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Introduction

Who was to blame for the death of John Proctor? There are many characters in "The Crucible" that are partly to blame for the death of John Proctor. Many of the audience could even interpret each one of the characters in the play, as partly responsible by one or several of their actions. However, a few key characters could be seen as the sole causes for Proctors death. Firstly I will discuss how Mary Warren is to blame for the death of John Proctor. Many aspects of Mary's character contribute to the reasons behind her actions and therefore why she is partly responsible. Mary Warren is not an intelligent character and this can be seen by the fact that she saw the accusations of witchcraft as "only a sport" page 86. This could be interpreted as a naivety for not realizing the sometimes fatal consequences of her actions. Some may also see elements of cowardice within Mary's character, a passage which demonstrates this is on page 95 of the play, "Don't touch me!" when Mary is about to re-confirm all the accused's innocence yet suddenly changes her mind after seeing the threat of her own accusation by Abigail, who claims to see Mary in the form of a bird. This cowardice then guides me onto the main reason why Mary Warren is responsible for Proctor's death. ...read more.

Middle

In addition to this Parris was also insistent of Proctor writing a confession for the village to see, "Proctor, the village must have proof that-"which lead to Proctor tearing up his primary confession of witchcraft and therefore signing himself to be hung. Another character that holds the blame for the death of John Proctor is Abigail Williams. Some may say that Abigail is the main blame-holder for the death of Proctor, as she brought about the accusations of witch-craft in the first place. "I never called him. Tituba, Tituba..." reveals this, as this is the moment that Abigail accuses Tituba of trafficking with the Devil. If it wasn't for Abigail, some of the audience could say that the town would not have gone into pandemonium and Mary would not have accused John. Another reason why Abigail is responsible for John's death is that she accused Elizabeth, John's wife, of witchcraft. This is shown by "and she (Abigail) charges me?" Said by Elizabeth when she is accused. It is easy for one to see that if this was not done, John would not have gone to the court in the first place to give evidence against the girls. This can be seen by, "She told it to me in a room alone, I have no proof for it." ...read more.

Conclusion

The audience can be sure that Proctor did in fact have an affair with Abigail by numerous instances within the play. A few are, "Abby will charge lechery on you Mr. Proctor!" also more strongly the scene between Proctor and Elizabeth, "I should have roared you down when you first told me your suspicion, but I wilted, and like a Christian, I confessed." And lastly, "Abby, you'll put it out of mind; I'll not be coming for you anymore." An additional point as to why he is responsible for his death is that in the last scene, he could have survived if he agreed to write a confession for all the village to see, he however wanted to protect his name. So, in one of the greatest human flaws pride, in some peoples opinion, or in one of the greatest human advantages truth, he tore up his confession and therefore was hung. This is shown by Proctors dialogue beginning, "Because it is my name! Because I can not have another in my life!" In conclusion, in my opinion, most people would see John Proctor most to blame for his own death, due to him in the end having the direct choice of a life in shame, or a death in glory, with his guilt repaid, and him picking death. However, admittedly, the other characters mentioned, Abigail, Mary and Parris all also had an almost equal share in his blame. ...read more.

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