What Would You Do If You Had To Choose Between Life And Death In The Crucible

What would you do if you had to choose between life and death, would you save your reputation and die trying, or live a life full of shame and guilt? This is the question John Proctor was faced with at the end of Act four.John’s first choice was to live, to save his life. However the more time he spent dwelling on it and knowing that it would ruin his reputation he denied the crime. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller John Proctor made the right decision, because he was honest, he saved his reputation, and was forgiven. John was faced with a choice that would later cost him his life but he was honest and did the right thing. John is given the chance to visit with his wife so he comes to Elizabeth looking for the right answer.“I’d have you see honesty in it. Let them that never lied die now to keep their souls.It is pretense for me, a vanity that will not blind God nor keep my children out of the wind. What say you?”(Miller 1227) He went to Elizabeth looking for answers but she told him he had to make his own decision and that she would support him in it. Other readers may argue that he should have just lied to save his life and be able to live with his family. …show more content…
All John wanted at the end of the play was forgiveness and love.“...I would have your forgiveness Elizabeth”(Miller 1227).Elizabeth loved John and forgave him, but she knew he needed to forgive himself first .Some might argue that John needed to forgive himself and that he would have been able to live with the guilt of lying to stay alive.John needed to forgive himself because he felt unworthy of it he wasn’t like Rebecca Nurse or Martha Corey who were honest, and knew the punishment for that honesty. Finally, John learned to gain forgiveness he needed to forgive