His guiltiness saved her from being executed for a crime that she never committed. When his lapse in integrity occurred and he committed lechery, it caused Abigail to want to be his wife more than ever. In order to become his wife, she had to find a way to remove Elizabeth from her position. Abigail’s condemnation provided her with the perfect opportunity to accuse Elizabeth of witchcraft. Elizabeth was bound to hang, until John Proctor’s guilt came into play. “My wife will never die for me…,”(p. 1311) this quote shows that he knows what is happening is because of his actions in the past. He feels guilty for what happened and knows that it is his responsibility to end the madness and save his wife. John Proctor affected his wife immensely with his guilt by confessing lechery and then acting as if he hates
During the beginning of the play he fails to realize how much he hurt Elizabeth when he committed adultery. John was criticized and treated with a very much deserved cold reception from his wife. But John lacks empathy as he asks her to look sometimes for the goodness in [him], and judge [him] not” (Miller 55). He’s asking her to look past his affair as if this would be an easy task for his committed wife. But however John is able to redeem himself, and change himself for the better. As once he was a immature selfish man he’s able to transform into a decent and more morally sound one. In the beginning of the play, John seems to only look out for number one, himself; he gives into times of temptation with Abigail and does not pity his wife and mother of his children when the affair is brought to light. In contrast, when he hangs, he does so for the sake of Elizabeth and his children. When speaking of his family, Proctor says, “I blacken all of them when this is nailed to the church the very day they hang for silence” (143). John’s sins and temptations have been forgiven by this point of the play. He proves he can be selfless and put other people in front of him when it means the most. Also, by not signing his name on his confession he showed that he did not want his legacy to be tainted or known for doing something that he did not
He felt guilty because he committed adultery with abigail. Abigail william started the story about witch trial, and accused Elizabeth proctor for being witch. John Proctor try to protect his wife, but he could not instead of he got considered as devil’s man. He signed the confession, but ripped it of when the judge said that it have to hang on church door. He says “ ‘ Because it is my name! I cannot have another in my life… I have given you my soul; leave me my name’ “(Millers 868). He choses to die rather than living with a lie, and gain back his
Goodness and nobility is determined by an individual’s morality and their willingness to follow a virtuous path in their life. It is also determined by the ability of an individual to acknowledge their shortcomings and become more self-aware. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, John Proctor is a good man as he showcases righteous morals and principles. This is shown, as he ends his affair with Abigail, protects his wife and his friends’ wives, and dies to preserve his integrity and honour.
During a session in court, John openly admits to giving Abigail Williams a motive to cause The Witch Trials. Proctor states, “I have known her, sir. I have known her… A man may think God sleeps, but God sees everything, I know it now, I beg you, sir, I beg you—see her [Abigail] what she is” (Miller, 110). The judge is astonished by the information at hand and demands Elizabeth to confirm the claim. She lies for the first time in her life, thinking that she will save her husband from execution, but proves John a liar. This leads him to act as he has consorted with Lucifer. As Proctor is awaiting his everlasting consequence, he is asked to write the names of the civilians he saw with the devil. John replies, “They think to go like saints. I like not to spoil their names… I speak my own sins; I cannot judge another. I have no tongue for it” (Miller, 141). Proctor does not want to give names of people he knows that were not communicating with the devil just to save his own life. He would rather protect his whole town and sacrifice his own life to save innocent citizens of Salem, Massachusetts. John Proctor capitulates his own life to save others who would otherwise be murdered due to Abigail William’s untruthful
In the play “The Crucible” set in the town of Salem which is burdened by the belief of witches, we are introduced to the main character John Proctor. John has the conscience of an honest man even though he has committed a severe sin, which he hides, adultery. Because of this his name is tainted, making the reader doubt the goodness in him. When Proctor reveals the truth in court, we are surprised because he has confessed knowing it will blacken his name, and he has done this in order to save his wife, Elizabeth Proctor. Because of this we are able to see that Proctor bears responsibility for what has occurred. However when he confesses, Abigail turns against him and accuses Proctor of being a witch. Now this man faces a new dilemma and wrestles with his conscience debating whether to save himself from the gallows with a confession to witchcraft, which he did not commit. Hale and the judges pressure him into confessing to a lie, even though he comes close to doing do. He cannot bring himself to
In The Crucible by Author Miller protagonist, John Proctor is a man who makes bad decisions. However, his good deeds outweigh his bad decisions. John is a good man with a good heart. John Proctor openly disapproves off the witch trials, he tries to save his wife Elizabeth, and he refuses to condemn others to death even if he can go free. John does selfless acts through out the story, which proves John Proctor is morally good.
