John Proctor Essay

1142 Words5 Pages
Francis Adeola A.P English 11 10/19/12 Character Analysis of John Proctor In the play, The Crucible by Arthur Miller, John Proctor- a farmer at Salem- is portrayed as a main character that dies sacrificing himself for his friends, family and the hysteria. John Proctor, an honest, responsible and well-respected married man, had a flaw-which was his secret affair with Abigail Williams`- that led to his downfall. John Proctor pride also led to his downfall. In Act one, Proctor was introduced as a highly respected common man. Arthur Miller stated, “He was a kind of man-powerful of body, even tempered, and not easily led”. He also stated, "In Proctors presence a fool felt his foolishness instantly." These quotes proved Proctor to be a very powerful and influential man. In this act, the audience learned about Proctor’s affair with Abigail Williams, which was Proctor’s greatest mistake; however, Proctor did not want the affair any longer, he stated, “Abby, I may think of you softly from time to time, but i will cut off my hand before I ever reach for you again. Wipe it out of your mind, we never touched Abby." Clearly from this quote, Proctor was ashamed of his affair with Abigail and was angry with his self because he committed adultery. Proctor wished to forget the affair but as the play went on, he finds it hard to convince Abigail to stop having feelings for him. Also, we learned about the hatred between Proctor and Parris, they both did not get along due to different beliefs and culture. Proctor did not like the authority Parris had as he said, “I like not the smell of this authority.” Proctor hated Parris so much that he did not attend church regularly. In Act two, the audience was introduced to Elizabeth Proctor, John Proctor’s wife, who was a good wife that blamed herself for Proctor’s affair with Abigail. However, John Proctor showed great deal
Open Document