Examples Of Character Flaws In The Crucible

Improved Essays
“Maybe our mistakes are what makes our fate.” -Carrie Bradshaw. Throughout reading The Crucible, flaws within each character, and the actions they made based upon those inner flaws, eventually lead to their “downfall”. John Proctor was a highly respected man in the community of Salem, as well as by himself. John Proctor presented himself in the guise of a happy and put together man, hiding his imperfections and weaknesses from the rest of the community at all costs. By the end of the play, John Proctor could no longer keep his sinful actions, such as his affair with Abigail Williams, as well as his inner drives and personality weaknesses, a secret from the suspicious town during the Salem Witch Trials. His guilt, pride, and unfaithfulness …show more content…
Although Elizabeth knew about his affair, the rest of Salem was clueless for the time being. He was known as a good and honest man, who had no public record to show otherwise. John refuses to go to the court and tell them of Abigail’s confession she had made to him in private about what happened in the woods because he would have to confess to being alone with the teenaged girl, inevitably leading to the discovery of their affair. Proctor was willing to do anything to keep his admirable reputation, even if it meant innocent lives such as Goody Nurse and Sarah Good would be lost and the blood be on his hands. In Act IV, John is being accused of witchcraft after his excess of punitive behavior. After he lies and signs his confession in vain, he is told it will be nailed on the church so that all of Salem will know that he confessed (Miller, Act IV). Upon this news, he crumples and tears it up, refusing to hand the paper over screaming, “Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies!” (Miller, Act IV). This shows that John Proctor would rather be hung because he could not bring himself to live in a town where he would no longer be …show more content…
Because Proctor felt so guilty for his sinful actions, he distanced himself from his wife. He refused to turn in Abigail Williams to avoid His relationship with Abigail directly caused all of his flaws to be amplified--- making him a vulnerable target during a time where everyone was looking for someone to blame--- his wife's imprisonment, and his death. Deep down, John Proctor had a good heart with good intentions. His imperfections and actions overpowered his inner goodness, causing it to be negligible. Though some may argue that he died a heroic and good death, this is inadequate because he died to save himself from a life of shame. By the end of the play, he tried to turn his life around and proves he truly does love Elizabeth despite his previous actions, but the mistakes and choices Proctor made, in the end, decided his fate and led to his ultimate downfall and tragic

Related Documents

  • Decent Essays

    He took part in an affair with Abigail Williams. The affair and corresponding guilt that resulted from it are the onset of his decline. When Abigail attempts to shift the focus from herself by implicating other citizens, John Proctor is conflicted. He did not want to expose Abigail and her lies because he is afraid that his secret affair will be brought up and thereby, his virtuous reputation will be shattered. Proctor goes to Parris’s house to join the girls and the people who have also come…

    • 521 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    John Proctor’s Death There are many characters in “The Crucible” who could be blamed for John Proctor’s death. The majority of the audience and readers could say that almost every character is responsible for John Proctor’s death in some way. However, there are a few characters who really stood out, and one character in particular was Abigail Williams. Most readers believe that she is the one who should be held accountable for his death, but in reality, John Proctor is the one responsible for his own death.…

    • 1055 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    John Proctor is a noble and well-respected man living in the small town of Salem in Massachusetts with his wife, Elizabeth, and their three children. The citizens of Salem view John Proctor as an honourable man and a voice of reason. The truth, however, is that John Proctor exhibits one fatal…

    • 1319 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the crucible, John Proctor is a tormented individual who cannot find himself to be a good person or a bad one. John had made mistakes in life that makes him seem like a bad man, but he also does good things for his community. He is a good man who had made mistakes in life, but he uses his good senses to do the right thing being a truthful christian. Johns Proctor first mistake is that he had an affair with Abigail williams and she soon falls in love with him. Abby had started framing people for witchcraft to try to get to John and was slowly going insane for him.…

    • 490 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    A person’s good reputation is the source of true power. At the beginning of the play, the author lets us know how good of a person John Proctor is. He is a well respected man and due to his good reputation; his power in the town is also good and “true”. The people of Salem are not aware of the past affair that took place between Abigail and John. All throughout the book, this is the only thing that John has done wrong.…

