The title of the story sums up the conclusion of John Proctors life on a whole. A crucible is a pot used to burn impure objects, as they come out clean and pure once heated. This is a metaphor for the whole village of Salem as after the event they see the error of there ways and act like puritans again. This can also be seen throughout the story as John Proctor has the impurities of his affair with Abigail and then is relieved of this sin at the end when he chooses to be truthful and accepts to do what everyone who likes him wants. This is also what his wife wants as she would prefer him to be dead and forgiven than live and be living a lie.
John Proctor was not a typical puritan. He had a sharp and biting way with hypocrites and was a man who stuck to his guns. His outspoken mannerisms could some times cause friction, for example with Putnam as he tells “I seen none children dying, this society will not be a bag to swing around your head”. This is a prime example of what Proctor is best at. Taking a look at all the evidence and then making a clear and clever conclusion from it and choosing who to blame. If you were stupid he enhanced your stupidity further by making you feel small. Arthur tells us in his notes that if a character told a stupid or blatantly obvious fact then Proctor would make them seem stupid by pointing out errors or miss judgements. This was a characteristic that won a lot of respect for John Proctor, but also made him a lot of enemies.
Another reason why John is not a stereotypical puritan is the affair with Abigail. Abigail was made to be shown as a young, nasty, malicious girl who had once had an affair with Proctor but had never let it go. She uses her cunning words to tempt John back to her and reminds him of the times spent together. Miller uses warm heat imagery here and later on in the play when Proctor is with Abbie, yet again linking back to hell and religion. She tells him of how she remembers “clutching my back behind your house and sweating like a stallion whenever I come near. Or did I just dream that? I saw your face when she put me out, and you loved me then and you do now!” This lets John reminisce about the times he had with her and the fun that occurred. She then goes on to tell and contrast heat imagery with him burning in loneliness while with Elizabeth and that “he is no wintry man”. This section is the start of the tragic hero genre for Proctor as the readers and viewers see he’s not so perfect and has deep dark secrets of his own. The audience in this time period would have been shocked with the adultery theme being added, and as a result would have been more interested.
The next main event involving John in the story has to be the biggest turning point. As he is in the court he exclaims loudly to everyone as the pressure has built up that he has known Abigail. As mentioned earlier this would have stunned the audience and sent them into shock and horror. Adding an adult theme into the story showed more depth and emotion in Arthurs writing, enhancing Proctors darker side and opening him up to the village. On the other hand this only furthers John’s many talents by giving him the courage to admit it. During this scene John’s wife plays a vital and negative role on his life by adding his downfall. To the contrast of Abigail, Arthur uses cold and shallow heat imagery when describing John’s time with her. “Its winter in here yet” has to fully describe the relationship between proctor and Elizabeth. The quick, blunt and emotionless dialogue between them proves this as well as the stage directions of Elizabeth receiving a kiss from Proctor, almost as if it was a chore. The cold heat imagery here is in total contrast compared to Abigail. As if because she’s younger and more tempting then the hot heat represents Hell and the temptation. While the cold heat represents the dead relationship with Elizabeth. Before Elizabeth enters, John tells the court of how she would never lie and is a good, pure puritan. She then enters, lies to the court not knowing the consequences and digs a hole for John. This is one of the rare cases of Irony throughout the play and varies the methods Arthur used to keep it interesting.
Once the court case has been shown the next main predicament is what John is to do. He has been given the opportunity to tell the Court of who has been lying in exchange for his life much like the HUAC cases. This only adds to the dilemma’s John is facing and turns to his wife. Here they are shown to have there first proper emotional, loving conversation. It is in contrast to the short, blunt, snappy conversation in Act 4 and lets them become closer. If anything this is the only positive to come out of John’s death penalty and can be looked upon with happiness. In then end he doesn’t sign the others names and shows that he can be a loyal puritan and a loyal friend. Most people see this as a selfless thing but he also does it to stay respected and not let others see he has lied. Elizabeth is then happy and I believe this is the reason she spoke to him with such depth. She knew what he was going to do and so respected him for it. His puritan lifestyle comes full circle as he dies pure and Elizabeth would of rather he died pure than lived falsely.
What I believe the summary and the main plot for the Crucible to be is one mans inner struggle with his conscience and guilt. When first reading through it I thought the main focus was on witchcraft and judgement, but after reading and looking through key points several times I now have different thoughts. John Proctor is a tragic hero towards the start but in the end is loved as a hero. He made his choice and his wife stood by him. This was all that mattered and completed him. I think Millers intent upon this was to show us all that even though mistakes have been made in a life, it doesn’t ruin the life itself and instead enhances the options we can take to correct it.
