Arthur Miller the author of The Crucible displays important characteristics of one of the main characters Proctor. Proctor expresses many different characteristics in the novel, but the two that most stand out are pride and guilt. These characteristics help and hurt Proctor throughout the novel. During The Crucible, Proctor expresses his pride in many situations. Even though his pride leads him to his death, he was still an honest man. Pride is a very important and worthy quality to have. At the end of the novel in act four his pride overcame him. Proctor would not sign the paper for his confession, " No, no. I have signed it .You have seen me. It is done! You have no need for this."(Act 4, pg142). Proctors pride results to him not signing …show more content…
From his actions and feelings you can tell that he his haunted by the affair with Abigail. He shows lots of guilt and tries to rebuild his relationship with his wife Elizabeth. In act two Proctor tries to show affection towards Elizabeth to get her back, "It's winter in here yet. On Sunday let you come with me, and we'll walk the farm together"(Act 2, pg.52). Elizabeth’s response isn’t very loving or enthusiastic, showing the pain she still has from the affair. Proctor expresses how guilty he feels from his sin and how he wants to transform into a better person and husband. Proctor in act three explains the affair to Danforth. He does this to save his wife and other convicted people. Proctor knows he can get hung from this sin, but does it anyway because he knows it was wrong and wants to help save the people, "...I beg you-see her what she is. My wife, my dear good wife, took this girl soon after, sir, and put her out on the highroad. And being what she is, a lump of vanity, sir-"(Act 3, pg110). Proctors guilt was overpowering him, but he finally told the truth for the best. Proctor displays the characteristic of guilt throughout the novel, but transforms himself into a better person by the
Proctor knows it is his fault that the accusation was made and he now know he must do anything to save his wife. As the play goes on Proctor begins to realize that his wife is the one who really loves him, as Abigail will so quickly throw anyone, including him, under the bus. John
The characters in the play The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, have a lot of pride. Before the witch trials really began, they were all good citizens. Everyone in the village liked each other and got along. No one did anything to mess with their good name. Judge Danforth wants to be known as a loyal and good judge, who makes the right decisions.
You can see that John Proctor is a good man, he tries to help everyone and he does not meddle in the lives of others, he is considered an upstanding member of the community. John Proctor is a hardworking middle aged farmer, husband, and father. People love and respect him although they know he is not without human failing. For example with Mary, when the Counsel take Proctor’s wife, He starts to scream at her and almost hits her. I understand that he doesn’t want to lose his wife but, he can be gentler with her or when he has an affair with their teenage servant Abigail Williams, a girl that tells lies, manipulates her friends and the entire town, and eventually sends innocent people to their deaths.
Elizabeth Proctor is good wife with all kindness, moral and upright assembling in her personality. The only weakness of her is cold and indifferent emotion, and it is kind of the indirect cause of John Proctor’s affair with their housekeeper, Abigail Williams. Then she’s got a good reason to be kind of distant and suspicious. “You were alone with her? Why, then, it is not as you told me.
Proctor acknowledges others before him who have stood by their beliefs and thinks he is worthless compared to them for even merely thinking of confessing a lie. It is tragic that in order for one to keep his dignity and fight for a belief he feels so strongly about, he must die. In order to accomplish one’s desires, strong motivation for change must exist. Author, Steven R. Centola, comments on the will to fight against limitations that may be preventing one to
Reading Between the Lines Pride is a personal commitment. Keep in mind how pride connects to personal commitment when talking about a tragic hero in The Crucible. Although many people may assume that Reverend Hale is the tragic hero of The Crucible, I believe John Proctor is because how he makes Mary Warren confess to the court about how Abigail and the girls are lying about conjuring the devil, Proctor also confesses about having an affair with Abigail. Even though knowing the consequences for his action Proctor would do anything in his supremacy to save his spouse from prison or the act of being hanged.
"It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you'll do things differently. " - Warren Buffett. Reading through The Crucible written by Arthur Miller, I have came to understand more about human society and its dark side. In this play, you will see how caring too much about reputation can lead to hypocrisy and even the destruction of your own reputation through the two main characters - John Proctor and Reverend Parris.
In the Crucible, many of the characters go through changes because of the intensity of the situation. But there is only one character that I think changed the most, and that is John Proctor who is the protagonist of the novel The Crucible by Arthur Miller. I think that John Procotor changes the most in the Crucible because he is in every act and mostly in every scene, and throughtout the play I see more drama (Dynamic Character) in him than any other character in the Crucible and I will go through and tell you how John Proctor changes in the Crucible. In the beginning of the play (Acts 1 and 2), we focus on John Proctor and we know that he is a good puritan citizen, a hard-working farmer and who is a husband and father.
He overcomes this struggle, trying to stay committed to his already upset wife, but he had already committed a treacherous sin. John Proctor had to live the rest of his days with the loathsome guilt towards himself. Throughout the novel, John Proctor debates whether or not he is an honest man. Even though he keeps his sin a secret from the rest of the town, his wife knows that he’s an adulterer.
He cared greatly about his family and wife even though Elizabeth was often distant towards him. In the end of the play, Proctor chooses to die rather than sign his confession, ratting out his friends and ruining his good name in the town. He did this to protect the reputation of his children so they won’t have to grow up with a lying father. Lying went against Protctors’ views and that ideal is prevalent throughout the entire play. It is revealed that as soon as he had an affair with Abigail, he confessed to Elizabeth the next day because of the guilt he was carrying around.
Proctor doubts his goodness and constantly seeks forgiveness. This is evident when he says "I cannot mount the giblet like a saint, my honesty is broke elizebeth, I am no good man. When Proctor finally has the bravery to go to court, despite the risk of exposure, he breaks down under the pressure of Abigails power and denounces god in frustration. As a result of this he is arrested. In act four, Proctor's integrity outweighs his will to live.
The end of the Crucible is very suspenseful when the protagonist, John Proctor, is faced with choosing between confessing to a lie or dying for the truth. At first, Proctor is hesitant and signs the papers, confessing himself to evil, but before the signed paper is collected by the court, he tears it apart and is sentenced to death. This was his best option, for it stopped him from living a remorseful life. His decision to tear apart the signed confession was the most correct not only for himself but for his family and the community as well.
Likewise, when Elizabeth is brought before Danforth to verify Proctor’s confession, she lies to protect her husband, whom she refers to as a “goodly man,” from suspicion (Miller, 113). The affair may have caused Elizabeth to doubt Proctor but both parties still care deeply for each other and try to protect each other from harm. Even in his last moments, Proctor’s last words- “Show honor now, show a stony heart and sink them with it!”- were directed toward Elizabeth and were full of love and care (Miller, 144). Proctor may have sinned but his regret over his affair with Abigail and the trouble he had brought upon his wife justifies his
Proctor then tries to stop the trials when he realizes that the girls have faked it. Later on, he is accused of witchcraft and will not falsely admit to it and is hanged at the end of the play. Throughout the play, Proctor shows both honorable and flawed traits. However, many of Proctor’s flawed actions overshadow those that are honorable. Some of Proctor’s actions could prove that he is honorable.
In Arthur Miller’s dramatic play The Crucible, John Proctor, the protagonist, symbolized truth and justice by displaying honor and pride in his name. The change in balance between those two attributes acted as a catalyst in defining moments of the play. In the beginning, Proctor equally reflected both pride and honor in separate events. However, when forced to make a decision, he chose honor over pride. Ultimately, both his honor and pride pushed him to commit the ultimate sacrifice.