Characteristics Of John Proctor In The Crucible

What traits are dominant in John Proctor? Everyone knows the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller. In said play there are many important characters and their main traits. This paper is going to be discussing the three dominant traits of one of the characters. Now the character John Procter has three traits that are seen more than others in the play. These traits are that he is mostly honest, somewhat emotionally damaged, and last but not least is that he is tormented by his own decisions.

Speaking of his desires the first trait that will be discussed is how he is tormented by his own decisions. Arthur Miller wrote that John had an affair with a young girl in his community named Abigail Williams (Miller 14). He had trouble staying away from the girl who refused to let him end the affair. The author wrote that Proctor refused to give up the confession that he signed saying “I like not to spoil their names.” (Miller 61)..” He was tormented by this decision because he did not want to die but also he did not want to ruin the good names of his friends and himself.

There are many instances that show this but one major instance is when he says “What others say and what I sign to is not the same!” (Miller 62) He knows that signing a confession to save his and the other people who were accused that refuse to lie and say that they are guilty is wrong and not honest. His honesty also shows when he says “ Because it speaks deceit, and I am Honest!” (Miller 31) He knows that if he told the court of what Abigail told him in private that they will not believe him and that he would be lying about hearing it in a crowd with no witnesses. He does not agree with lying in order to get the truth out when it is done in a deceitful