...Hannah Rogers 10/26/15 Character Analysis of John Proctor Arthur Miller’s The Crucible has a variety of characters that are hard to connect with. The story takes place in Salem, Massachusetts during the late 17th century. Puritans made up most of the population in the area, and their court systems were based on their religion and what they believed God would want them to do. They were particularly against witchcraft, and believed that those who practiced it should be put to death. However, a seventeenyearold girl named Abigail Williams had been practicing witchcraft with her friends in the woods, and basically got caught. To cover up the situation she accuses innocent people in the village of doing it in such a way it made the judges believe she was seeing the devil with them, which saved herself from trial. John Proctor though, is no fool. Once he makes this clear to Abigail, she decides to accuse his wife, Elizabeth Proctor, of witchcraft out of jealousy because at one point she and John had a brief affair, and she felt that Elizabeth got in the way of their love. John Proctor is strong though, and will stand up for what he believes in many times throughout the story. John Proctor was pious, fallible, and a man of integrityho valued having an w honorable name in the community. He was a farmer and dedicated his time to hard work. However, he is a human which means that he made mistakes. When Elizabeth Proctor saw signs that he might fancy Abigail...
Words: 513 - Pages: 3
...In spite of his sins, John Proctor is a proud man who cares about preserving his reputation and self image. After ripping up his confession to being a witch, Proctor exclaims “ How may I live without my name! I have given you my soul; leave me my name.” Proctor cannot bear to live the rest of his life as a lie, as it would ruin his opinion of himself as a good person. Also, the judge threatens to hang John’s confession on the door of the church, which John does not want as it would diminish his reputation as a well respected man in the community. Many of John’s actions are motivated by his pride. John Proctor is also a man with a great internal conflict: his guilty conscience. Although he was a good man, he could not forgive himself for his sins. In an argument with his wife Elizabeth, John retorts “ I see now your spirit twists around the single error of my life [ adultery], and I will never tear it free!” In this quote, John is accusing Elizabeth of not being able to forgive him, but in actuality, he cannot forgive himself. Throughout the story, he struggles to come to terms with what he...
Words: 401 - Pages: 2
...in 1953 is about the Salem witch trials and some of the people involved in it. The word crucible is a test and every character goes through their own tests. John Proctor’s test changes him slowly throughout the play when he goes first stops in salem and thinks the whole entire thing will blow over. Over the course of the play the town goes mad with witchcraft while the Proctors don't know what is going on until Reverend Hale stops by and says that Elizabeth is mentioned for witchcraft. Then towards the end when Proctor confesses his sin of lechery and is convicted by Mary Warren and the other girls...
Words: 471 - Pages: 2
...as a tragic hero.The tragic hero in this story is John Proctor. This is because John displays all the qualities of being a tragic hero, such as a tragic flaw. Tragic heroes are supposed to arouse pity and fear in the reader or audience. John Proctor shows all qualities which are: mighty figure, reversal of fortune, Uncommon suffering, recognizes the consequences of his actions, and his plight ennobles the reader. John Proctor is a mighty figure because he had helped to build the church. In the Book John had said “I nailed the roof upon the church, I hung the door,” (Miller 32). This shows how, in the theocracy the live in, which is a government run by religion, John would be a mighty figure. It also shows how it leads to his downfall, and his recognizing of his actions. This is because he is so full of pride that he thinks no one will suspect him, and he can get away with adultery. Also in the book John says “ How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name,” (Miller 62). This shows how John has recognized his mistakes, and is recognizing...
Words: 608 - Pages: 3
...drama the Crucible, the main character John Proctor proves to show a copious amount of positive personality traits but is sinful to one fatal flaw, committing adultery with Abigail Williams that he can’t allow himself to be forgave for. Though Proctor believes this sin has damaged God’s view of him, the character has proven to show throughout the play he is capable of reclaiming his goodness. Ultimately, in the words of Hannah Montana, “Everybody makes mistakes. Everybody has those days.” Proctor realizes he doesn’t have to be a saint to be good. To understand how John Proctor reclaimed his goodness, the story needs to be set to when the reader is first aware of Proctor’s lost sense of goodness. The play introduced Proctor as a man repleted with guilt. Known for being highly respected in the town of Salem, he is struggling with his self image and sense of goodness, rightfully so. Following the event of Proctor...
