What Is John Proctor's Reputation In The Crucible

In the first act of “The Crucible”, it is evident that John Proctor is highly controversial among the citizens of Old Salem. There are Salemites that are friendly and treat him with respect, there are others that are infuriated with him, and there is one that has a grand lust for the married John Proctor. The reason many Salemites have a certain disdain for the name John Proctor, is that Proctor rarely ever comes to church. Proctor actively avoids coming to church, because he does not agree with the way Reverend Parris preaches.

In the play The Crucible by Arthur, the character John Proctor in acts 1 and 2, had as motivation, keep in secret his affair in secret and maintain and a clean reputation. To begin, in act 1, John Proctor went to the Parris’ house to see why a lot of people was outside of it. There he had a conversation with one of the girls and also the one who John had an affair, Abigail, about why Betty Parris doesn’t wake up and he and asked her “what’s this mischief here?”, because “the town’s mumbling witchcraft”(Miller 21), and then Abigail confessed “we[the group of girls] were dancin’ in the woods last night, and my uncle leaped in on us. She took fright, is all.” (Miller 22), acquiring the information of what really happened that night.

John Proctor committed adultery with Abigail Williams before the play begin. However, nobody knew, except John Proctor, his wife Elizabeth, and their servant girl, Abigail Williams. This act proves to be an issue, for example, Elizabeth begins to suspect of John and Abigail so she sends Abby off. John confesses to his actions However, the tension is still tangible in the Proctor’s house and Elizabeth is still saddened by this event. As a result, John is easily angered because his wife is still suspicious of him.

Now he shows integrity for his mistakes. To prove John Proctor words, Danforth asks Cheever to bring Elizabeth to the court. When Elizabeth start to lie about adultery, we see John Proctors feeling about what he was done, he fills very bad and on responsible for things that he did in the

Although Proctor wanted to keep a clean record, he decided saving his wife is worth telling the truth. He admitted to committing Adultery with Abigail when Elizabeth was mentioned in the court. John was thrown in jail. Danforth comes to John and offers him to sign a confession so he may be kept from hanging. Proctor´s mindset is stuck on his name.

Now that Reverend Hale is seeing through the girls lies, John receives more confidence having a high authority member on his side. Unfortunately, Hales strong recommendations have no affect and John must figure out a way to prove his wife’s innocence. The court finds her illness suspicious and relates it back to witchcraft. At this point John knew the only way to help himself come to terms with his decisions and help not only his wife, but the names of all of the innocent lives and families affected by the trials, he must confess his adultery. By admitting to his sin, he will show Abigail’s true intentions behind all of the accusations and slander the girls created.

During the hysteria of 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts, many people were accused of practicing witchcraft. Therefore, their good names, or reputation, was ruined. Other people did anything and committed many sins in order to keep their reputation clean in town. For instance, some characters had to lie, fight, and accuse other people of witchcraft could get the individual out of trouble and keep their good name. when a person got accused of being a witch, the person’s reputation would get ruined and the person would go to jail or be hanged.

Everyday people go out to explore and wonder the community with different reputations, not knowing death could happen at any second. Whether you are walking around the block, to crossing the street. People worry about upholding positive reputations, because they have strong beliefs to be well known for their future generations. John Proctor did not want to raise his kids and live under a negative reputation, even though they already had a bad reputation, leading his to making the wrong decision in taking his life to protect his reputation. By doing this, John left behind his pregnant wife and kids, left behind an even worse reputation for his family, and wasn't able to prove Abigail guilty.

Julius Caesar once said, “I love the name of honor, more than I fear death”. When Caesar said that, he stated that there may be moments in a person's life where their honor is questioned, but in the end, only the person who would die to preserve their good name are truly worth honoring. Arthur Miller use The Crucible to portray John Proctor as an honorable man who made a few mistakes to have people question his honor. In The Crucible, John Proctor is shown to be a respectable, honest, and kind hearted man.

He admitted to this to try and save his wife Elizabeth’s life since Abigail tried to accuse her of witchcraft. Proctor also believed this would have made the court realize what is happening in Salem. Which would have made them realize the mass hysteria of witchcraft that needs to be stopped. John Proctor is willing to do anything to save his wife’s life therefore when it says "His determination to expose Abigail's false accusations eventually leads him to admit his own adultery to the court. He is at his most self-aware in his final speech when he realizes the importance of maintaining his integrity.

Courage is measured by an individual’s willingness to continue fighting even when the likelihood of victory is small. In the play, “The Crucible”, written by Arthur Miller, it tests the courage of the villagers in Salem through situations created by greed, cowardice, and other evils in the world. Several characters display a great deal of courage but none demonstrate this trait more than John Proctor. John Proctor is a farmer who is characterized as a proud man. Through out the beginning of the play, Miller gives the readers little clues to suggest that John and Abigail had an affair.

In the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller, John Proctor was accused of witchcraft. John Proctor was a man of great integrity and knew he did nothing wrong. He was given the choice to confess and lie or be hung. Being the honest and stubborn man that he was, he decided his name was more important than his life. John struggled both internally and with others while trying to fight for what he thought was right.

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.

He finally admits to Danforth that he has known Abigail “in the proper place where my beasts are bedded” , ultimately stating his confession about the affair he had with Abigail, committing a major sin in Puritan ideology (Miller 110). Proctor in confessing about his affair, he astonishes the court and making Abigail furious about what he had admitted to. However, Abigail attempts to lie to the court, denying any claims of any such event. Yet , Proctor exclaims “I have made a bell of my honor. I have rung the doom of my good name - you will believe me, Mr.Danforth!”

At the conclusion of The Crucible by Arthur Miller, John Proctor exhibits tremendous honor. John’s moving oration just before destroying his confession revealed that he his thoughts towards lying. In an attempt to save his good name, John Proctor would put his life on the line to go out with honesty. Prior to the witch accusations, John Proctor put his good name in jeopardy after fooling around with Abigail Williams.