The Crucible - How John Proctor changed throughout the storyline from mistreating his wife by cheating on her while she was ill with Abigail, to someone who took the blame so no one else got in trouble.

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James Peters

The Crucible

In this essay I will talk about how John Proctor changed throughout the storyline from mistreating his wife by cheating on her while she was ill with Abigail, to someone who took the blame so no one else got in trouble.

The Crucible is based on the true story of the 1692 Salem Witch Trials where people were hanged if they were accused of being a witch. All of them were innocent and wrongly hanged. Arthur Miller has changed some of the play so it would be easier to write about like the girls in crying out has been reduced and Abigail’s age has been raised. There were also 7 judges of equal authority which has all been symbolized in Hathorne and Danforth.

The story starts out with a group of girls who were caught dancing in the woods by Reverend Parris. He also saw one of them naked in the woods. Next morning Betty falls ill and Parris keeps asking what’s wrong with her and what did Abigail do to her. He asks about the devil and Abigail sees this as an opportunity to blame people for being involved with the devil and getting her own back on people. We then see people coming into the house and leaving. Abigail tells all these people who she saw with the devil. Later on we get introduced to John Proctor who was respected in Salem and even feared. He is in his middle thirties and was a farmer. Then in Act2 John Proctor sits down to dinner with his wife, Elizabeth. Mary Warren, their servant, has gone to the witch trials, disobeying Elizabeth's order that she remain in the house. Fourteen people are now in jail. If these accused witches do not confess, they will be hanged. Whoever Abigail and her troop name as they go into hysterics is arrested for bewitching the girls. Proctor can barely believe the craze, and he tells Elizabeth that Abigail had sworn her dancing had nothing to do with witchcraft. Elizabeth wants him to testify that the accusations are a fraud. He says that he can’t prove his charge because Abigail told him this information while they were alone in a room. Elizabeth loses all faith in her husband upon hearing that he and Abigail were alone together. Proctor demands that she stop judging him. He says that he feels as though his home is a courtroom, but Elizabeth responds that the real court is in his own heart. When Mary Warren returns home, she gives Elizabeth a doll that she sewed in court, saying that it is a gift. She reports that thirty-nine people now stand accused. John and Mary argue over whether Mary can continue attending the trials. He threatens to whip her, and Mary says that she saved Elizabeth's life that day. Elizabeth's name was apparently mentioned in the accusations but Mary spoke out in Elizabeth's defence. Proctor instructs Mary to go to bed, but she demands that he stop ordering her around. Elizabeth, meanwhile, is convinced that it was Abigail who accused her of witchcraft, in order to take her place in John's bed. Hale visits the Proctors because he wants to speak with everyone whose name has been mentioned in connection with witchcraft. He has just visited Rebecca Nurse. Hale proceeds to ask questions about the Christian character of the Proctor home. He notes that the Proctors have not often attended church and that their youngest son is not yet baptized. Proctor explains that he does not like Parris's particular theology. Hale asks them to recite the Ten Commandments. Proctor agrees to say them but forgets the commandment prohibiting adultery. At Elizabeth's urging, Proctor informs Hale that Abigail told him that the children's sickness had nothing to do with witchcraft. Taken aback, Hale replies that many have already confessed. Proctor points out that they would have been hanged without a confession. Giles and Francis rush into Proctor's home, crying that their wives have been arrested. Rebecca is charged with the supernatural murders of Mrs. Putnam's babies. A man bought a pig from Martha Corey and it died not long afterward; he wanted his money back, but she refused, saying that he did not know how to care for a pig. Every pig he purchased thereafter died, and he accused her of bewitching him so that he would be incapable of keeping one alive. Ezekiel Cheever and Herrick, the town marshal, arrive with a warrant for Elizabeth's arrest. Hale is surprised because, last he heard, Elizabeth was not charged with anything. Cheever asks Elizabeth if she owns any dolls, Elizabeth says she hasn’t had one since she was a girl. Cheever sees the doll that Mary Warren gave her with a needle in it. Cheever says Abigail had a fit today at Parris house and Parris found a needle in Abigail’s Stomach and accused Elizabeth of witchcraft. Mary tells Cheever that she made the doll during court and stuck the needle in it. As Elizabeth is taking away, Proctor loses his temper and rips up the warrant and asks why the accuser always considered innocent. What is happening here is Abigail and her friends have achieved an extremely unusual level of power and authority for there age. They could kill people with an accusation. Even the rich and the people who were most respected in the community weren’t safe. Mary Warren also uses her newfound power that she feels she doesn’t have to do everything Proctor tells her to do and try’s to get her own power. Proctors sense of guilt begins to play on his mind even more. He knows that he can stop Abigail from having this power, but he also fears that his good name can be taken, if his sin of adultery is revealed. The knowledge of his own guilt makes him feel judged the whole story. Proctors Intense dilemma over whether to expose his own sin to stop Abigail’s powers in the village is complicated by Hales decision to visit everyone whose name is even remotely related with the accusations of witchcraft. Hale wants to measure out the people with Christian standards. He wants to root out hidden sins and expose them.

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John Proctor is the play’s tragic hero. He was an honest, upright and blunt-spoken. Proctor seems to be a good man except he has one secret, which is his affair with Abigail. This created Jealousy of Elizabeth and one of the reasons why Abigail accused Elizabeth. This sets the whole hysteria in motion. Once the trials begin, Proctors realizes that he can stop Abigail’s rampage though Salem but only is he confesses to his adultery. This would ruin his good name in the village. Proctor is proud man who places great emphasis on his reputation. He eventually makes an attempt ...

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