Words: 730 - Pages: 3
...In a character analysis, the writer explains how a character and his or her conflict(s) helps readers understand a major theme. Whether it is a major or minor character, either one can illustrate important key themes. In a short story, novel, poem, play, etc., based on a character’s words, thoughts, and actions, one can comprehend their value, and the strengths and weaknesses of their personality. In The Crucible, Miller, Arthur. John Proctor, the play’s tragic hero and a man that lived during the Salem witch trials of 1632 through 1962, is a farmer and tavern keeper living in Massachusetts. John Proctor, known to be an honest, upright, and blunt spoken man is a kind soul that lacks the intention of forgiving his evil sin of adultery with Abigail Williams. Trapped in an unbreakable belief due to his affair, John Proctor believes he damaged the relationship with not only his wife, but with the Man, he praises mostly, God. Battling with his secrets, John must soon reveal to the city and lose...
Words: 690 - Pages: 3
...Literary Analysis: A Character from The Crucible By looking at The Crucible by Arthur Miller, one can infer that the character, John Proctor, reveals the theme of reputation and integrity. These are important because refusing to lie to protect one’s reputation can stop hysteria from spreading. In The Crucible, John Proctor was more worried about his reputation for his family to live with than he was concerned with his own life. Basically, the idea of John Proctor protecting his reputation motivates him to deny that witchcraft exists in the village. Proctor had stated his worry by saying, “The town is mumbling witchcraft” (1.1.511-512). Proctor says this in reference to Reverend Hale walking through town with a stack of books for researching...
Words: 450 - Pages: 2
...Character Analysis of Abigail Williams Author Miller’s drama The Crucible takes place in the seventeenth-century in Salem, Massachusetts. Salem suffers from witch-hunts, trials, and false accusations. In effect, the town is full of worry and suspicion; and when young girls falsely accuse self-righteous neighbors in Salem of witchcraft, the town goes against itself, which ultimately causes a conflict between power and aggression. The personality of Abigail Williams, the understood leader of all the young girls, ultimately causes the whole play to go into effect. Abigail displays that she is sinful, envious, and manipulative. Abigail Williams’ characteristic of sinfulness causes her to be the antagonist of the whole play. Abigail commits...
Words: 906 - Pages: 4
...Crucible Critical Analysis Shakespeare believes that a tragic hero has potential for greatness, but is ultimately destined to fail. The character falls from greatness because of their ‘tragic flaw’. In Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible, the protagonist John Proctor is portrayed as the tragic hero. He fits this description for a number of reasons. His tragic flaw or Achilles heel, like many other tragic heroes is his pride. Compounded with conflicts with circumstances, this tragic flaw leads to Proctor’s loss of life and arguably the loss of his eternal life as well. One of the major requirements to being a Shakespearean tragic hero includes having a tragic flaw. Proctor places a great deal of importance on his pride or what he considers dignity and self-respect. He lets pride overshadow his life and actions. He would rather maintain his pride or die. As the play nears its end in Act Four, it shows that he would rather give up his life, rather than post his fake confession on the church doors for the public to see. He states, “Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life... How may I live without my name? I have given my soul; Leave me my name!” (Miller, 133). John is too prideful and unwilling to stain his reputation. He prefers to die rather than have his name stained because of a fake confession. He wants to leave his name intact for his family. Another example of this is illustrated in Act Two, where Elizabeth urges Proctor to go to Salem...
Words: 1106 - Pages: 5
...Research Analysis over Abigail Williams Arthur Miller said in an interview once, “ I took creative license with her character to make the connection between sexuality and politics more dramatic,” (Shmoop). This is one of the reasons Arthur Miller made Abigail Williams in The Crucible so different compared to the real Abigail. Abigail Williams was an 11-year -old girl who lived in Salem and worked for the Proctor family, John and Elizabeth, before the time of the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. Before the trails even started, Abigail and her cousin, Betty Parris, got into fortune telling their future like who they would marry and what their social status would be. After a while they got the other girls in town to start playing their fortune telling...
