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Alec Peebles

Mrs. Bays

English III

22 May 2017

John Proctor and The Crucible

It takes many good deeds to build a good reputation, and only one bad one to lose it.

Benjamin Franklin. One play explores what what happens to a good man with a good

reputation when he makes one bad choice that ruins his reputation. The play, The Crucible,

is written by Arther Miller and it is based on the story of the Salem Witch Trials. It tells the

story of young village girls falsely accusing people of being witches in order to protect

themselves because they were caught dancing naked in the woodsan activity strictly

forbidden in the rigid Puritan community. The ringleader of the girls, Abigail Williams has

had an affair with John Proctor and she cries witch on his wife, hoping to have him to

herself. Since John Proctor is motivated to preserve his good reputation in the community,

his decision to protect himself results in his death and many others deaths by the end of

the play.

John Proctor is motivated to keep his good reputation in the village. At the

beginning of the play John Proctor does not tell the village that Abigail confessed to him

that the girls were dancing in the woods and that they were discovered by Reverend Paris.

When Elizabeth, Johns wife, finds out what John knows they get in a fight over John not

wanting to tell the village what he knows. John replies, You will not judge me more

Elizabeth. I have good reason to think before I charge fraud on Abigail and I will think on it

(Act II). Clearly, John has several reasons for not telling the villagers what he knows. First
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of all he does not want the villagers to know that he an Abigail had private conversations

that could lead to gossip about their relation. And secondly, as he tells Abigail, I may think

of you softly from time to time (Act I). John still cares about Abigail and he does not want

to be the one to tell the village she is a liar. Preserving his good reputation is John Proctors

motivation for not being completely truthful.

John Proctor makes several choices that affect the outcome of his situation, but the

worse choice he makes is to have an affair with Abigailwhich literally sets in motion the

destruction of an entire village. Abigail thinks John will have her as his wife if Elizabeth is

out of the picture, so she drinks a charm to kill Goody Proctorand this is what her uncle

happens upon in the woods. Later when Abigail sees Proctor, she tells him, I am waitin

for you every night. And he responds with, Abby, I never give you hope to wait for me

(Act I). Abigail thought she had a promise from John, but he had moved on, and her

desperate attempts to first rid him of his wife, then preserve herself, lead to Johns death.

John Proctors choice to have an affair with Abigail ultimately leads to his own death.

By the end of the play John Proctor changes from protecting his reputation to giving

up his reputation to try to save his life. Abigail makes sure that Elizabeth Proctor will hang

for witcherygoing as far as stabbing herself with a needle to make it look like Elizabeth

was using black magic. When the constable comes to take his wife, Proctor vows to move

heaven and earth to save his wife. In the face of his wife hanging for being a witch because

of his sins, John Proctor makes the choice to tell the entire village that he is an adulterer in

order to discredit Abigail who has cried witch on his wife. When John Proctor goes before

the Judge Danforth he tells him, I have known her, sir. I have known her. In the Biblical

language of the day, John confesses to having slept with Abigail in the barn. (Act III). Even
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though John wants to preserve his reputation when he realizes his wife will die because of

his sins, he chooses to tell everyone what kind of woman Abigail is. The irony is that

Elizabeth also lies to protect her husband when she is asked about Abigail and Proctors

affair. Her lie to protect his reputation ends up being what condemns Proctor to the gibbet.

Proctor changes as person from protecting himself, to dying because he tries to protect his

wife.

It only one bad decision to ruin ones entire life. John Proctor was a solid, hard-

working family man who made one bad decision that led to more bad choices. In a moment

of weakness when his wife was sick, John cheated on his wife Elizabeth. His choice to try to

keep his reputation intact leads to the not only his own death, but the death of many others.

Arthur Millers play shows how one bad deed can lead to the destruction of a person, a

family, and an entire community. Even though John Proctor tried to do the right thing by

finally confessing his sins, the damage is done. There is no going back. John Proctor ruins

his reputation and yet finally finds redemption when he atones for his own sins when he

dies at the end of the play.

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Works Cited

Miller, Arthur. The Crucible. New York, NY: Penguin, 1996. Print.