The Crucible
As the protagonist of The Crucible, John Proctor’s great dilemma changes during the course of the play. He is a good man but his lust for Abigail Williams led to their affair and eventually began the witch-hunt hysteria. He knows he should stop Abigail’s rampage of accusations but struggles with his pride. Finally, he realizes in the end, that his reputation is more important than confessing to something he did not do.
John Proctor has the conscience of a good and honest person but his flaw is his lust and eventual affair with Abigail Williams. Her jealousy of John’s wife Elizabeth is what leads to the witch-hunt and trials. For this, Proctor feels some burden of responsibility of what occurs throughout Salem. He realizes that he can put a stop to the trials by publicly confessing his sin, but his pride keeps from doing so. When Proctor is unable to show Abigail is a fraud, he confesses his adultery but realizes it is too late. His confession only manages to get him arrested and convicted of being a witch. Though he proclaims his innocents and criticizes the court, John Proctor is very aware of his role in allowing the hysteria to grow and go unstopped.
Proctor is next given the opportunity to redeem himself by confessing his guilt, allowing him to live. He is urged to sign a confession of guilt so he can be a free man. Though his pride and fear of public opinion caused him to keep silent about his adultery, he now is more interested in his general reputation and integrity. Confessing to something that was not true would dishonor the other accused witches who steadfastly proclaimed their innocence. In addition, signing the confession would not change all that has transpired in Salem and his conscience would not be cleared.
Finally, by keeping his personal integrity intact, John Proctor believes that he will be forgiven for his original sins and thus bring him to heaven. His redemption will come by...
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