Guilt is emotional torture that transforms one's psychological operation. In the play, The Crucible by Arthur Miller, before the Salem witch trials emerge, John Proctor cheats on his wife Elizabeth Proctor, with young Abigail. Causing him to live with an eternal shame that generates dispute. Proctor’s endeavour is to elude from his wrongdoing, but he cannot because of the disgrace he feels himself to be when around Elizabeth. Miller shows that John Proctor's emotional and behavioral conflict rises from his guilt. Proctor’s guilt is present when he, attempts to pay for his sins by giving his wife materialistic objects, hesitates to obey his wife's suggestion to accuse Abigail of false bewitchment, and breaks out in anger for not wanting to be judged any longer.
He honors himself even if it will cost him his life. Purging himself, seeking salvation, brings some semblance of forgiveness which is evident when he says, “I do think I see some shred of goodness in John Proctor. Not enough to weave a banner with, but white enough to keep it from such dogs. Give them no tear! Tears pleasure them! Show honor now, show a stony heart and sink them with it! (133) Preservation of integrity is John’s quest, he reaches for it, it is within his grasp. He will not allow himself to be taken to the gallows at the expense of more lies and deceit. John states that his name is everything and it is given just once in life. For example, he profoundly states, “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! (133) His utterance defends himself as a man of integrity turning away from the chaos called Salem. Integrity finds itself in John Proctor and not in the witchery that has gripped
“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!”(1272). These words by John Proctor exemplify his character by making, in my opinion, not a very wise decision. In the play The Crucible, John Proctor’s unwillingness can be seen as selfish because others hung before he confessed his affair with Abigail but he redeemed himself by undoing his confession and refusing to sell the court other names, which Arthur Miller used to convey a message about a crucible being put through a fire/trial and coming out in its purest form, through the character of John
When people think of the play, “The Crucible”, they usually picture the witch trials and women being hanged, but Arthur Miller depicts the witch trials in a completely new light. He shows through a story that the witch trials were much more than just people calling others witches. There was deceit, pain, greed, and more. Through the play, we follow the character, Abigail, observe her actions and their consequences. We witness the lives of people she impacts, what happens to them, and how many times she lies to get her way. Abigail does all this for the man that she loves and had an affair with, John Proctor. If the reader begins to focus on John, his actions and what he stands for, they are easily able to recognize he portrays characteristics of the flawed nature of an individual. It is shown through the fact that he had an affair, isn’t able to forgive himself, and at the end of the book, is unable to give up something dear to him to save himself and others.
In conclusion, John Proctor had a lot of guilt thought out the Crucible for having an affair with Abigail and hurting his wife Elizabeth because of the affair with Abigail. There is a lot of people that put guilt on themselves and on others. Guilty controls a lot of people’s actions in the Crucible of example John Proctor had a lot of guilt for admitting
A crucible can either be defined as a vessel of heat resisting material used for high temperature chemical reactions, or a test or trial of the most severe and decisive kind. In the Crucible, a play written by Arthur Miller, takes place in Salem, Massachusetts, during the Salem Witch Trials. Witchery is thought of as evil by the puritans living there. Witchery was believed to be linked with the devil, and bad luck. In the film version of the crucible, when someone was accused of witchery, by a group of girls who claimed to be able to see the devil with them, they were brought to court. The trial would continue until this person confessed to witchery, which would break their contract with the devil, or until they were executed. One of the pillars of the community is John Proctor. John
The play The Crucible by Arthur Miller is based on true events of the Salem Witchcraft Trials but is changed in some parts to make it a better story. One exaggerated part of the play is a character named John Proctor, who has an affair with a girl named Abigale and is trying to stop the Salem Witchcraft Trials because he knows that the afflicted girls are false. While he is trying to stop the trials he ends up being accused and is hanged because he would not “confess” to being a witch. Some people think John Proctor is a flawed person because he made a lot of poor decisions, but he is actually an honorable person because he tried to make up for his mistakes.
Whilst trying to prove Abigail and the other girls were pretending, John confesses, “I have known her [Abigail], sir” (3.110). The fact that he is willing to confess such a heavy sin for this purpose is a huge deal. He willingly, albeit reluctantly, soils his name and reputation to bring the truth to light. In the end, Proctor refuses to give a false confession that would condemn the others who were falsely accused. He decided what he felt was right and refused to stray from it. His decision, along with those of others who did the same, eventually brought the chaos and hysteria to an end. John Proctor held firmly to what he believed was right, even in the face of great pressure.