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Why John Proctor from The Crucible is the Worst of the Worst

In Arthur Miller's The Crucible, John appears as the tragic hero who helps save the

village from the witch hunt and false witchcraft allegations. However, besides being a hero,

he emerged to be the worst character in the play. John's choices and behavior help shape his

character as flawed, prideful, lustful, stubborn, and a bad reflection of what a hero should be.

This paper will discuss why John Proctor was the worst of the worst and what could have

been done to make him a better character.

Proctor was proud and unfaithful. He was lustful towards Abigail and insisted on

keeping his reputation as a good husband and Christian, which caused the whole drama.

John's affair with Abigail give rise to her jealousy towards Elizabeth who was John’s wife

which give rise to the witchcraft accusations. However, Proctor is aware that he is hesitant to

reveal the truth and save the community and uses Mary's testimony to paint Abigail as fraud

and a liar while holding back vital information regarding their affair. When he finally agrees

to confess, his wife defends Him, and obviously, matters had escalated beyond control. His

confession only contributes to Him being branded a witch and being arrested. Therefore, John

Proctor was responsible for setting the whole hysteria in motion and allowing his pride and

stubbornness to control him.

Proctor was also selfish and physically assaulted Mary Warren, who was his servant.

Proctor forces Mary to give a testimony that Abigail was lying. When his wife gets arrested,
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John tells Mary to confess, and she disagrees in terror. Proctor takes a step forward, grabs her

and says, "My wife will never die for me! I will bring your guts into your mouth, but that

goodness will not die for me” (Miller and Bigsby, 98). Mary tries to escape when Proctor

grabs her by the throat and throws her on the floor (Miller and Bigsby, 98). Proctor turns

Mary into a punching bag, although she was not responsible for the whole scenario. This

situation causes Mary to accuse Proctor of being a witch himself, which gets him into trouble.

Proctor also allows his emotions to control him. His boastful nature causes him to

hate Reverend Parris. As a result of this hare, he skips church and refuses to have the

reverend baptize his third child. Proctor says, "I like it not that Mr. Parris should lay his hand

upon my baby. I see no light of God in that man. I'll not conceal it" (Miller and Bigsby, 86)

Despite having no evidence to put allegations of Parris, Proctor falsely accuses him of not

being chosen by God. This hate paints Proctor as a bad father since he stops his son from

getting baptized and a hater of religion. When narrating the Ten Commandments to Hale with

Elizabeth, John skips adultery since he had committed the sin and feels pained when the

commandment is mentioned (Miller and Bigsby, 87). His secretive nature comes to destroy

him and paint him as a witch.

Making Proctor less proud and selfish would have made him a better character. From

the play, Proctor's character change often comes when it is too late. When asked to put a

public confession, he disagrees and says that God knows his sins (Miller and Bigsby, 142).

He cares more about his public image and reputation rather than his religion. If Proctor had

decided to confess before the circus began publicly, He could have helped paint Abigail as a

lair and save most people in the community. Thus, Proctor's character would have been better

if he was more honest and less proud of himself.

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Work Cited

Miller, Arthur, and Christopher Bigsby. The Crucible: A Play in Four Acts. New York,

Penguin Publishing Group, 2003.