He Died with Dignity John Proctor did not die in vain when he was hanged in the Salem Witch Trials of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. John Proctor is a great tragic hero who always tried to make things right, even when he made poor decisions, and his death was ultimately caused by his will to make peace and to come out of every situation as the hero. Internally conflicted, Proctor’s affair with Abigail damages his reputation and causes great fractures in his life. Even so, throughout the play he tries his best to mend his relationship with Elizabeth as well as make Salem peaceful again. How can a man of good morals and kind intentions end up accused and hanged for witchcraft? John Proctor was known as a trustworthy man who held a strong
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As the play begins, Rev. Parris discovers girls with Abigail dancing in the woods. Little does he know, at this moment, Abigail was performing these rituals of drinking blood in order to curse Elizabeth before the trials even began. Therefore the one person who was trying to perform witchcraft was also the one accusing innocent people. It is suggested that Abigail is greatly mentally disturbed, since she witnessed her parents being murdered as a …show more content…
This causes Cheever to take Elizabeth into jail because it seems as though she was performing voo-doo on Abigail in sight of revenge for her affair with Proctor. “Spoke or silent, a promise is surely made. And she may dote on it now—I am sure she does—and thinks to kill me, then to take my place” (Miller, 2, 168). Elizabeth knew exactly what Abigail was trying to do throughout the play. If Proctor had listened to his wife and turned in Abigail, his life wouldn’t have ended so soon. Elizabeth saw how great and noble Proctor was, but couldn’t break through his soft side for Abigail. Abigail makes up nonsense about spirits and witches throughout the play. Hysteria spirals around Salem and eventually comes right back to the one good man involved in all of it, the one person Abigail loves, John Proctor. Threatened by Abigail, and scared for her life, Mary Warren decides to protect herself by accusing Proctor of bewitching her. If Proctor confesses, he will not hang. Elizabeth urges him to confess but she knows in her heart that John Proctor, the tragic hero, must always do what he knows to be right. When Danforth asks why Proctor will not sign his confession he gets an emotional response given whole-heartedly, “Because it is my name! Because I cannot have
As the play begins, Rev. Parris discovers girls with Abigail dancing in the woods. Little does he know, at this moment, Abigail was performing these rituals of drinking blood in order to curse Elizabeth before the trials even began. Therefore the one person who was trying to perform witchcraft was also the one accusing innocent people. It is suggested that Abigail is greatly mentally disturbed, since she witnessed her parents being murdered as a …show more content…
This causes Cheever to take Elizabeth into jail because it seems as though she was performing voo-doo on Abigail in sight of revenge for her affair with Proctor. “Spoke or silent, a promise is surely made. And she may dote on it now—I am sure she does—and thinks to kill me, then to take my place” (Miller, 2, 168). Elizabeth knew exactly what Abigail was trying to do throughout the play. If Proctor had listened to his wife and turned in Abigail, his life wouldn’t have ended so soon. Elizabeth saw how great and noble Proctor was, but couldn’t break through his soft side for Abigail. Abigail makes up nonsense about spirits and witches throughout the play. Hysteria spirals around Salem and eventually comes right back to the one good man involved in all of it, the one person Abigail loves, John Proctor. Threatened by Abigail, and scared for her life, Mary Warren decides to protect herself by accusing Proctor of bewitching her. If Proctor confesses, he will not hang. Elizabeth urges him to confess but she knows in her heart that John Proctor, the tragic hero, must always do what he knows to be right. When Danforth asks why Proctor will not sign his confession he gets an emotional response given whole-heartedly, “Because it is my name! Because I cannot have