It seems, near the beginning of the play, before he realises things are serious when is comes to witchcraft, that Proctor stays clam in situations where others panic. For example when Betty is pretending to be ill and he is speaking with Mr Putnam and Parris. During this conversation Proctor addresses the fact that Parris only talks about the Devil in church instead of God. He makes it clear that he does not believe the devil had take over Betty and also may not attend church due to Parris speaking of the devil so much,
“I have trouble enough without him I come five mile to hear him preach only of hellfire and bloody domination. Take it to heart, Mr Parris. There are many others who stay away from church these days because you hardly ever mention God anymore.”
This speech shows he is angered that the reverent does not speak of God anymore, and so therefore shows he is a true good Christian man. He is not just stressing his own opinions, but his friends too. He is not afraid Parris will take offence proving he is not at all afraid of Parris at all.
Proctor says some things without considering the consequences and how people may react to his strong disagreeable opinions. When Putnam and Parris are talking about “a party in the church” of people whom dislike Parris, Proctor jokes that he would join this, “Why, then I must find it and join it” this joke was very much spur of the moment, the others did not find it as amusing as he did, there is however truth in it. Proctor later regrets having said this as it is used against him when he is trying to prove his innocent, and prove himself to be a man of no evil. This happens again much later in the play, at the end of act three, “I say - I say – God is dead!” what Proctor meant was that all good was dead, the people in the village are willing to believe that the devil is present and so they are wiping out all signs of good. The judges, clergymen and people of the village mistake his meaning. They think that Proctor is working for the devil and so hates God and it is received as the devil's words, as though he is trying to get rid of all belief in God.
Proctor’s feelings of guilt play on his conscience, as Elizabeth is suspicious of him being around Abigail, and especially alone with her. “Let you look sometimes for the goodness in me, and judge me not” he sees that she is doubting the goodness in him and will not stand for it. He does not want her to judge him any longer as he knows he has done wrong but can not change it. Elizabeth, although she seems reluctant to say it tells John she believes him to be a good man, “I never thought you but a good man” Elizabeth says, “…only somewhat bewildered” she smiles. Proctor is well aware that Elizabeth has not completely forgiven him, and this fact still frustrates him, “oh, Elizabeth, your justice would freeze beer!” this is also another example of him speaking his mind.
When John and Elizabeth Proctor are both jailed Elizabeth is summoned to speak to John so try and get him to confess, rather than be hanged. When speaking to her husband, Elizabeth quite apologetic, as she can not forgive herself for not trusting, and believing there was goodness in John Proctor,
“…not honest love could come to me. Suspicion kissed you when I did; I never knew how I should say my love. It were a cold house I kept.”
Elizabeth is speaking like she did not know him before; they are now closer than ever, she loved him before, but never knew how to show it. She is laying some of the blame, of John’s affair, onto herself this strongly suggests she has now forgiven him for his sin and witnesses his goodness.
We see a strong insight in act three of Elizabeth trusting her husband, as she is being arrested for witchcraft, after Abigail claimed her spirit stabbed her in the stomach with a needle. Proctor, after admitting the fact that his wife is being jailed, gives her confidence when he demands that she fear nothing. To this she replies, “I will fear nothing” it is almost, as though Proctor is giving his wife some of his strength, and is reassuring her that the truth will be seen and evil will not win. Elizabeth knows she is innocent.
Arthur Miller describes Proctor as,
“A man in his prime…with a quiet confidence and ad unexpressed, hidden force…”
The author is describing how we first see John Proctor, he has not yet needed to show his “hidden force” he is “respected and ever feared” in Salem. This shows his power and importance, he is a strong, solid figure in the village. This quote is from before we are even introduced to him, in the following scene Abigail speaks to Proctor, she speaks to him intimately, as if she knows him very well, since the affair, “You are no wintry man. I know you, John. I know you” she is expressing that she knows he is not a cold man, although he is denying all feelings for her.
John, battling to find his goodness, has to overcome some strong accusations about him. His servant Mary Warren makes one of these. At first we see she is a very timid, quiet girl who fears Mr Proctor. But however, after being made an official of the court, a sudden change occurs in Mary and she stands up to John, and demands he treat her better, “I’ll not be ordered to bed no more, Mr Proctor! I am eighteen and a woman, however single!” she feels that she has a right to stand up for herself now. When Elizabeth is arrested, Proctor tells Mary that she must tell the caught that the whole thing is pretence, she weeps, and we see the side of Mary that we saw at the beginning, weak and powerless. In court, when Mary Warren confesses to it being lies, the girls, with Abby as their leader, then turn on Mary and say that she is sending her spirit out to harm them. In a moment on confusion and terror, Mary changes her mind and then pretends Proctor is guilty of witchcraft, “You are the devil’s man!” this false accusation is taken very seriously and is held against John, and he is jailed.
