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Character Analysis of John Proctor

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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 integrity ho 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, she kicked Abigail out and turned cold.
As a member of the Puritan religion, John realized that what he did was adultery and

wanted Elizabeth and God’s forgiveness. He was living a somewhat peaceful life until he heard that Elizabeth was one of the accused by Abigail. This changes not only his peace, but his character too. As once an honorable and sort of quiet man, he changes to a rebellious man giving almost no thoughts about his honorable name. He puts his efforts into proving Abigail wrong in court and saving his wife while other people in the village start to think that maybe he has practiced witchcraft too. Eventually, he himself becomes one of the accused.
The end of the story is John’s fall. Although he does save Elizabeth from execution, he himself is to be executed unless he admits to witchcraft and signs his name on a paper that is to be nailed on the church building letting the whole village know that he has practiced witchcraft. He lied and admitted to it, but once he realized what signing his name would do to his good name, he refused. Bravely, he accepts the fact that this will send him to his death. During his last words with Elizabeth, for the first time in the story he finds peace within himself because she has forgiven him. His long struggle has finally ended as he is walking up to the hangman’s noose. John Proctor truly changed throughout the story.

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