabbed Abigail. Abigail is so determined she would literally stab herself in the stomach with a needle just to have the chance to get rid of Elizabeth. Abigail believes that if Elizabeths gone then she would take her place as John Proctor’s wife. Abigail is mischievous in nature and tries whatever she can to keep her supposed innocence in the court. She portrays herself as a victim. She shows this when she says to Judge Dandorth, ““I have been hurt, Mr. Danforth; I have seen my blood runnin’ out! I have been near to murdered every day because I done my duty pointing out the Devil’s people-and this is my reward? To be mistrusted, denied, questioned like a- (Miller 100). Abigail is pleading for her innocence and is in turn showing just how easily she’s able to lie. In Act IV Abigail does something seemingly out of nowhere. Abigail leaves town. Did she do this because she regretted her actions? Did she finally realize all of those
Now that Reverend Hale is seeing through the girls lies, John receives more confidence having a high authority member on his side. Unfortunately, Hales strong recommendations have no affect and John must figure out a way to prove his wife’s innocence. The court finds her illness suspicious and relates it back to witchcraft. At this point John knew the only way to help himself come to terms with his decisions and help not only his wife, but the names of all of the innocent lives and families affected by the trials, he must confess his adultery. By admitting to his sin, he will show Abigail’s true intentions behind all of the accusations and slander the girls created.
John has been cynical of the trials and proceedings all along, and knows he can’t be hypocritical any longer. He discovers this once Rebecca Nurse is able to maintain her innocence in front of the council. In her own words Rebecca says, “Why, it is a lie, it is a lie; how may I damn myself? I cannot, I cannot.” John making this sacrifice shows parallels to the beliefs of the Puritans’ holy figure, Jesus.
He does not come to this decision right away and first decides to confess to witchcraft in order to live before it is revealed that his confession will be nailed to the church door. He cannot bear to see his signature tied to lies and begs Judge Danforth to “leave [him his] name,” because, like the beginning of the play, he wants to protect it, but this time from sin rather than the judgement of his community (143). By refusing to commit another sin, John is finally able to forgive himself and expresses this by declaring that “[he does] think [he sees] some shred of goodness in [himself],” (144). This decision is both an expression of self preservation, because he is saving himself in the name of his religion, and righteousness, because is doing what is best for the largest amount of
He has grown a major self-hate based on the affair and what trouble it had led to. John’s exposition tells us he is honest, strong, and independent even though we find John to be a hypocrite. His unloyal actions through acts one through four and lies prove that he has lost his way. When in prison for the accusation of witchcraft, John is given the chance to plead guilty and live out his sentence. Leaving his wife Elizebeth to convince him to confess, he says the following to her, “I cannot mount the gibbet like a saint.
Abigail has several motives for her actions, which evolve and become more iniquitous as the plot evolves. Abigail’s motives include protecting herself during the trial, ensuring the destruction of Elizabeth’s relationship with John Proctor, and stopping anyone who tries to get in her way. Her deception contributes to several themes throughout the play, including the destructive
He knows what he is doing, as he has a child on the way, and his name is more important to him than his own life. To ensure that his family wouldn't have to bear the consequences of his actions, he takes his own life and keeps his pride. All of this supports the case of John, as the tragic hero, because he started off the story very high up in social relations, and his own actions cause him to fall to the bottom, and die. This same superiority is what originally fed into his very own pride. John Proctor is the tragic hero of this story because of his both selfish and selfless action of not confessing
In Act II, it hints to the fact that John had told his wife about his affair and that he wanted to make up for his unforgivable behavior. Admitting to his wife about the affair took a lot of courage since religion at that time was major part of their life and he had committed
Abigail becomes jealous and resentful of his wife Elizabeth. She sees the witch trials as a way to get revenge on Elizabeth and remove her as a rival for Proctor's affections. Abigail uses the trials to falsely accuse Proctor of witchcraft, in order to eliminate him as an obstacle and to keep him from exposing the truth about their past relationship. All tragic heroes must also meet a tragic end, but Proctor's death, while dire, is not the result of his actions or tragic flaw. Proctor chooses to die rather than falsely confess to witchcraft, but his death is ultimately a result of the unjust and corrupt legal system of the witch trials, rather than any flaw in his character.
Abigail seeked out venges against John Proctor therefore targeting his wife. In her head she decided that if she couldn’t be with John then no one else could. Abigail saw that the people were afraid, vulnerable and took advantage of the situation to try and save herself. She was afraid that the public will find about her affair with John Proctor, and about the witchcraft that happened that night in the forest.
Someone may not know straight off the bat that the word “salem” is used to refer to halloween, witches and other creepy things you might see. And this play depicts hysteria and this fear so well throughout it. In the play The Crucible, by Arthur Miller playwright there were many absurd events displayed as well as showing what times were like during the 1600’s in Salem Massachusetts. There were many characters that played a significant role in playing out these tragic events in the 1600s.
Abigail is jealous of everyone but mostly Elizabeth Proctor. She yells at John saying, “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 –” (Miller 24).
It is discovered earlier in the play that Abigail and John Proctor had an affair while she worked under him. She still remains to be in love with him although he has lost all feelings and decides to stay loyal to his wife. This leads to Abigail wanting to get rid of Elizabeth Proctor and she is willing to do anything to do so. In act two after Hale visits the Proctor home to question their relationship with God, Cheever walks in with a warrant for Elizabeth’s arrest. After John asks who charged his wife with witchcraft, Cheever responds with “Why, Abigail Williams charge her”(Miller).
John’s friends and loved ones are being falsely accused of witchcraft, and he decides to fight for the justice of the wrongfully accused. John Proctor is a hero, even though he has flaws; he shows his heroism by rejecting Abigail, putting his reputation in jeopardy for Elizabeth, and dies an honest man. By rejecting Abigail, John shows great heroism. John is not
Seeing this as an opportunity to gain the man she loves, John Proctor, she then accuses his wife of being a witch. Abigail lies throughout the entire story, and at the end, she runs away. This shows how Abigail is a deceiver and is
Proctor is used to show how one’s goodness can still remain intact after faltering and doing what is wrong. Before the events of the play, Proctor lusts and commits adultery with the antagonist, Abigail Williams, and this burden weighs over him during most of the play. However, he realises that he must do what is right when he proclaims “[a] man may think God sleeps, but God sees everything… it is a whore’s vengeance”(110). Here, John is understanding that it is more important to his honour that confess and attempt to put an end to the hysteria that Abigail has ensued because of her affection for John as opposed to maintaining the secrecy of their relationship, which would be betraying his wife and acting in cowardice. When he does this, John leaves his integrity intact but has sacrificed his reputation as a moral man for the sake of honour.