The Crucible John Proctor Lies Analysis
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. His community respects and fears him due to his commanding presence. When hysteria erupts in Salem, Proctor risks his reputation so everyone can see the truth in his heart. John Proctor is a good
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Proctor is a wheat farmer for his community and owns many acres of land which signifies wealth and power during these times. He puts a lot of time and effort into helping out the town. He is respected and feared by everyone due to his involvement. When Miller explains the characterization of Proctor to the reader, he writes, “In Proctor’s presence a fool felt it’s foolishness” (Miller 1.166). Everyone knew of Proctor and kept their heads down around him because he held such a high status, taking on traits of a tragic hero. According to Aristotle, a tragic hero takes on many characteristics. The first of which is to be virtuous. A tragic hero must be high in the totem pole. They must be a noble citizen of society and are usually viewed as a hero. This hero must be held culpable of the responsibilities of the town. Proctor is an exemplar of Aristotle's first characteristic of a tragic …show more content…
Proctor had an affair with 17 year old Abigail Williams, 7 months prior to the start of the Salem Witch Trials. Proctor was ashamed by this and hid it from everyone so he wouldn’t ruin his reputation. While Abigail was still feeling lust towards Proctor, he knew that he had to shut their relationship down for the sake of his marriage. In a moment of weakness between Abigail and Proctor, Proctor firmly informed Abigail, “Abby, I may think of you softly from time to time. But I will cut off my hand before I’ll ever reach for you again. Wipe it out of your mind. We never touched, Abby (1.198)”. Proctor's wife knows all about the affair but believes that Abigail has left his mind and his life. The reader learns at this moment that Proctor still thinks about Abigail from time to time but pushes away his feelings to restore his life at home with his wife. No matter how much Proctor tries to hide his flaw, it will always interfere with his life. In the drama, Proctor holds the second characteristic of a tragic hero, portraying a
How Does John Proctor Change In The Crucible
437 Words | 2 Pagesproctor tries to completely deny the affair he tells Abigail they “Never touched.” Abigail tried to argue and bring out the truth but Proctor keeps on denying it. Proctor will do anything to keep his affair undercover. Throughout the play Proctor realizes
John Proctor's Flaws In The Crucible
451 Words | 2 PagesJohn Proctor is a farmer that lives on the outskirts of Salem. Proctor is a well respected man in the community. Proctor tries to do good, but he has several flaws that get him in trouble. His one major flaw is having an affair with Abigail Williams. Abigail was Proctors house servant.
How Does Proctor Lie In The Crucible
507 Words | 3 PagesProctor 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
John Proctor's Reputation In The Crucible By Arthur Miller
668 Words | 3 PagesIn the crucible by Arthur Miller, the character John Proctor seeks to protect his and his family’s reputation. However, this becomes a difficult task because the community has sought to destroy him. Lies begin being told about Elizabeth (John’s wife) being a witch. Because Proctor is trying to save his family’s reputation, he chose to die a man suspected of witchcraft than actually confess to it. Eventually the whole community joins in on the process of tearing apart John Proctor and his family’s reputation.
Who Is John Proctor's Reputation In The Crucible
782 Words | 4 PagesThe Crucible written by Arthur Miller is a story riddled with Deception, greed, betrayal and manipulation, but it is the actions of main protagonist John Proctor that draws the most attention. The character of Proctor is one of integrity, anger and fallibility which leads to many readers being able to relate to John Proctor the most. Proctor sees the many faults in Salem and acts as the voice for those being wrongly accused of Witchcraft. Proctor is strong willed, honest and determined, which has given him a well respected reputation throughout the town. But there is one fatal flaw, his past relations with Abigail Williams.
The Crucible John Proctor's Confession
395 Words | 2 PagesJohn Proctor is a person who lies to save himself and for his benefit. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller. He lied in his confession so he could be with his family. But many people saw him as a honest respectable man.
John Proctor In The Crucible By Arthur Miller
501 Words | 3 PagesIn The Crucible, a play by Arthur Miller, a farmer named John Proctor lived in the late 1600's in Salem, Massachusetts during the time of witch hysteria when greed, lust, jealousy, and revenge haunted the village. In this period a person's name and reputation was extremely important and religion was the center of families and of the community. Proctor was a man who was jailed because he was accused of witchcraft - which at the time was the worst thing possible since they were puritans and witchcraft was the devil's work. The main issues running throughout the plot are the series of conflicts Proctor faces such as committing adultery, hestitation to confess in court, and his final decision to make the ultimate choice of his moral: whether to lie to save his life or to die in sin.
The Crucible Character Analysis Of John Proctor
54 Words | 1 PagesCharacter Analysis of John Proctor Throughout the play John Proctor is a very dynamic character an changes constantly. In the beginning he is trouble and seems very tormented with the decisions he had made in his past, but through all the witchcraft trails in the Crucible John finds his forgiveness and his inner
How Is John Proctor Successful In The Crucible
738 Words | 3 PagesIn the end he was sincere and and stood up for what was right he no longer cared about what others thought. He turned from the guy everyone didn’t like into the huge hero of the story. All of us can learn something important from Proctor's experience. Anyone can change and in the end you can always be better than you were before. Proctor was not influenced by the conflict at first he was only interested when his wife was involved.
The Crucible John Proctor Guilt Analysis
872 Words | 4 PagesProctor’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
The Crucible Abigail Williams To Blame Analysis
465 Words | 2 PagesThis affair was never fully proven, but Proctor did say, “Abby, I may think of you from time to time but I will cut off my hand before I’ll reach for you again” (Miller 1140). Abigail was madly in love with Proctor and wanted Elizabeth out of the picture so she could have Proctor all to her self. Abigail was very jealous of Elizabeth. She thought that if Elizabeth would die, she would get Proctor all to her self. She accused Elizabeth of being a “cold, sniveling woman”(Miller 1140).
Theme Of Integrity In The Crucible
914 Words | 4 PagesProctor is widely respected in the Salem community. However, he has a secret that threatens his reputation. He cheated on his wife Elizebeth Proctor with Abigail Williams. As a result, he has a strong internal conflict regarding his integrity. Proctor is a benevolent man at heart, however he has sinned according to puritan law.
John Proctor's Confession In The Crucible
730 Words | 3 PagesSince 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.”
John Proctor As A Tragic Hero In The Crucible By Arthur Miller
1016 Words | 5 PagesI believe that this made him a tragic hero, because his refusal to lie and go against his morals and ethics lead to his suffering. Proctor deals with internal conflicts during the entire duration of the
The Relationship Between Proctor And Abigail Williams In The Crucible
1789 Words | 8 PagesShe also does this to deceive Proctor into having emotions for her. Abigail believes that Proctor still loves her even though they have not seen one another in eight months. Even though Proctor smiles at Abigail’s actions, he is infuriated when she ask him to be with her again. Proctor has told her that their affair is over and is frustrated at Abigail every time she attempts to continue their partnership. Abigail cannot handle herself when Proctor says that they cannot have a
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