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Abigail represents a strong evil in the play. She cries out innocent people’s names knowing they will be hanged, this shows she is selfish as she will do anything to save her name in the village. The fact that she wants rid of Elizabeth and wants Procter all to herself also shows a degree of stubborn selfishness, this is proven when she says “you loved me then and you do now!” Abby is trying to convince Proctor that she is in love with her and that Elizabeth is not a good wife, when she says “She is a cold, snivelling woman. Abigail is very aggressive, and plays a leader role with the girls, we see this in act one “ (Abigail smashes Betty across the face) Shut it! Now shut it!” and again later when shouting orders to the rest of the girls,
“Now look you. All of you. We danced. And Tituba conjured Ruth Putnam’s dead sisters. And that is all. And mark this. Let either of you breathe a word, or the edge of a word, about the other things, and I will come to you in the black of some terrible night and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you. And you know I can do it; I saw Indians smash my dear parents’ heads on the pillow next to mine, and I have seen some reddish work done at night, and I can make you wish you had never seen the sun go down!”
Abigail uses her experience to scare the girls into thinking she could do the same to them, she threatens them so they do not tell of her drinking blood and putting a charm onto Elizabeth Proctor. Abigail is rather cunning, and after witnessing Hale rejoicing and pitying Tutuba for admitting to being in contact with the devil (which Abby made up in the first place) and wanting to love God again. She interrupts, “ I want the light of God!” she wants to be seen as totally pure and innocent, maybe wanting to cover up her affair with Proctor, hoping that no one will believe it if the truth ever came out and so wishes to prove she loves God. By saying this she is obviously seeing how Tituba is being treated, like a victim, she too wants people to respect her.
Two other evil characters are Mr and Mrs Putnam, who at first lay the blame onto Tituba for her seven new born babies dying, “Tituba knows how to speak to the devil Mr Parris” Mrs Putnam later says, “They were murdered, Mr Parris”. The two put ideas into Tituba’s head, of who she saw with the devil, after she is frightened into admitting she conjured with evil, “Did you ever see Sarah Good with him? Or Osburn?” The Putnams, as well as Parris and a little Hale prompt Tituba, although Hale’s intentions are mainly good. The Putnams suggest actual people, with which the petrified slave agrees just to save herself from harm. Mr Putnam is willing to have people killed for their land, to improve his wealth.
Mr Parris, who is reverent of the church, also knowing does wrong. He is the one who discovers his niece and her friends dancing in the forest, and does not wish to make it public knowledge, purely because he does not want his name blackened or his role as minister taken from him. Parris’s reputation comes before his daughters and niece’s welfare, in his eyes,
“…And I pray you feel the weight of truth upon you, for now my ministry’s at stake, my ministry and perhaps your cousin’s life…just now when some good respect is rising for me in the parish, you comprimise my very character”
This shows extreme selfishness, much like his niece, as he is only concerned about his job, and what others will think of him for having such relations, it is almost as though he is ashamed. Later in the play, Parris lies about having seen the girls dancing naked, only to protect his name, “I do not deny it, sir, but I never saw any of them naked” he says. Yet in the early stages of the play he admits, “And I thought I saw- someone naked running through the trees!”
Parris, in act three, tries to persuade the judges that Proctor is evil, and to not believe what he says, as he is aware that John knows of his niece dancing. He could possibly know about Abigail’s affair with Proctor, but wishes it not to be public, as that would destroy his name also, “Beware this man, your Excellency, this man is mischief,” he says.
John Proctor represents good, the others mentioned, the Putnams, Parris and most of all Abigail, represent evil, and join at one time is fighting against each in turn, trying to make the good in him and the truth in him be visible. Hale represents neither good nor evil, he does wrong, but not intentionally, he shows feelings of guilt,
“Excellency, I have signed seventy-two death warrants; I am a minister of the Lord, and I dare not take a life without there be proof so immaculate, no slightest qualm of conscience may doubt it.”
Towards the end of the play, when he learns Proctor is not confessing, and will be hung, he tries to persuade both him and his wife to change his mind. “Man you will hang!” this shows that he can see some good in Proctor as he is concerned about him dying. He shows signs of guilt earlier when he visits the Proctor household, almost apologizing for the whole situation,
“…In my ignorance I find it hard to draw a clear opinion of them that come accused before court. And so this afternoon, and now tonight, I go from house to house- I come from Rebecca Nurses house and-”
His conscience will not allow him to just go by the word of Abby and the rest, so he is investigating the accused for himself, so he does not charge innocent people, he wants justice. Hale himself has many doubts about the girl’s testimony resulting in his guilt showing, we see an example of this when he eventually walks out of the court in fury, after realizing it is unjust.
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After having been through a lot of frustration, self doubt, pain and anger, John Proctor finally finds his goodness, this means sacrificing his own life which shows indescribable, immense courage and dignity. Proctor is at first stubbornly against the idea of confessing, but after speaking with Elizabeth for a while he realises he wants his life, and loves his family so much that he will clearly lie to live and take care of them. Proctor is willing to admit to being in contact with the devil, as he shouts, “I want my life” knowing that his confession would be wrong, and of course a lie. As he says this, it is almost as though he has given in to evil, letting it win even after he has struggled so much to be a good man. He later asks Elizabeth what she would do, but then answers his own question, as he knows she is full of goodness,
“Would you give them such a lie? Say it. Would you ever give them this…You would not; if tongs of fire were singeing you you would not! It is evil. Good, then-it is evil, and I do it!”