Words: 326 - Pages: 2
...towards new or different practices is one of the ways that miller creates drama. Another factor is the maintenance of personal reputation and the consequences of conflict upon this status. By manipulating ordinary people, hysteria also creates a large sum of drama. Through an analysis of Intolerance, reputation and hysteria, this essay will explore how conflict creates drama. In a puritan society, not meeting the social norms was seen as treason and heavily persecuted. This lead to an intolerance of anyone who did not worship god, and dissent lead to beliefs of Satanic activity. Judge Danforth quotes in act three page 85 "You are either with the court or against it". Miller uses tone to foreshadow what is yet to come in the the text. The tone of this sentence shows that the witch trials are the ultimate form of intolerance and hanging...
Words: 1065 - Pages: 5
...named Tituba. After this rumors of witchcraft fill the town. Then the wicked Abigail starts claiming she saw townsfolk consorting with the devil. One of the people she denounces Elizabeth Proctor wife of John Proctor who once had sexual relations with Abigail. Throughout the play Mary Warren appears to be the weak one and at first wants to confess to the activities in the woods, but in Act 2 Mary Warren is believed to be helping Abigail...
Words: 768 - Pages: 4
...English 11 AP The Crucible Literary Analysis The Crucible, a novel by Arthur Miller is a historical fiction novel that takes place during the year 1692. The novel is written in the format of a play and takes place in the small town of Salem, Massachusetts. The town consists of a tight knit highly religious society. The situation and circumstances that the community is in encourages the development of several different themes in the story. Religion, integrity, and respect and reputation are all important themes in the novel. Religion is one of the main reasons that the novel its self is able to play out and develop. The main plot of the story revolves around religion and the actions that the characters take out either for or against the things that they are taught and that they are expected to follow. The community is a group of extremely religious Puritans; in their minds and opinions there is only one thing that is important: God. To the community the only thing that should matter to people is being on God’s good side and being the best Christians they can be. The only things that have an important value are upholding religious beliefs and developing the best relations they can with God and the church. If the people of Salem hadn’t been so religiously uptight then the Salem witch trials probably wouldn’t have even occurred. Also, during the witch trails the only thing that people had as proof of innocence or guilt was religion without religion their points would have...
Words: 961 - Pages: 4
...Extension class. To be perfectly honest, when I first picked up this text, I was unsure of what to expect. Apart from reading Shakespeare, I had never been exposed to reading in the playwright form. I did not know what my approach to the play was going to be or how I would react to reading it, or if there was a certain way in which I was supposed to be affected by it. I also had yet to read a text written by Arthur Miller, so I was unaware of his style of writing and again did not know what to expect from it. After finishing the play for the first time I was satisfied that I had thoroughly enjoyed reading the story, whilst developing a love hate relationship with some of the plot lines, characters and themes that it portrayed. At the beginning of the story, I found myself sympathizing with the character Abigail Williams. She is a young teenage girl, in love, and I felt myself trying to relate to her and the way she may be feeling, being rejected by the man she loves. Before Abigail’s true personality was revealed, I thought...
Words: 2843 - Pages: 12
...Analysis Abigail will stop at nothing to get what she wants no matter the cost or consequences. She is a jealous and deceitful woman in the Crucible by Arthur Miller. Miller writes about how she tries to manipulate people in order to get what she she desires. Her actions in the short story “The Last True Witch Hunt” further prove these characteristics about Abigail and how she behaves. In act one Abigail was talking to the other girls who were involved in the incident in the woods. She said to them “Let either of you breathe a word, or the edge of a word, about the other things, and I will come to you in the black of some terrible night and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you”. (p. 1244) Abigail is threatening the girls that if they were to tell anyone about what they were really doing in the woods that night she would harm them. This shows that Abigail is willing to threaten her own friends in order to protect herself. In my short story about Abigail she is willing to get another woman killed in order to be with her husband, exactly like she attempted to do in The...
Words: 620 - Pages: 3
