The Characterization of John Proctor in The Crucible, a Tragic Play by Arthur Miller
John Proctor was a hero in The Crucible a tragedy by Arthur Miller. He was an honest man full of integrity, with one major fault. Proctor had an affair with Abigail Williams during the course of his marriage and tries to make good with his wife, Elizabeth and rid his guilty conscious. As the play goes on, John develops according to Kohlberg's moral stages as he deals with his emotions such as shame and guilt.
In The Crucible Arthur Miller characterizes John Proctor with honesty, denial, and integrity which all tie together to make one big mess. Proctor was honest about nearly everything, being very opinionated, advocating his every thought, such as his view of Reverend Parris 'I have trouble enough without I come five miles to hear him [Parris] preach only hellfire and bloody damnation' (The Crucible Act I). He also hasn't had his last offspring baptized to because he doesn't 'see the light of God' in Reverend Parris to do so (The Crucible Act II).
His honesty, openness of his opinions of Parris, and sarcastic comments on witch craft contributes to the fact that the people in the village will later draw to the conclusion that he is a witch. But there is one thing that Proctor isn't honest about at the beginning of the play, his affair with Abigail Williams. He is in denial, ignoring the fact that the village is talking about him, he even denies it to Abigail saying '...I will cut off my hand before I'll ever reach for you again...we never touched, Abby' (The Crucible Act I). John also gets angry with his wife Elizabeth whenever she brings it up because of the shame that he's trying to deny himself from having.
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Proctors denial is present all the way up until the end of Act III where he commits the ultimate act of love to prove himself to his wife. He stops denying the fact that the affair occurred and admits that he is an adulterer, in front of a panel of judges and the mistress, Abigail Williams. Unfortunately by this point it is too late, even though he confessed, he denied it for so long that his wife didn't believe that he had told them the truth when she walked in and lied about it. Elizabeth was to be sentenced, and as Proctor shouts out reasons why she would lie Hale jumps in in attempt to save them by saying 'I believe him! ... This girl [Abigail] always struck me as false!' to which Abigail starts another scene about Mary being a devilish yellow bird and the attempts are dismissed (The Crucible Act III).
At the end when Proctor is faced with the choice to be hung or sign a confession saying that he is a witch, he chooses the confession. But after John signs it realizes that he doesn't want to be known for that and rips up the confession showing the key characteristics of integrity, strong morals and honesty. When asking Elizabeth why she isn't arguing his act of integrity she responds with 'He has his goodness now' meaning that she knows that he is a man full of integrity and this is the way that he meant to die (The Crucible Act IV).
Through the course of the play Proctor shows to key emotions, shame and guilt. Proctor feels shame for what he is, an adulterer because of the affair that he had with Abigail Williams. Shame is feeling of disappointment that he feels for cheating on his wife and the reason why he gets defensive and angry when his wife speaks about it. Guilt is the weaker feeling that John feels, though he does feel guilty for what he did with Abigail he also feels guilty for the hangings and imprisonment that is occurring in the village because people are being accused of witch craft. This results in his actions to try to right these wrongs by speaking out against them, trying to get Abigail to admit that she is lying, and by making Mary Warren confess. He does this because he feels that they are immoral and lack common sense (Guilt and Shame).
Looking at John Proctor in a more modern light, he can be observed by Kohlberg's Stages of Moral Development. At the beginning of the play, Proctor is at stage five in moral development one that Kohlberg would call "Prior Rights and Social Contract”. This stage focuses on common good and justice. Proctor shows characteristics of this stage throughout the play in his beliefs that the thought of witch craft is bringing down the society, and that it should be rid so that it no longer puts them in the hands of violence. His attempts to bring Abby and the rest of the girls down by having Mary Warren confess were an act to serve justice to the girls and protect the future victims.
By the end of the play, Proctor has made the crossover from stage five to stage six, the stage of "Universal Ethical Principles". This stage focuses on equality for all and God is understood to the point where you know what is right and wrong in his eyes (Kohlberg's Moral Development). We know that John is in the hands of God when he says 'Then who will judge me? God in Heaven....... I am no saint...for me it is fraud!' then rips up his confession (The Crucible Act IV). He does this because he knows that the confession is a lie and only God can judge him.
In conclusion, John Proctor is an honest man full of integrity, ironically his noble traits is part of his downfall and what leads to his death sentence. He spends his time trying to rid himself from the guilt and shame that Abigail has brought upon him. Proctor transforms throughout the play, developing from stage five to stage six where he is finally one with god.
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The Characterization of John Proctor in The Crucible, a Tragic Play by Arthur Miller. (2023, Apr 19). Retrieved from https://phdessay.com/the-characterization-of-john-proctor-in-the-crucible-a-tragic-play-by-arthur-miller/
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