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. 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 …show more content…
Because of this, logic behind his actions become lost since he begins executing them with a desire to reform the corruptness of his crime. Elizabeth suggests to Proctor, that by telling the court that Abigail and the other girls bewitchments are of pretense, all women who were sentenced to death would be given their lives back. He knows that telling the judges is the most rational, but he pauses before making a choice as he responds “quietly, struggling with his thought” (53). His uncertainty shows his conflicting emotion because Proctor feels he cannot accuse Abigail because his guilt will not allow him to. But he coexisting feels the priority to accuse her in order to keep Elizabeth in high spirits. Proctor his ability to think rationally due to the stigma he feels, the choices he makes, and how it affects his
Proctor knows it is his fault that the accusation was made and he now know he must do anything to save his wife. As the play goes on Proctor begins to realize that his wife is the one who really loves him, as Abigail will so quickly throw anyone, including him, under the bus. John
Proctor tries to hide his affair with Abigail so he can uphold his reputation in the community. Although Proctor tries to hide the affair, he ends up having to confess about the affair to the judges. Proctor confesses about the affair and why Abigail is doing this, but it is too late. Proctor gets accused of witchcraft and jailed. Proctor’s affair with Abigail leads to many bad things happening.
Proctor after a long day of work comes home and has dinner, complements Elizabeth's food, and talks with Elizabeth about her day, and then Elizabeth tells proctor that abigail is the leading accuser in the court, accusing innocent people of witchcraft, and finally tells proctor to confess to the court but he cowardly says, “I know I cannot keep it. I say I will think on it“ (Miller 4.481). Knowing that many people will die the next morning, Proctor, restrains himself of going to the court to confess that Abigail is a fraud, thus he knows that if he confesses, Abigail will accuse him of adultery and his good name in the town will be
His love for his wife compels Proctor to convince his young housekeeper Mary Warren to go to the court and recount everything she knows about the lies that Abigail Williams and the other accusers are telling. In order to get what he wants, John threatens Mary by screaming " … I will bring your guts into your mouth but goodness will not die for me" (80). In court, Mary Warren surrenders to Abigail's threatening glares and refuses to testify. John Proctor is arrested as a devil worshipper for attempting to undermine the witch trials and it is wrongly determined that Proctor lied when admitting to an affair with Abigail in order to discredit her ludicrous claims. Still floundering to atone for his sins, John uses his last opportunity to speak to Elizabeth before he is hung to profess his love to her.
He sees other people for what they are – an example being his understanding that Parris is utterly greedy and egocentric – and this proves he can see right through all the conjuring hysteria and recognize it for what it truly is: an excuse for people to express previous disagreements, grudges, and hostilities in an ambiguous manner. Although it is clear that there are no signs of paranormal activity occurring, Proctor is one of the few who realizes this. Therefore his realistic approach to life, which includes his refusal to submit to the ideas of malign magical powers that he personally does not believe in, creates conflict with the court and motivates his
Pride and Life Altering Choices Over the course of a lifetime, human beings are constantly faced with choices, some more important than others. As decisions are made, one factor that is strongly influential on decision making is the opinion of one’s own excellence and importance, also known as pride. Throughout the play The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, the effects of pride on decisions is constantly demonstrated. The play takes place during 1692-1693 in Salem, Massachusetts, where God-fearing puritans reside.
She has an arrow in you yet, John Proctor, and you know it well!”(Miller, 66). Though Proctor has been trying to forget about what he has done with Abigail, he comes to realize that, while he despises the idea, Abigail will stop at nothing to be with him, even if it means killing Elizabeth Proctor; John Proctor has come to think that keeping his affair in the dark is a better choice than confessing to his sins, when the truth is that it’s only the easier choice. Because Proctor refuses to face his fear of confession, many people are accused by Abigail, including his own wife. Furthermore, Proctor is taking a greater risk by not confessing, for Abigail Williams can use the affair as leverage, and the longer he waits to confess, the worse the punishment will be, especially if he isn’t the one to give himself
“PROCTOR with solemn warning: You will not judge me more, Elizabeth. I have good reason to think before I charge fraud on Abigail, and I will think on it. Let you look to your own improvement before you go to judge your husband any more. I have forgot Abigail, and—ELIZABETH: And I. PROCTOR: Spare me!
Many decisions in life have a reason behind them. In the story, The Crucible, by Arthur Miller there are plenty of important and tough decisions. John Proctor’s decision to destroy his confession at the end of the Crucible is one of them. The Crucible and John Proctor's decision to rip up his confession are both based on the Salem witch trials in Massachusetts 1692. Miller starts off the play focusing on young girls and a slave trying to conjure up spirits from the dead.
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.
Proctor says, “In the proper place - where my beasts are bedded. On the last night of my joy, some eight months past, she used to serve me in my house sir” This act of confession shows how much he loves Elizabeth and what he’s willing to do to protect her. Abigail had told proctor that she had never seen any spirits, but she had told him when they were alone. Proctor had to confess in order to prove that abigail would want to hurt Elizabeth and she had been lying about the witches and the devil.
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
Since Proctor did not confess, this allowed for his children to inherit his land which is an important resource in the village. His death leaves his children with a father that they can look up to, and his wife’s relationship with him ‘good.’ Elizabeth : “He have his goodness now. God forbid I take it from him!” (Miller, 116) Before his wife is thrown into custody, there is tension between them because he was alone with Abigail for an instance and this reminds Elizabeth of the affair, but most importantly instills regret in Proctor’s heart, “still an everlasting funeral marches round your heart.”
Despite how tense their relationship has been after Elizabeth found out about the affair, Proctor and Elizabeth still hold strong mutual feelings for each other. When Hale came to arrest Elizabeth under the charge that she had assaulted Abigail through the poppet that Mary had brought home with her, Proctor defended her vigorously by declaring the statement: “I will not give my wife to vengeance!” (Miller, 77). The vengeance that Proctor refers to in this statement is Abigail and her determination to replace Elizabeth as Proctor’s lover. This statement is evidence that Proctor is trying to protect Elizabeth from Abigail’s clutches and prove that he is loyal to his wife.
Anyone can be a hero or a victim, depending on the perspective through which one views the situation. The Crucible by Arthur Miller takes place in the Puritan town of Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. The outrageous influenza of witch accusations spreads rapidly through the Salem community. Revenge flows through the society as neighbors turn or neighbors and jealous girls turn on wives. One character, John Proctor, is reluctant to care about anyone besides himself at first, but after witnessing the absurdity of the witch accusations, he changes his attitude and upholds the truth.