John Proctor is one of the main figures in the play “The Crucible”. The author of this play is Arthur Miller. The character of John Proctor is one of the major personalities which are described in the play. He happens to be one of the reasons why the witch trial begins. The character of John Proctor goes from a much respected man to a man who falls from grace and becomes a sinner.
John Proctor wants to get back the time and pretend like the adultery situation did not happen at all. He says: “Abby, I may think of you softly from time to time. But I will cut of my hand before I ever reach for you again. Wipe it out of mind. We never touched, Abby.” (Miller Web). The character tries to pretend like nothing has occured between them. However, the feeling of some type of attraction for Abigail is still there. He tries to suppress it, but it does not work. It is hard for John to resist her charm and youth. She is a young girl whom he finds to be very attractive, therefore, it is hard for him to get over the feelings that he is experiencing towards this young lady. Feeling of love is something that John Proctor does not want to experience towards Abigail. He is trying his best to pretend that it is not something that is happening or can happen. One of the reasons why he does it is
obvious. He is a married man who had an affair with a young lady. The other reason is that he is trying to prevent Abigail causing this whole issue growing even bigger. He tries be smart and acknowledgeable of the actions that he does. He wants to act like nothing that has happened can happen again.
John Proctor is a very religious person. In that time it was hard not to be a religious person since government and church were a unity at the time. The whole witch trial takes place only because people think that there are people who do not obey God and his rules. John Proctor is a religious man because he says: “A man may think God sleeps, but God sees everything, I know it now” (Miller Web). This is a time when John Proctor understands how many mistakes he has made and how disgraceful he looks in the eyes of the society who has always looked up on him. He is just a man who has turned on the wrong trail from the faithful road of marriage. He does not want to be judged, however, this process in inevitable and he has to face the truth. People are aware of the fact that he has committed adultery. They are going to judge him and not understand his actions. He refers to God in this quote because as a religious man, he still hopes that God may forgive him and change the situation. He is a highly religious man who has forgotten how to be it.
At the end of the play, John Proctor realizes what he has done. He realizes that this whole situation may have started because of him. John Proctor says: “Because I am not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang!” (Miller Web). John proctor feels guilt about all the things that happened
not expecting the whole story to end up like this. He had an affair with Abigail. However, as a result of their affair the innocent girls were victims and died. He is very conscious of the fact that he has caused many people to die. And this very fact horrifies him. He does not want to believe that his affair with Abigail has destroyed so many innocent lives. John Proctor starts to reevaluate his sin and he acknowledges that it was not worth the deaths of people.
In conclusion, it is necessary to state that the character of John Proctor feels very sorry about the things that has happened to him and Abigail. He is sorry that their affair has caused many innocent lives to die. He is a highly religious man and for this very reason it is even harder for him to live through the whole trial acknowledging the fact that he is a part of the reason why the trial is active and people are being accused. He is a man who made a mistake and is very sorry for it. However, there is not a lot to do for him since adultery has been already committed. This sin will never go away from his life and will leave a trail in many other lives. The play shows how one bad decision can cause consequences that can never be reversed. Life is very unpredictable and it is important to consider the consequences of every choice and action.
Works
Miller, Arthur. The Crucible. Web. Eienglish.com. 19 June 2016.
<http://eienglish.org/crucible.pdf>.
