Reflective Essay: The Salem Witch Trials

It is a fraud. I am not that man...My honesty is broke, Elizabeth; I am no good man. Nothing's spoiled by giving them this lie that were not rotten long before...Let them that never lied die now to keep their souls. It is pretense for me, a vanity that will not blind God nor keep my children out of the wind...” As you can see by telling the truth and being honest, it caused the witchcraft hysteria in

Proctor’s fatal flaws includes honesty and pride. He lacks honesty because he wants to keep his image held high, which ultimately lead him to his death. He could have saved his own life by confessing to witchcraft, but

Abigail was affected by his integrity, or his temporary lack of integrity. Proctor committed lechery with Abigail, and he never thought that it would be the cause for a group of girls to commit witchcraft, people dying, and people being jailed. “But I will cut off my hand before I'll ever reach for you again…,”(p. 1370) this quote demonstrates John Proctor’s integrity and guilt. Abigail is making advances on him and he turns

The people who preside over the trials are corrupt. People who were accused of witchcraft are wrongfully indicted, and those transgressions must be justified. Danforth is the governor of Massachusetts who thinks of himself as a fair man. Thomas Putnam who has grudges against the people of Salem, and Abigail is a shameless liar who leads the accusations against the people of Salem. What the people of Salem have seen as demonic possessions of the girls is nothing more than an act of deception.

This is wrong because Reverend Hale is refueling Abigail Williams thought process with lies. At the same time he is doing his duty of making her confess. Nevertheless, Reverend Hale knows that John and Elizabeth are innocent, and that Abigail Williams and the girls are guilty of witchcraft.” You are goodwife Proctor”(2. 266-267). He could have done something more than just trying to convince Judge Danforth that they are innocent.

The author of this play Therefore, to die for the truth is better than to live a lie. Some may view the death as unuseful when they may live to rebut that they aren’t apart of witchcraft. Hale tries to convince Elizabeth to tell John to live, “... that throws his life away for pride” (4, 358). Although John signing would mean there is witchcraft so all the deaths would’ve been justified to the village. Parris confirms how valuable Proctor’s name is, “It is a weighty name; it will strike the village that Proctor confess” (4, 659).

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. In act two of The Crucible Proctor demands that Mary Warren confess to the court regarding the young women lying about conjuring Satan.

Also, since The Crucible was written to be parallel to McCarthyism, the same idea is shown. The same situation can be seen in The Crucible as Arthur Miller was influenced by the events that occurred during McCarthyism. In the Crucible, anyone whose name that had been mentioned underwent an investigation and was asked to prove that they were not partaking in witchcraft. Because this task was impossible, the court made rash decisions such as sending people to jail or sentencing them to be hanged. This scenario is seen in the crucible when Rebecca Nurse is accused.

I am no Sarah Good or Tituba, I am John Proctor! You will not use me! It is no part of salvation that you should use me!” (The Crucible Act IV Quotes) John could not live knowing these innocent women died to keep their goodness as he also wished to do after his affair. "my honesty is broke, Elizabeth; I am no good man. Nothing's spoiled by giving them this lie that were not rotten long before.” (The

Elizabeth, a woman who has a reputation of honesty, later lies about the act of adultery committed by her husband in order to keep him alive. Elizabeth Proctor loves her husband although he may have flaws and even forgives him of one of the worst things that can occur in a marriage, adultery. Although John proctor previously told the public court that he has committed the act of adultery, Elizabeth tells of a lie to save the life of her husband. When admitting to the crime, Proctor tells the court “You can even ask my wife, a honest woman if I have committed such crime,” and she denies it. Elizabeth exclaims to the court that John is innocent and a good man of god who would never do such a thing.