This again is another sign that John is giving in to evil. As he reluctantly agrees to confessing, and having it written, he is asked questions and lies though his teeth, but still attempting to do the right thing and not betray his friends in doing so. When asked, by Danforth, if he saw Rebecca Nurse with the devil he simply replies “No” and he again refuses to give the judges what they are searching for, which is to say he saw his friends and/or friend wives’ with the devil. Danforth begins to see that John is not telling them what they expected and then asks Proctor if he saw anyone with the devil, to this he determinedly replies “No. I did not” At this point we are still able to see Proctor ironically struggling to do the good thing, as the fact that he is confessing is already a sin. He is still desperately trying not to betray his friends and blacken their names.
“Why must I say it…They go like saints. I like not to spoil their names.”
This clearly shows John Proctors loyalty to his friends, even when his life is in danger, he sticks to his morals and refuses to say he saw anyone with the devil. We see that Proctor thinks only he deserves evil, as his good name is already blackened, as his sin of committing adultery has been announced and is no longer a secret. Even when his he is already seen as a devil’s man he will not condemn others.
“I speak my one sins; I cannot judge another…I have no tongue for it.”
Mr Hale shares Protor's pain and tries to hurry the process up by stating he has confessed enough, and they do not require more, then, after agreeing with Hale, Danforth lets John sign his written confession. Naturally he is extremely hesitant to sign, and the members of the court begin to doubt why.
“You will sign your name or it is no confession, Mister!”
Proctor obeys Danforth in obvious agony, and signs his name, just as Mr Danforth reaches for the paper, Proctor snatches it from his hands,
“No, no, I have signed it. You have seen me. It is done! You have no need for this.”
Proctor is struggling to give up his confession, as he thinks that as they and God have witnessed him signing, it is all the evidence they need, he says “How may I live without my name?” He is desperately trying not to blacken his name anymore than it already is. He tries his best to persuade the judges that they have what they want, and to let him keep the confession with his signature. John eventually cries,
“I have confessed myself! Is there no good penitence but it be public? God does not need my name nailed upon the church! God sees my name; God knows how black my sins are! It is enough…You will not use me…I am John Proctor!”
Here we can clearly see that Johns desire to live is very strong, however his desire to keep his name is ever stronger. Proctors conscience is clearly agonisingly affecting him,
“How may I live without my name?...I have three children-how man I teach then to walk like men in the world, and I sold my friends?
Proctor does not wish to be reminded of his sin by having it nailed in the church, his conscience will not allow him to confess, as he will loose his name altogether. Danforth once again attempts to make John understand that he need legal proof that he has signed, only to be interrupted by Proctor again defending himself. He even admits he can tell the high court that he “broke his knees and wept like a woman” and eventually when asked to explain why he will not let Danforth take his name from his he brakes down and cries, with words coming from his soul,
“Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies! Because I am not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang! How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name!”
This seems very ironic, as he is not willing to let them take him name in writing, but he will however let them have his confession. This is one of the crucial moments when John Proctor is torn between good and evil, he does not know with way to sway and he is doubting himself throughout. Danforth asks him if the confession is a lie “If it is a lie I will not accept it” his reaction to this is the turning point of the whole play, he begins to tear up the paper and then crumples it, while weeping in fury. This is the point in the play when good wins over evil, the conflict it over, Proctor chooses goodness which means death. We see a much stronger character, in John Proctor after he has been forced to making the decision. His goodness is highlighted during the whole experience, as he is one of few to come to not give in to evil, although tempted and he even seems proud. Goodness wins in Johns case, but this was not so for many of the accused people, this shows extreme courage, as he is facing death, for his sins, and it is his own choice. When Hale speaks up “man, you will hang! You cannot” trying to save Proctors’ life, he says, with tears in his eyes,
“I can. And there’s your first marvel, that I can. You made magic now, for now I do think I see some shred of goodness in John Proctor. Not enough to weave a banner with, but white enough to keep it from such dogs.”
We see a much stronger side of Proctor, he has found goodness within himself and now does not seem afraid any longer. His wife Elizabeth, who truly believes in his goodness, witnesses this. She is obviously devastated to learn that her husband has just given up his life, but at the same time can see and knows it is the good thing to do. Hale begins to plead with Elizabeth, asking her to change his mind, but she replies, through floods of tears,
“He have his goodness now. God forbid I take it from him!”
We see that Elizabeth is very much aware of the strength of Proctors courage, and she, as well as Proctor himself, can see the goodness in him. John Proctor has found, and what’s more faced, his essential goodness, but more importantly people close to him recognised it in him.
Throughout the play John Proctor has wavered and at times lacked courage. We discovered his weaknesses. We know about his lechery with Abigail. This disturbed character is a tragic hero, he is flawed, as he has not been completely faithful to Elizabeth. He does, however, redeem himself by almost insisting he give up his own life, along with the support and well-earned respect from his saintly friends and loving wife. At the very end of the play, he has found his strength and a belief in himself, that he was desperately struggling to discover. He goes to his death with dignity and courage, his self-respect restored.
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