In The Crucible, John Proctor the protagonist, becomes a victim of the witch trials when his wife Elizabeth, is accused of witchcraft. In order to free his wife, Proctor must convince Judge Danforth of his wife’s innocence. Judge Danforth does not sign condemnations lightly and takes meticulous inspection of his cases to determine the guilty party. He is also a highly religious man who takes matters between God and men seriously. It is because of Danforth’s dedication to the law and God that Proctor utilizes ethos, logos, and pathos to persuade him. Ultimately, Proctor uses ethos, logos, and pathos to convince Danforth to free his wife, but is unsuccessful.
At the beginning of the play, John Proctor is depicted both as a proud man who kept his affair a secret from the public to protect his name, and an honorable man who built the Salem church. Before Elizabeth Proctor was accused, John Proctor tried to distance
The Crucible by Arthur Miller has many lessons to learn from. One of The major lesson I thought that is important is honesty. The accusations throughout the story were built on lies from those trying to protect their own name, and putting the town into confusion. Nobody in Salem, Massachusetts felt like they could trust anymore, after all of the false allegations made. If Three characters in the story would have been honest from the beginning, the town would not have been in such confusion. If Abigail, John, and Elizabeth would have been honest to begin with then many innocent people would not have lost their lives and left the town in despair.
To begin with, John Proctor was seen as a good citizen. He was well-respected among his neighbors and other people in Salem because of his upright morals. He had an affair with his old servant, Abigail Williams. He tried to keep this hidden from the people to keep his good name. Then, he was accused of practicing witchcraft, so he told the truth about the
John Proctor is a farmer that lives on the outermost part of Salem, MA. John had an affair with Abigail Williams and his wife found out and now does not fully trust him but John still loves his wife. John is stubborn and loving with his wife but is also very aggressive with others that make him mad. John shows stubbornness and love when he
Countless people have learned about the lies and horrors of witches in 1692 during the Salem Witch trials. In The Crucible, a tragedy written by Arthur Miller, it displays the tragedy and wrongful convictions of the townsfolk of Salem. One notable character being John Proctor a well respected upperclassman in Salem who was willing to confess his sins, sacrificing his life for the greater good of his family and friends. There are many reasons people choose to do things in life whether or not they will turn out well in the end. Elizabeth Proctor, John’s wife told John to do what he thinks is best, disagreeing with the ideas proposed by Reverend Hale, to confess to the court. Reverend Hale’s
In a setting of Salem, Massachusetts 1692, religion is the direct reflection of one's social standing. Reputation is extremely important for the town, as it is your only way to get a fair hearing and respect from the people. The protectiveness of reputation is necessary in The Crucible to justify yourself when presented with fallacious arguments. In this play the importance of reputation is revealed though the uses of ethos, logos and pathos.
John Proctor is a good man despite anything others may say about him. He displays three very noble qualities throughout the witch trials which are bravery, honesty, and an overall goal to save lives even to the point where he sacrificed his. While many argue John is a bad man because he committed adultery they are entirely mistaken. Just because he had one bad sin gives no right to anybody to call him a bad person when clearly the good side of him is shown more than the bad. John Proctor is a good man who displays the characteristics of a hero and could be seen as one for giving his life for his friends.
One major character trait of John Proctor was his honesty. When John Proctor found out about the accusations, he looked for the truth. Once he was told by Abigail Williams that the witch accusations were not true, he went to court with Mary Warren to tell the Judges the truth. When the Judges started questioning him, he admitted his affair with Abigail Williams, which put his name at risk. Then, John was accused of witchcraft. He was given the choice to tell the truth and be prosecuted or confess to a crime he didn’t commit and be set free. He chose to tell the truth and got sent to jail. During this time, he said “... what is John Proctor? I think it is honest” (page 138). This showed that he was trying to keep his name clean by telling the truth. When John was in prison, they give him another chance to be freed of charges. They tried to persuade him
John Proctor was a man of honor and had a well respected name in the town of Salem. Sadly he died tragically but as a hero. He was hanged because he was accused of doing the devil’s work. He was given the chance to save his life if he admitted on a piece of paper that he was working with the devil but he refused to tell that lie. He wanted his sons to be able to walk the streets without being shunned from the world because they deserved better. John Proctor didn’t want his name to be the ruined because he felt that was all he had left. John Proctor was tragically killed for a sin he had not committed but was found a hero because people followed in his footsteps by not confessing to something they didn’t do.
Warren Buffett once said, “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.” A reputation is one of the most important things a person has. It measures one’s worth, honor, and integrity - something we all strive for. Our countless endeavors, whether wrong or right, tend to just how much someone values their self-worth. We humans are naturally built to muse upon how others think of us, and this is the basis for our self-conscious pursuit for our reputation and identity. No where is this more apparent in The Crucible. The play, The Crucible, is a homage to many themes, as it dives into the story of The Salem Witch Trial. Preserving one’s reputation is a theme exemplified heavily in the book, as almost every character struggles with their identity, which in turn, affects their decisions. Two characters that orchestrate this theme are Reverend Parris and John Proctor. Both Proctor and Parris are especially concerned with their
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.
Published in 1952, during a period of cold war tensions, which culminated in the ideological witch trials of the mcarthy era in America; The crucible by Arthure miller is set in 1692 during the witch trials in salem massachusetts. The author has used allegory to position the reader to draw parrelels betweeen the to time periods and critisize the persecution that occured in both eras. One of the main themes that Miller has used to portray this viewpoint is the representation of personal integrity. Integrity is the quality of having strong moral pronciples.This is acheived through strongly contrasted characterisation of characters such as Abigail williams and and Rebecca Nurse, aswell as the inclusion of textual features such as irony, symbolism
In the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller, the town of Salem is afflicted with hysteria, intolerance, and accusations that lead to death. According to philosopher Aristotle, a tragic hero possesses a tragic flaw, excessive pride, and an inevitable downfall. Protagonist John Proctor illustrates a tragic hero because he is presented as happy, powerful, and privileged, which later leads him to suffer because of his own actions.
Integrity is an essential piece of heroism, this can especially be seen in the novel "The Crucible" as the two ideals of integrity and heroism collide. Many different conclusions could be made from reading this novel when it comes to both integrity and heroism. While there are characters like John Proctor whom exhibits heroism through integrity, selflessness, and bravery, there are other characters whom sacrifice their own integrity in order to preserve their own imagine. These characters are portrayed as dynamic villains like Reverend Parris and Abigail Williams and others like Salem's own Sheriff whom is less dynamic and a greater linear character. Each individual's integrity would change constantly throughout the story due to a constant stacking of lies, all of which is rooted to one's struggle to keep a good image by forfeiting her own integrity.