How is proctor in the crucible

John Proctor is a tormented individual. He believes his affair with Abigail irreparably damaged him in the eyes of God, his wife Elizabeth, and himself. True, Proctor did succumb to sin and commit adultery; however, he lacks the capacity to forgive himself. Unsurprisingly, his relationship with Elizabeth remains strained throughout the majority of the play. He resents Elizabeth because she cannot forgive him and trust him again, but he is guilty of the same thing.

In fact, his own inability to forgive himself merely intensifies his reaction to Elizabeth's lack of forgiveness. In addition to struggling with the weight of his sin, the fact that he must reveal his transgression torments Proctor. His best possession is his good name and the respect and integrity associated with it. Once he acknowledges his affair with Abigail, Proctor effectively brands himself an adulterer and loses his good name.

He's also John Proctor, The Crucible 's protagonist, has some major issues. But we can see why. Back in the day, he had everything your average Puritan man could want: a farm to ceaselessly toil upon, three sons to discipline, and a wife to make a home with. Proctor was a stand-up guy who spoke his mind. Around town, his name was synonymous with honor and integrity.

He took pleasure in exposing hypocrisy and was respected for it. Most importantly, John Proctor respected himself. Enter: Abigail, the play's antagonist. This saucy young housekeeper traipsed in to John's life while Mrs. Proctor was super ill, btw and, before he knew it, his good life was bad, bad, bad.

John made the mistake of committing adultery with her. To make things worse, it was also lechery Proctor was in his thirties and Abigail was just seventeen—yuck. All it took was one shameful encounter to destroy John's most prized possession: his self-respect.

When we first meet John Proctor halfway through Act I, we discover a man who has become the thing he hates most in the world: a hypocrite. He is caged by guilt. The emotional weight of the play rests on Proctor's quest to regain his lost self-image, his lost goodness.

In fact, it is his journey from guilt to redemption that forms the central spine of The Crucible. John Proctor is a classic Arthur Miller hero: a dude who struggles with the incompatibility of his actions with his self-image. Well, apparently John's wife Elizabeth was a little frigid which she even admits , and when tempted by the fiery, young Abigail, John just couldn't resist.

Elizabeth was sick while Abigail was working for the Proctors, so she probably wasn't giving her husband much, erm, attention. But probably the cause of John's transgression is much deeper than base physical reasons. It's also quite possible that John Proctor was attracted to Abigail's subversive personality.

Miller seems to hint at this in the first scene where we see them together. Abigail tells John that all the hullabaloo about witches isn't true. She and the other girls were just in the woods having a dance party with Tituba. Miller writes:. The key clue here is the stage direction. Instead, John Proctor speaks his mind when he recognizes injustice. Throughout the play, he openly disagrees with the actions of Reverend Parris, a choice that ultimately leads to his execution. Despite his prideful ways, John Proctor describes himself as a "sinner.

There are moments when his anger and disgust towards himself burst forth, such as in the climactic moment when he exclaims to Judge Danforth : "I hear the boot of Lucifer, I see his filthy face! And it is my face, and yours. Proctor's flaws make him human.

If he didn't have them, he wouldn't be a tragic hero. If the protagonist were a flawless hero, there would be no tragedy, even if the hero died at the end. A tragic hero, like John Proctor, is created when the protagonist uncovers the source of his downfall.

When Proctor accomplishes this, he has the strength to stand up to the morally bankrupt society and dies in defense of truth. Essays about John Proctor might do well to explore the character arc that occurs throughout the play. How and why does John Proctor change? Actively scan device characteristics for identification.

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