    • 777 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The quote shows that he denies what he did because it was wrong, and he also doesn’t want anyone to know so he doesn’t get condemned for adultery. But, at the end of the play, John Proctor proves that he is a really sorry man by confessing to Hawthorne that he did have an affair with Abigail: “I have known her, sir. I have known her” (Miller 110). This shows how John Proctor went from putting the affair aside and keeping it secret, to admitting his actions, showing his forgiveness, and becoming a moral and honest person. Secondly, from the beginning to the end of the play, John Proctor goes from not believing witchcraft to rather giving up his life than accusing other people of witchcraft.…

    • 1465 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible many characters go through obstacles between themselves and others that they have to conquer. John Proctor is one of the characters that dynamically changes throughout the course of the play. John Proctor is a diligent, well respected man throughout Salem who has one weakness: being inundated with guilt. Proctor had a discord with himself to forgive and move past his sin. His name in the town of Salem is good but could be ruined from the juvenile actions of the antagonist of the play; Abigail Williams.…

    • 1264 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    He refrains from acting cowardly by signing the confession, and chooses death over fallacies. Though Proctor confesses to every one of his wrongdoings and is still denounced by the Puritans in the end, he dies peacefully as a hero. This reinforces the idea of not only the contention between the courageous and the cowardly, but also it brings forth…

    • 1313 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the Salem witch trials 200 people were accused of witchcraft and twenty people were actually executed for it. The play that is the basis of the essay is set in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692 during these Salem witch trials. One of the main characters that this play is centered around, John Proctor, a farmer in his middle thirties. As a morally ambiguous character in The Crucible, John Proctor had both honorable and disgraceful actions that contributed to the work as a whole. John Proctor has dealings in the play that could characterize him as an immoral man.…

    • 795 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Proctor attempts to convince the court that the girls are lying by using Mary Warren, who recently told john the truth, but even that didn’t work as Mary was overwhelmed by the constant pressure both sides were giving her to tell the truth. John knew now that the only way he can convince the court is by confessing his affair with Abigail, as he tells Danforth that a man will not cast away his good name (Miller 102). John proctor showed us that he is willing to risk his integrity, not to save himself, but to save other people’s lives, including his wife. He finally admits to the court of his sin as he states, I thought of her softly as she wishes to dance on my wife’s grave, and well she might (Miller 102). Proctor put himself in the hands of god and finally relieved himself of his sin.…

    • 730 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    One character flaw that John Proctor displays in The Crucible is Stubbornness. At the beginning of the play it opens with the girls getting caught in the woods by Reverend Parris, the town preacher. His daughter Betty is “playing sick,” but as the scene goes on Abigail then comes into Proctor way wanting to talk to him. As the conversation goes on he says to Abigail, “Abby, I may think of you softly from time to time. But I will cut off my hand before I’ll reach for you again.…

    • 1564 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    With all of the confusion throughout the town of Salem, the only way to save oneself once convicted is to admit to witchcraft, guilty or not. John Proctor refused to confess until the morning of his scheduled…

    • 1251 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    John Proctor is a farmer in his mid-thirties. He is married to Elizabeth Proctor and had an affair with Abigail Williams. John is a very honest and blunt-spoken man. He lets people know when they are wrong and will debate against them until he has proven his point. Ironically, he has sinned and isn’t fully honest to Elizabeth about his interactions with Abigail.…

    • 1226 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    If Proctor would have been open and honest with the judges about Abigail, all the accusations would have been prevented. Also, John’s lust can be seen when he talks to his wife after his return home from Salem. Elizabeth faintly remarked, “You were alone with her?” John replies, “For a moment alone, aye” (167). Here, the reader can see that Proctor still has feelings for Abigail even though he knew the trouble it would cause.…

    • 798 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Reputation is the common opinion held about someone based on their behavior and character. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, reputation plays a huge role in the characters’ actions. The characters are overly worried about maintaining a good reputation within their community which ends up affecting their well being. In Salem a bad reputation can result in social or even physical punishment. John Proctor, Reverend Parris, and Abigail Williams are all characters who choose to lie, and even face death instead of ruining their name.…

    • 728 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays