In John Proctor’s argument with Reverend Hale regarding his devotion to religion, Miller uses ethos and pathos to propel the plot forward. His ethos are aimed towards revealing Parris’s lack of devotion to the church by using decorum to show how he fails to be concomitant with Hale’s archetype of a trustworthy leader. The replacement of the handmade pewter candles with the artificial golden candles symbolized how the trials encouraged religious pretense in Salem rather than sincere devotion to religion. The trials promoted the superficial/materialistic aspect of faith in Salem because people were deemed to be pious by their attendance at Church on Sabbath day rather than by their innate devoutness to religion. Similarly, Miller vilified his
Reputation Crumbles on the Structure of Lies William Shakespeare, a distinguished English playwright, poet and actor once said, “No legacy is as rich as honesty.” Reputation cannot be built upon lies. When the inevitable uprising of the truth appears, all status will crumble. John Proctor from The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a prime example of a tragic hero facing the consequences of telling the truth of a dark lie to save others in his town. Proctor is a farmer in his mid-thirties and married to Elizabeth Proctor with whom he has three children.
In the film, Proctor is shown to physically throttle Mary Warren in order to force her to follow his commands. This evidently illustrates that Proctor believes that his commands are very important, and therefore thinking that he is correct in those situations. Due to the fact that he believes that he is almost always ultimately correct, it shows that Puritanical beliefs and the US’ visions of themselves are connected. Just as John Proctor credits his
In Arthur Miller’s play, the Crucible, many characters are faced with a quandary that involves their honesty as well as their reputation. They have the choice to die nobly, or survive and be a stigma to the community and God. Reputation and good social status is a central concern in the town of Salem. Many characters found their actions based on their individual character, sometimes leading to negative choices. The protagonist, John Proctor, shows how truthfully confronting oneself requires bravery and sacrifice.
Although Aristotle states that one must meet certain qualifications to be a tragic hero, like being of noble descent, Proctor does meet all of the other qualifications. Proctor meets the qualifications by sleeping with Abigail, by being accused of witchcraft, and by being highly praised in this community. To be a tragic hero his/her downfall is one's fault. Proctor decided to created his downfall when he has an affair with Reveron Hails orphaned niece, Abigail. Proctor knew what he did was wrong but his pride was too high to admit it.
The Tragic Hero John Proctor Theocracy is where the government rules through the laws of religion.” The Crucible” by Arthur Miller shows a society which has undergone in a Christian theocracy with the emergence of the Salem witch hunts. Throughout this classical tragedy, one of the main characters John Proctor becomes the tragic hero. Ancient Greek philosopher defines tragic hero that a person makes judgement error that creats downfall from the high point of his or her life.
“I have given you my soul; leave me my name!” (Miller 1357). This quote is said by John Proctor, a character in “The Crucible,” who is pleading to keep his name reputable when accused of witchcraft. Arthur Miller writes “The Crucible” to portray the Salem witch trials of 1692. The people of Salem have grievances in which they need a scapegoat.
Compromising one’s integrity is untenable for many, who believe in an ethical and just society. Consequently, death in certain situations is a more favorable path than an immoral life. Reputation is the way others perceive you, while integrity is the way one perceives ones self. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, John Proctor faces a stark choice whether to protect his reputation by falsely accusing others of witchcraft or to preserve his personal integrity by choosing death and in so doing, helping to rid society of the plague of hysteria. Set in 17th century Salem, Massachusetts, this staunchly Puritan community, with a strict set of social and political laws, is embroiled in witchcraft frenzy.
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.
Two Heroes Through Time: Proctor, a Tragic Hero and his Comparison to Christ in The Crucible "The change in the hero's fortunes be not from misery to happiness, but on the contrary, from happiness to misery, and the cause of it must not lie in any depravity but in some great error on his part." - Aristotle Human nature has shown to be mostly ignorant but also shows prejudice to those who serve and bring benefit to society. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, John Proctor is a perfect example of a person who comes across as the proverbial Christ figure, someone with a whole lot of characteristics revealed throughout the play. Confronting the evil in Salem, overcoming temptation, but also being persecuted and suffering is what Proctor was known for. When John Proctor was accused of witchcraft in 1692, he knew that even though the accusations were false and that the women were not in contact with the devil, he had to admit to being a witch to save all those around him.
In the Crucible, many of the characters go through changes because of the intensity of the situation. But there is only one character that I think changed the most, and that is John Proctor who is the protagonist of the novel The Crucible by Arthur Miller. I think that John Procotor changes the most in the Crucible because he is in every act and mostly in every scene, and throughtout the play I see more drama (Dynamic Character) in him than any other character in the Crucible and I will go through and tell you how John Proctor changes in the Crucible. In the beginning of the play (Acts 1 and 2), we focus on John Proctor and we know that he is a good puritan citizen, a hard-working farmer and who is a husband and father.
John Proctor is a good person, he may have had an affair with Abbigail, which does make him a cheater and a liar, but he is also passionate, and tries to make amends with Elizabeth and get past the affair. In the story when John and Abbigail are alone talking, John says “Abby, you’ll put it out of mind. I’ll not be comin’ for more.” He says that because he is basically saying he isn’t going to cheat ANYMORE, stating that he has already done it. That shows he is a cheater and not loyal to his wife Elizabeth.
ACT 4: “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?
The Crucible was taken place in Salem, Massachusetts in the late 1600’s, this play was written by Arthur Miller. Arthur Miller wrote one of his most important writings on the moral dilemma that went on in this time, which was neighbor and neighbor turning on each other and the jealousy and suspicion. Neighbors accused neighbors of witchcraft which did not actually exist. John Proctor who played a big role in the moral dilemma, has to decide whether to lie and confess about witchcraft in order to save his own life, or to die being true to his beliefs. John Proctor was one of the most respected men, but he was stubborn and cheated on his wife.
The first impressive characteristic of John Proctor is his bravery. Speaking out against the “afflicted” girls in the way he did could cause serious question of him as a person. From the court’s standpoint John could be seen as directly opposing the court, which would have him jailed, or could even have him be accused of witchcraft. Also, he would have had to have known that Abigail Williams would have immediately accused him of being a witch once he spoke out against them. However, that did not stop him from delivering the truth to the court.
