When Giles Corey and Francis Nurse arrive and tell John that the court have taken their wives this puts even more pressure on him, as they look to him to take a lead, but then when Cheever and Herrick arrive aswell there is a lot of conflict as they start accusing and questioning Elizabeth, and John starts to get very protective of her. This means he has even more pressure on him to go to the court. When they bring out the warrant he can think of nothing else to do but to rip it up.
‘I had not reckoned with going to court. But if I must I will.’ He is only going now because has no choice. It seems a strong thing to do- that he is prepared to get himself into trouble and take risks, but if he didn’t have to he probably wouldn’t. Everyone is relying on John now.
When they put Elizabeth into chains the guilt starts to get to Proctor. He is the one who has done something wrong, not Elizabeth. She is the innocent one, so shouldn’t be in chains. He says ‘I will fall like an ocean on that court!’
Once Elizabeth has been taken away, Proctor, out of guilt and frustration, blames Hale, saying he is a coward. But the real coward is Proctor. He is the one withholding evidence from the court, but it’s easier for him to blame Hale. When Hale has gone, he starts thinking about what he’s got to do.
But when he finds out that Mary knows about his affair, he hesitates for a moment- then makes a decision; to go to the court and give all necessary information. He’s willing to confess all and let people know what he has done. He doesn’t want to hide anymore. He says ‘We will slide together into our pit.’ (about Abigail).
In this scene Proctor isn’t in control at all. It’s his mistake that has put his wife in prison. He is also relying on other people to help him do everything- Hale to make him see what he has to do, Mary Warren to go down to the court with him, to get Elizabeth out of trouble.
The second scene where Proctor has a difficult decision to make is the final scene. John no longer believes in himself. Getting put in jail really messed him up and he has no faith left. He doesn’t believe there is anything else that he can do and has given up hope about everything. He hasn’t signed the confession up until now, out of spite for the court. He says ‘Spite only keeps me silent.’
The members of the court want John’s confession so badly, as they think it will influence others to confess and persuade others to believe in the courts. The only reason Danforth carries on with the courts, is because he can’t admit he’s made a mistake. Though he doesn’t want rebellions to start, like in other places, so he sees this as a good opportunity for everyone, if they could just get Proctor to sign.
When he gets a chance to speak to Elizabeth she makes him realise that it doesn’t have to be the end. She gives him some of his strength back. Elizabeth wants the old John back and he wants to see his children grow up. You can see she has made him think, when he suddenly says ‘I want my life.’
But John still has hatred towards the court. He can’t believe how much the village has broken down. The happy community of Salem is long-gone and innocent people have been killed. John knew, and said, that the court was a mistake right from the start, and he was proved right in the end.
At the end, John is under pressure to do the right thing. As much as he wants to live, he knows he has to set an example like all the others. He doesn’t want to give up his good name, but he wants Elizabeth to say something, to reassure him. He expects her to tell him what to do, but Liz won’t say, as it has to be his own decision. There’s no-one to help him this time.
Even though their marriage was left in a bad state, they love each other again and things were beginning to look up.
She says, ‘ I cannot judge you ’. John would have done whatever she said and he needed her support. She puts added pressure on him, by not saying her opinion, but she does this without realising. She used to judge him, but not anymore. Now she respects him. He’s already confessed to the affair, he can’t do it to her again. The trust she has for him again is even more pressure on him, in two ways; the life they could have together and by believing in him she makes it easier for him to do the right thing.
Proctor needed to know what his friends had done, as it may help him make his decision, but he is numbed when he is told what happened to Giles Corey. ‘It is a thread to weave into his agony.’ Giles was very brave and this affects Proctor. It makes it even harder for him to confess now. It splits him in two, as he wants to stay loyal to his friends, but he also wants to stay with Elizabeth.
Also seeing Rebecca Nurse stood there, refusing to confess, makes John see what he must do. She had been brought out, as the court thought that she might be influenced by John. If she saw him, a good man, signing then maybe she would. She still thinks of John as a good man, as she was in prison when the truth came out about his affair. But it actually has the opposite effect, and she influences John not to confess.
Proctor will sign the confession, but he won’t hand it over. He won’t name anyone else either. He feels he has no dignity left, he wants to keep at least his name. ‘How may I live without my name?’ He doesn’t want to lose his respect and he doesn’t want people to remember and think of him as a bad man for the rest of his life. He doesn’t want it to affect his family. They won’t think of him as the man he used to be, and he doesn’t want them to take any of his blame.
There is a lot of suspense before he makes his decision, that he must sacrifice his life along with all the others. And it’s a rejection of the court’s authority when he rips the confession up. For him, it’s like a weight has been lifted. Elizabeth tries to cover her tears. This makes John stronger then any of the physical jobs he used to be known for.
In the final scene a lot of different blame for a lot of different people runs through John’s head- except blame for himself.
He blames the court for ruining people’s lives, and splitting families up. He has seen no point in the court from the moment it started, and I think he feels some blame towards the village of Salem, as a whole, for allowing the talk of witchcraft to spread so quickly and for people not sticking by each other.
In the beginning, John used to avoid Abigail, not wanting to hurt her, and then from the time she accused Elizabeth he blamed her. But blaming her was the easy option and in this final scene he realises he feels sorry for her.
Hale seems more upset then anyone that Proctor wouldn’t confess. Ever since he arrived in Salem, he’s seen more and more people accused, and more and more people die. He’s ashamed to have even witnessed it, let alone be a part of it. He pleads with Elizabeth to try and persuade John one last time, but she knows that John’s made the right decision. She can no longer judge him, and trusts him again. She knows inside that it’s the right thing for him to do. She has peace of mind. ‘He have his goodness now.’ I think Elizabeth secretly knew that John was going to die. She knew it was the right thing to do and she knew he was a good man. She trusted him and knew he’d make the right decision.
As he’s getting wheeled away in the cart, seeing Elizabeth’s face for the last time, I think he gets the strength from inside, and finally accepts his own blame. If he confronts the evil in himself, then he can die a good man.
When the very first people were hung in the beginning, there were cheers and laughter from the crowd. At the end, when Proctor was hung, there was silence.
The crowds are in a state of shock. They all know that John was innocent, no doubt about it. Someone had to stop this insanity- it was very easy to just go along with. They finally realise that they’d gone too far.
When John had died the executions stopped. He saved many more people, as not long after his death the court lost its authority.
I think John was finally a hero. He had managed to get respect back, by not signing the confession, and he had made up with Elizabeth. He knew he had to do the right thing, no matter how much he didn’t want to. He knew it wouldn’t be right for him to live and he knew if he’d signed the confession he would have regretted it for the rest of his life. He died to save others. I think he died a hero.
