In the book The Crucible by Arthur Miller preserving one’s reputation was important to many of the story’s characters. Three of the characters that found preserving their reputation important were John Proctor, Abigail Williams, and Mary Warren. John Proctor was a well respected man in Salem. The town’s people thought highly of him. When he was accused of witchery he denied it. Arthur Miler, the author of the book The Crucible writes, “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!” John got arrested and thrown in jail. He was told that if he confessed he could live, but if he did not confess he would hang. His wife was allowed to talk to him once, as to try and convince him to confess to the crime of which he was accused, witchery. John decided to confess, but in doing so didn’t realize that his confession would have to be written and signed, then …show more content…
“My name, he want my name. ‘I’ll murder you,’ he says, ‘if my wife hangs! We must go and overthrow the court,’ he says!” (Miller). In the courtroom Mary was going to testify, saying that the other girls were just pretending to be seeing spirits but she was too terrified of what Abigail might do to her is she revealed the truth that she froze up. She claimed that John was possesing her to send her spirit out to attack the other girls. Mary pushed the blame of the alleged spirit in the courtroom onto Proctor. “I cannot charge murder on Abigail...She’ll kill me for saying that!” (Miller). Mary was affraid of what Abigail might do to her so she lied to the judge and to the townspeople. Rather than exposing the truth and possibly saving more lives Mary just pushed the blame to someone else to protect
In Act Three of Arthur Miller's play The Crucible, John Proctor admits he has committed adultery with Abigail motivated in trying to save his wife, while his wife, Elizabeth Proctor, lies about why she kicked Abigail from their house to protect her and her husbands privacy. I feel as though John’s actions were justified and Elizabeth’s actions were not. John Proctor was trying to get the court to see Abigail was a terrible, unsaintly fraud in her claims of being witched. John tells the court that his wife, who has never told a lie, would concur to the affair accusations brought against Abigail. When brought into the court Elizabeth was questioned on why she had kicked Abigail out of their home and she replied in a manner that did not show
During the first four acts of Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible, we have learned that John Proctor, who tends to be a main part of the story, he was thought very highly of in the first act, but as you progress into the next acts we begin to realize that not everything about him is good. He later on showed his true feelings. Mr. Proctor gave up his good name to protect his wife Elizabeth Proctor. Proctor’s wife Elizabeth Proctor is a small minded person when she is first introduced in act two. She is very short tempered and didn't believe much of anything that Proctor spoke of.
John admitted to the court and the town that he had an affair with Abigail Williams. John also refused to lie to save his life, instead he kept the truth and his pride and he hanged for it. The fact that he would rather die than to slaughter his family’s name, that says a lot, to me it says that he was thinking of his wife and kids instead of himself. If I haven’t made myself clear yet, I believe John Proctor is the most courageous character in The Crucible.
The Crucible In a society where teenagers are envious of those who have more followers than they do on social media, reputation and status are extremely paramount. While these ideals are so prevalent in the life of modern-day high schoolers, teenagers of the 21st century did not invent the need to feel accepted. This theme of an overwhelming concern of one’s reputation can be traced all the way back to the 17th Century, during the era of the witch hunts. The renowned and esteemed novel -- The Crucible -- by Arthur Miller, provides a historical account of the Salem Witch trials while honing in on the convoluted relationships of the citizens of town.
A Man and Himself “Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are” -John Wooden. In Arthur Miller's, The Crucible, John Proctor is faced with a lot problems where he does not know what to do. The right choice could hurt his reputation, but the other choice could hurt his close family and friends. John Proctor's motivation changes throughout the play. Between his wife, his integrity, and wanting to prove Abigail Williams guilty, he gets caught up in a lot.
What does it mean to be a good person? Being a good person is reflecting certain qualities such as honesty, faithfulness, and trust. In The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, John Proctor does not portray these qualities of a good man. Proctor was puritan living in Salem. As a puritan, he should have held showed these high morals, but that was certainly not the case.
