ipl-logo

John Proctor Guilty Conscience The Crucible

618 Words3 Pages

Arguably, one of the most important characters of Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible” is protagonist John Proctor. In Salem’s community, he stands with a level head as a progressive, strong-willed and passionate man. However, Proctor plays a large role in the inaction of the witch hunt because of his affair with Abigail who is still in love with him when he no longer reciprocates her love. As an act of revenge, Abigail attempts to take away what Proctor loves, including Elizabeth who she frames for an attempted murder through witchcraft. He mimics that of a tragic hero archetype because he struggles with a guilty conscience of the affair with Abigail and beings to lose what loves. Due to Proctor’s guiltiness and desperate need to repent, he becomes aggressive and rash when he was once a steady and strong-willed man. …show more content…

His forgetfulness insinuates to Elizabeth her suspicion of Proctor’s sin against her and God to be true because it implies guilt. The stage direction indicates that Proctor realizes Elizabeth knows the truth as it states, “PROCTOR, as though a secret arrow had pained his heart”. In the scene where Proctor and Elizabeth are speaking to Hale, Proctor’s nervousness is made apparent with stuttering and stage directions and it is the first time he is caught off guard and thinking unintentionally

Show More
Related

  • Red Scare And Mccarthy Trials In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

    1284 Words  | 6 Pages

    In the play, The Crucible, Arthur Miller portrays John Proctor, the protagonist, as a tragic hero who has a major flaw and lust for Abigail, his teenage house servant. Because of a paranoid fear of being banished in a town where notoriety assumes such a vast part in their day by day lives, Proctor at first tries to conceal his wrongdoing of infidelity, yet his issue with Abigail triggers a noteworthy arrangement of occasions in Salem, where basic, problematic allegations at that point raise to a far bigger issue, “Abby...you mean to cry out still others?” “If I live, if I am not murdered, I surely will, until the last hypocrite is dead” (Miller

    Read More

  • The Confession Of John Proctor In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

    579 Words  | 3 Pages

    In some way’s Reverend Hale’s return to Salem was to save the accused starting with John Proctor. In Author Miller’s Crucible, Reverend Hale believes if he can get Mr. Proctor to confess others who are accused will follow in his footsteps. Hale uses Elizabeth, Mr. Proctors wife to accomplish the convincing. John brings the matter to Elizabeth before she gets the chance to bring up the subject of matter. Sickening with fear, but faith inside her Elizabeth tells John to as he wishes.

    Read More

  • Comparison Of Integrity In The Crucible And The Scarlet Letter

    1229 Words  | 5 Pages

    In The Crucible, Miller fully displays how the actions of John Proctor really affected the lives of the people around him. His affair with Abigail reveals to be potent to the people around him. Because of Abigail’s desires for Proctor to leave Elizabeth because she questions “how such a strong man may let such a sickly [woman] be [his wife]”(Miller 23). She insults Proctor’s wife as a way to blacken the image of Elizabeth in Proctor’s mind but it seems to have the opposite effect as Proctor yells that [She’ll] speak nothin’ of Elizabeth!(Miller 23).

    Read More

  • The Crucible John Proctor Tragic Hero Essay

    918 Words  | 4 Pages

    “The Crucible” is a play written by Arthur Miller that takes place in the town of Salem in between 1692 and 1693 where the delusion of witches was rampant in what was known as the Salem witch trials. In Miller’s dramatization of the events, characters go through changes, they evolve as individuals, but one of them, that of John Proctor changes the most. John Proctor is a tragic hero because as the play continues the audience sees a goodness in him, but as it ends his own overwhelming pride replaces reason, which leads to his demise. In the beginning of the play John proctor can be seen talking to Abigail alone; in a conversation of what to do about their relationship, John tells Abigail of his feelings for her by saying “Abby I may think of

    Read More

  • The Crucible John Proctor's Journey

    463 Words  | 2 Pages

    3rd, Meyer, Cyrus Proctor’s Journey John Proctor, one of the main characters in Arthur Miller’s, The Crucible, defines the perception of a sinned man. The play explains an outbreak in a village in which a Puritan society using a theocracy government convicts hundreds on the word of a few girls, falsely accusing townspeople of witchcraft, therefore bringing havoc to the town and John seeks to end the lies of the main antagonist, Abigail. Through the play, Proctor gets introduced to many different situations showing the reader changes of Proctor’s character such as being depicted as a corrupted, sinned man in the beginning of the play to a righteous character near the end. In the second act, John Proctor acts very aggressive towards others and commits cruel acts in the name of his Puritan village showing a lack of good moral values as well as respect for others.

