John Proctor's False Confession In The Crucible

Lying to some people can be filled with an overwhelming guilt. This is how John Proctor felt when Reverend Hale and the judges wished him to create a false confession to witchcraft. It was important to the judges that Proctor created the false confession. Reverend Hale believes God would be more forgiving to Proctor for lying; however, Goody Proctor believes the Devil may say the same thing. If John agrees to composing the false confession, he subjects his further kin to ridicule and shame, and loses his one and only honest piece of what will be left. It was important to Hale and the judges that Proctor created the false confession. In Act Four, on page 127, Parris states “ i tell you what is said here, sir. Andover have thrown out the court, …show more content…
The Devil is known for being manipulative. The Reverend, like the Devil, is trying to say things to Goody Proctor to achieve his own goals. In this goody proctor sees a chance to save her husband from the death sentence even though it might be sinful. With said information, she rushes to her husband and tries to convince him to create a false statement. “You have taken my soul, but leave me my name!” John knows that if the judges post the confession to the door, He won’t have anything left of his good self. His further kin will be subjected to the ridicule and shame of being related to the sinner. His name is the only thing in his life that he cannot change. If they post the confession, he will not have anything good left of him.
The judges needed Proctor to create the false confession. Reverend Hale believed God would be more forgiving to Proctor for lying; however, Goody Proctor believed the Devil may say the same thing. If John agreed to compose the false confession, he subjected his further kin to ridicule and shame, and lost his one and only honest piece of what would be left. If your life lay in the balance of telling a lie, how would you