People convicted of witchcraft belonged to the Puritan society which is known for its severity and its devotion to Christianity. The environment is thus propitious to all sorts of judgements. It is for example the case when John Proctor is asked why he does not attend Church every Sunday: "In the book of records that Mr Parris keeps, I note that you are rarely in the church on Sabbath Day" (Miller 53). Hale here makes an assumption that Proctor is not a good Christian since he is rarely at the church. He does not ask whether John is a good father or if he helps his neighbours, all he cares about is whether he is physically present at the office every week.
In Arthur Miller's "The Crucible", John Proctor is our passive protagonist as he tries to save his wife and others that were accused of witchcraft. Unfortunately, his attempt was in vain and his evidence had backfired. His knowledge did not stop the witch trials because of his self-respect, and the children's high reputations, and Abigail's tactful nature. John Proctor valued his self-respect because it made him confident and helped him stand up for what he believed in. John proctor's name was synonymous with honor and integrity and was most respected in Salem.
During court, Mary said she heard “the other girls screaming” and that Danforth “seemed to believe them” so she followed suit (Miller 107). Abigail and her friends saw the court believing their act, so they continued with their theatrics. This same display of emotion from Proctor also works at convincing Danforth Abigail’s words are not to be trusted, and her accusations against his wife have no
After continuous pressuring Mary Warren replies with ‘I cannot, they’ll turn on me— “showing us the mob has driven fear into people and how Marry is afraid to tell the truth in the case everyone will turn on her and blame her. Mary’s feeble attempt to recompense backfires, so when Abigail uses the poppet to blame it on Elizabeth, making Mary feel even worse thus she agrees to go with proctor to testify against Abigail in court. Later after agreeing to go to court to support Proctor Mary is asked who is at fault and in fear replies pointing to proctor “You’re the devil’s man!” (act three, page 119). This demonstrates how the fear of the mob and the overwhelming pressure from the Abigail makes her turn from the truth.
Arthur Miller, the author of The Crucible, analogizes Salem to a crucible with violent witchcraft accusations and chaotic events predominating everyone’s lives. For instance, the protagonist, John Proctor, is forced to make a choice at the end of Act Four—to falsely confess of communicating with the Devil and live to take care of his family, or to be convicted and have a pure reputation. Proctor’s ultimate decision to deny the false confession is virtuous because it restricts his inner guilt, saves his reputation, and shows a valiant stance against the insanity of Salem’s witch trials. John Proctor’s affair with Abigail Williams haunts him with internal guilt and tarnishes his reputation, but his decision to sacrifice his life solves these
Abigail finally sees the outturn of her lies she has made for what she wants. Proctor is hanged which she didn’t attend to do, but now pays the price. She also found out what lying can do “They’re pretending, Mr. Danforth... Mary, please don’t hurt me!.”(miller 120-121). Lying has made her corrupt and is used to persuade to make harm with.
Abigail forces the girls of Salem to dance in the woods with her to help conjure spirits and make the charm to kill Goody Proctor. Abigail threatens the girls right after Betty took fright by saying, “let either of you breathe a word or the edge of a word about the other things and I will come to you in the black of some terrible night and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you.” (Miller, 144). Later on as the trials prolong Mary Warren turns on Abby and is telling the court that she lied. When Abigail then accuses Mary of witchcraft she turns back to Abby and obeys her once again.
When Abigail and the other girls decided to be vindictive an tried to get Mary Warren caught for witchcraft in court while Mary is trying to save Elizabeth Procter for the mess she had got her in by making the poppet in front of Abigail. Abigail had the other girls play along in court when Mary decided to tell on her Mary said, "She sees nothing!" (Miller, Act 3, 107) Abigail and the other girls said, "She sees nothing..." (Miller, Act 3, 107). Act three Mary knew what Abigail would do to her if she told when Mary said, "She will kill me for saying that!" (Miller, Act 2,
In The Crucible, a drama by Arthur Miller, John Proctor demonstrates courage by speaking out for what he believes in while knowing his consequences, admitting his wrong doings with Abigail to save Elizabeth’s life, and choosing to be hanged over having his name posted on the church door because the second his signed confession is posted, his and his loved ones reputations will be ruined. In the beginning of the play all John Proctor cared about was his reputation. However, ultimately he sacrificed his reputation by telling the court he committed adultery. John telling the court he was guilty ruined his reputation, which made all hell break loose.