John Proctor Change In The Crucible

In The Crucible, nobody is as messed up as John Proctor. Some people in Salem are straight-up evil, others are practically saints. A few are internally conflicted and go through some changes, but they have nothing on Proctor. Throughout the whole play, he is at war with himself. Although he is ultimately a good person, he made one mistake that constantly haunts him. And what was this big mistake? Well, let’s just say John couldn’t keep it in his pants. Proctor, a proud and upstanding member of the community, sees himself as nothing more than a low-down sinner, and a fake. Although John Proctor undergoes some pretty serious changes as a person; from a deceitful sinner to a courageous, devoted, and ultimately good Christian, across the entire play he remains a tormented man who cannot escape his internal demons.

Early in the play, Proctor is highly ashamed of his past sins. When he is being introduced, Proctor is described as a, “troubled soul”, and a, “sinner…against his own vision of decent conduct” who “regarded himself as a kind of fraud” (Miller 19). Before he even speaks a single line, the audience sees Proctor as someone who is conflicted with himself. Proctor’s feelings of shame follow him around and affect his actions and decisions. In his great shame, Proctor would prefer to simply forget his affair with Abby and move on with his life. He shows this when he denies her advances and tells her not to think

In this decision, Proctor is seen as courageous and devoted, but still tormented by his personal demons. This is shown by the quote, “My wife will never die for me! I will bring your guts into your mouth but that goodness will not die for me” (Miller 76). This quote shows that Proctor is tormented by his personal demons because he realizes that his wife is going to be killed for his sins, furthering his guilt. This great guilt is what causes Proctor to attempt to save his