    Read More

  • The Crucible: John Proctor As A Hero

    362 Words  | 2 Pages

    When people are accused of a crime they didn’t commit, it often has lasting effects on them and their loved ones. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, he explores the Salem Witch trials with characters that are accused of a crime they clearly didn’t commit, and are sent to their death. In a similar fashion, the five adolescents who were accused and found guilty of a heinous crime in New York City were ultimately found innocent after they served years and had eliminated a chance of restoring their youth. In the Central Park Five court case that occurred in New York City during the late 1980’s, the idea that a hero is someone valiant is proven by Antron Mccray. In the play, the Crucible by Arthur Miller, it displays that a hero is honest based on

    Read More

  • Examples Of Guilt In The Crucible

    449 Words  | 2 Pages

    He is quickly framed by the guilt of betraying his wife and community, setting off a chain of events that leads to his execution. Proctor’s guilt spreads as he tries to uncover the truth about the witch trials and Abigail’s motives. At first, he fears that his news will damage his reputation, but he later confesses the affair and accuses Abigail of the witch trials to get revenge. Although the truth is later revealed, Proctor’s guilt and complicated moral decisions lead to his tragic end.

    Read More

  • The Crucible Argumentative Essay

    640 Words  | 3 Pages

    When Proctor attempts to get the truth out of Abigail, he also reveals the truth about his affair. When Proctor reveals the truth he puts his name on the line. He reveals the truth when he states, “God help me, I lusted”(102). Proctor experiences psychological danger while telling about his affair with Abigail. He experiences danger because of how cherished his name is to himself; He has a good reputation in the town and doesn't want to mess it up.

    Read More

  • The Crucible John Proctor Guilt Analysis

    872 Words  | 4 Pages

    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. The romantic relationship between the Proctor’s is undoubtedly extinguished, but even casual engagement cannot exist without tension since everything John Proctor says to Elizabeth is a symbol of repentance. He offers Elizabeth the possession of a cow and expresses “with a grin” that all he

    Read More

  • Evolution Of Elizabeth Proctor Essay

    537 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Evolution of Elizabeth Proctor Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible is a compelling look at the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. Elizabeth Proctor began as doubtful of her husband, John Proctor, but ends up having faith in him in the end. She still believed her husband was still in love with Abigail but Proctor soon proved his love for Elizabeth throughout the play. Elizabeth evolves from a woman who doubts her husband, but then evolves into a woman who risks her life to save her husband. Elizabeth continues to question her husband's faith causing an argument between the two.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Jealousy Quotes In The Crucible

    512 Words  | 3 Pages

    In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, the setting is Salem, Massachusetts during the late 1600s where the town’s pious Puritan beliefs directly influence their government. A 17-year-old girl named Abigail Williams had an affair with John Proctor, a wealthy, married man. Abigail is told by John to move on but instead, Abigail starts accusing the townspeople of witchcraft, including John Proctor’s wife Elizabeth. As this hysteria begins to rise, other people such as Thomas Putnam, a rich landowner, start to also allege Salem villagers. In this play, the author illustrates the central idea that people should not allow jealousy to control their actions.

    Read More

  • John Proctor A Tragic Hero Analysis

    945 Words  | 4 Pages

    JOHN PROCTOR: TRAGIC HERO Arthur Miller’s The Crucible is a greatly revered work, and it reflected the times of America in the days of McCarthyism. Perhaps the character that connected to the audience most was John Proctor, the protagonist of the play. He reflects the mistakes that we have made in our lives, and the struggle that some of have while trying to take the blindfold off of other people. He should be considered a hero because he feels guilt, and therefore tries to make up for the fact that he once had an affair.

    Read More

  • Opposition In The Crucible

    485 Words  | 2 Pages

    Proctor’s Opposition to His Society In the book, The Crucible, Arthur Miller introduces us to John Proctor. Proctor is married and simple, yet he's argumentative toward his town for the persecution of “witches.” Proctor faces conflict throughout the town, his morals are challenged and his view on ethical implication are changing.

    Read More

  • The Crucible Quote Analysis

    1067 Words  | 5 Pages

    “The human body is the best work of art.” ― Jess C. Scott This is a quote John Proctor sure would have approved of. Arthur Miller’s The Crucible depicts the last days of the life of John Proctor. In this short time, John Proctor goes through many changes that support Miller’s theme that love is more enduring that lust.

    Read More

  • Unhealthy Relationships In Arthur Miller's The Crucible

    731 Words  | 3 Pages

    John Proctor’s words towards Elizabeth signal irritation and annoyance. John Proctor, the main character of The Crucible, has an affair with a much younger girl, Abigail Williams, breaking his wife, Elizabeth’s trust in him. Her suspicion of him rises when he tells her he was in a room alone with Abigail. Elizabeth’s growing mistrust begins to aggravate John, which is revealed when he says, “I’ll not have your suspicion any more” (489). Elizabeth is doubtful after learning about John’s affair with Abigail and her lack of trust in her husband begins to anger him.

    Read More

More about John Proctor Guilty Conscience The Crucible

Open Document