Sophocles, an ancient Greek believed, “Honor isn't about making the right choices. It's about dealing with the consequences.” The quote expresses how honor is more about accepting the mistakes made and standing up to fix them instead of living life to a perfect image. In the classic playwright, The Crucibles, Arthur Miller demonstrates the chivalrous actions of others due to the witch trials. This quote can be applied to the protagonist, John Proctor who shows honor when he confesses of being an adulterer and chooses to hang with his friends. Primarily, John Proctor is a noble man when he spills out to the court that he has cheated on his wife with Abigail. In front of the court officials and main characters as witnesses, he says, “She thinks …show more content…
Although it pains him to say it because of the guilt that still lingers and his pride being stripped away, like a fired bullet, John must follow through no matter what he feels. The will in him to speak out and save his wife from hanging is greater than his pride. Throughout the book, John is a man of living life by the book and can see right through Reverand Parris’s greed; therefore, he dislikes Parris and doesn't trust him. However, by owning up on lechery, John Proctor shows he is a hypocrite since he has sinned just like Reverand Parris which negates his name in the village even more. Furthermore, John displays the quintessence of a righteous man when he decides to hang with Rebecca Nurse and Martha Corey. John has the chance to be set free if he acknowledges the fact that he has done the work of the devil and seen others. Instead, he stands his guard and …show more content…
He even admits to Abigail himself that “I might think of you softly from time to time” (29). This proves that John Proctor did indeed have something going on with Abigail in the past. None the less, the blame cannot be ascribed to John for his actions when it was not his fault because the problem did not start there. In the final act, Elizabeth is talking with John as the last person to break through and get him to confess. A turn of events allows Elizabeth to confess herself to John saying, “Suspicion kissed you when I did. I never knew how I should say my love. It were a could house I kept” (138). What Elizabeth is trying to explain is that she did not express her love to John when she had the chance to. She was distant even when he was faithful to her, keeping her composure. Considering this, if she had shown some signs of affection then John wouldn’t have engaged in lechery, Abigail wouldn’t have been in love with John and the cry of witchcraft in Salem wouldn’t have been present. To be able to carry the mistakes of both Elizabeth and him, John Proctor a praiseworthy man for sticking with her and disconnecting himself from Abigail.
To draw the curtains, Arthur Miller makes it apparent that while John Proctor may have his flaws, he is indeed a laudable character. He sacrifices his life to set free his wife, set free others from the same doom, and set himself