Steven Hill

Nicolay

Am. Lit. P5

1/9/2011

FILLER TITLE CHANGE BEFORE TURNING IN

The Crucible is a play by Arthur Miller set in the small Puritan town of Salem,

Massachusetts. One of the themes in this play is reputation, which is is extremely important in a

town where social standing is tied to one’s ability to follow religious rules The play begins with

the discovery by the despised local preacher Reverend Parris that some local girls were

performing a sinful dance in the woods with the slave Tituba. One of the girls named Betty, upon

being discovered, falls into an unconscious state. Panic spreads through the village as people

believe that witchcraft is afoot. The town sends for the Reverend John Hale, an authority on

witchcraft, to investigate. Reverend Parris questions Abigail Williams, the unofficial leader of the

group of girls, regarding what took place in the forest. Abigail denies any witchcraft and claims

she and the girls were just dancing. Abigail manipulates the other girls into not revealing what

really happened in the forest that day. She is secretly infatuated with John Proctor with whom

she had an affair while working at his home. Proctor has since rejected Abigail, but she is still in

love with him. As the witch trials begin, Abigail and the girls lie and find a new power: accusing

others of witchcraft. The madness and the hysteria build, and the girls continue to lie to seek

revenge against those whom they do not like. Many residents, mainly the old and the sick, are

found guilty and sentenced to execution. All are fooled by the girls, including Thomas Danforth,

the Judge, and many people are brought to trial. These people include John Proctor's wife

Elizabeth Proctor and other respectable citizens. Proctor tries to counter the girls by having
Mary, who is willing to admit the girls lied, testify in court. However, all the girls accuse her of

witchcraft, and Mary eventually accuses Proctor to save herself. By this point, Reverend John

Hale realizes the corruption and injustice of the court and attempts to defend Proctor. Proctor is

sentenced to death. Hale denounces the proceedings and quits his position within the court. The

night before the execution, Proctor gives in to the advice of Reverend Hale. Hale is now a broken

man who spends all his time with the prisoners, praying with them and hoping to save their lives

from their unjust fates. Hale's advice is to confess, which will get Proctor leniency from

execution and save his life. However, he will not let the confession be displayed in the church

and rips it up. The play ends with Proctor being led off to his execution. Through out the play,

certain characters change in how they view themselves and they're relationships to others, two

characters such as John and Elizabeth Proctor. In the beginning of the play, John' doesn't view

himself as a very good person, but as the play goes on, he starts to see he is one of the only

honest, good men left. Elizabeth starts out not thinking very high of herself, thinking of herself

as a failure of a wife, until the end, where she forgives John for his adultery, and lets him go with

his reputation

In the beginning of the play John Proctor was nothing more than an average man. John

was well respected in the community and renown for his honesty. John is described as a very

passive person and not known to lead to violence and “[h]e was a kind man- powerful of body,

even- tempered and not easily led…”(p.20). He is considered an honest man, but few know that

he is guilty of adultery with the teenage servant Abigail Williams. This compromises his honesty

in the eyes of his wife and causes him to be doubted and not given the trust he deserves. This

also causes John to view himself as a sinner and as someone unworthy of the respect he is given.

Even though John gives great importance to his public appearance, John Proctor has a very low
view of himself and his worth as a human being, which affects many of his decisions in the

outcome of the play.

“I cannot mount the gibbet like a saint. It is a fraud. I am not that man. My honesty is broke

Elizabeth; I am no good man”

After the accusations of witchcraft arouse, John assumes a more prominent role in the

community. John assumes a leadership position in the movement to free Elizabeth Proctor,

Rebecca Nurse and Mrs. Corey from the prison. John becomes the strong and independent leader

many doubted he could be. Although he fails in his motion to free his wife and friends from

prison we see different sides to his character.

When the deposition stating Mary Warren had lied in court begins to falter John displays

a very aggressive and violent attitude. John, who is innerved by the lying of Abigail Williams,

grabs and shakes her. This displays a very bad tempered individual who won’t hesitate to resort

to violence. This is also shown when Ezekiel Cheever comes to arrest Elizabeth Proctor and John

tears the warrant. From these events we can learn that when confronted by an issue which

involves his loved ones, John is aggressive, bad tempered, unpatient and violent. This shows us a

great deal of change from his initial character.

“You are pulling down heaven and raising a whore”

John, whom has always been known for being a passive character, developed into a very
powerful figure. He, as well as Giles Corey and Rebecca Nurse became very prominent people

and were respected in Salem. Because of his role in the court cases, John gained respect .

After his arrest, John Proctor is presented with a very difficult moral choice. This is when

we witness the greatest alteration in his character. John needs to decide wether he prefers to lie

and live or be truthful and die. Because of John’s low self esteem and damaged public image he

believes that the best decision is to lie and live longer. This means that he would have to live in a

lie for the rest of his life.

John soon adopts high moral principles and decides to be truthfull and die. This also tell

us that he wants redemption for his acts of lust with Abigail. These acts inform us that John has

accepted the evils of his sins and in order to protect his own self esteem will not commit any

more sins. This signifies that he would not lie to save his own life, he would rather die than live

in sin. This is his act of redemption.

John’s character changed from a very kind, passive and level tempered person to an

aggressive, powerful leader in the court when confronted by a mental choice. John decided that

the lives of his wife, and friends were of higher importance than his own and adopted an attitude

of attempting to do all that is possible to have his way. John Proctor sacrificed his public image,

something he cherished, in order to assist his friends and family. John believed that by doing this

he could discredit Abigail Williams and save his loved ones. John also had a very aggressive,

intolerant attitude in court to attempt to intimidate the judges to let him have his way.
 When presented with a moral choice, John Proctor’s character changed from a person

with a very low self esteem and a negative realist view on the outcome of his life to a person that

believed that he could recuperate his lost honour and morality. John sacrificed his own life to

avoid living in a lie. John believed that he could have redemption for all his sinful acts in life by

dying for his principles.