The Misjudgment of John Proctor in The Crucible by Arthur Miller

In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, numerous characters had actions that had been misjudged as nicely as beliefs that that had been questioned. A prime example of misjudgment of one’s character would be that of John Proctor.

John Proctor is an example of one particular who was misinterpreted by a lot of other characters in his book, and this misinterpretation ultimately led to his demise. John Proctor had been a man of God who had taken a stumble off of his (intended) heavenly path. His integrity faltered by means of few of his actions, and his honesty was questioned. Though this was a serious crime of the era that this play requires place for the duration of, many of the townspeople who claimed to be devoted to God throughout the play had engaged in actions comparable in severity to John’s act of adultery. Despite the fact that he had committed the action, he confessed and he did really feel guilt for carrying out so. In Act III, following he confessed, he is asked exactly where and responds with, “PROCTOR, his voice about to break, and his shame excellent: In the correct place—where my beasts are bedded. On the last evening of my joy, some eight months previous. She utilised to serve me in my residence, sir. (He has to clamp his jaw to keep from weeping.) A man might believe God sleeps, but God sees every thing, I know it now. I beg you, sir, I beg you—see her what she is. My wife, my dear very good wife, took this girl soon soon after, sir, and place her out on the highroad. And becoming what she is, a lump of vanity, sir— (He is getting overcome.) Excellency, forgive me, forgive me. (Angrily against himself, he turns away from the Governor for a moment. Then, as although to cry out is his only signifies of speech left:) She thinks to dance with me on my wife’s grave! And well she might, for I thought of her softly. God aid me, I lusted, and there is a promise in such sweat. But it is a whore’s vengeance, and you need to see it now. (374-384) He attempted to bring Abigail to justice to save the lives of numerous who had been accused, at the expense of his perceived honor.

Abigail Williams, the girl John Proctor had an affair with, had been deceitful throughout the play which price the lives of several. The young girls who followed her actions condemned the lives of several to avoid themselves becoming convicted of their crimes. John was a man who could see this and recognize what the young girls have been undertaking, which was a fantastic advantage over the overwhelming quantity of those who did not. He had intentions to bring the wrongdoers of the circumstance (the young girls who connected with Abigail Williams) to justice, and wipe clean the names of those wrongly accused. Nevertheless, he was constantly misinterpreted and misjudged, leading several to falsely think he had no intentions of doing good for the village.

Proctor was a man who had devoted himself to God, but had the priorities of his family’s well getting set above becoming a devout churchgoer. Several had questioned him for this and his absence to church a lot of instances, and believed he did not care for God as strongly as he portrayed himself to. This was not the case, however. John Proctor knew there had been tasks to be completed to hold his household alive and well, and knew he could pray to God and show his really like for God without having sacrificing that properly getting. Part of his reasoning to not attend church was since he believed Parris wanted nothing at all but a fairly church and did not speak of God as a preacher ought to. In Act II, an exchange in between Proctor and Hale explains this more clearly, “Hale: Mr. Proctor, your property is not a church your theology should inform you that.” Proctor: It does, sir, it does and it tells me that a minister may possibly pray to God without he have golden candlesticks upon the altar. [Hale: What golden candlesticks? Proctor: Given that we built the church there had been pewter candlesticks upon the altar Francis Nurse made them, y’know, and a sweeter hand never touched the metal. But Parris came, and for twenty week he preach nothin’ but golden candlesticks until he had them. I labor the earth from dawn of day to blink of evening, and I inform you accurate, when I look to heaven and see my money glaring at his elbows—it hurt my prayer, sir, it hurt my prayer. I consider, occasionally, the man dreams cathedrals, not clapboard meetin’ homes.

At the finish of the play during Act IV, he does determine to falsely confess to the actions he was accused of to stay away from getting hanged. Nonetheless, his remaining shreds of integrity refused to enable him to continue with the confession by signing his name on a paper that would essentially set his confession in stone. He chose the end of his life to stay true to himself and wife more than a continued life of a lie, as he could not really feel as though he was a righteous man. He had hoped that God would judge him accordingly, and decided that was of highest importance.

The matter of very good or bad is hugely primarily based on opinion, and Proctor fell victim to the situations of the majority of opinions in his village becoming against his favor. They chose to not see the great in his option to operate for his household, and rather see the undesirable in his absence at church. The village did not see the good intentions in his efforts to shed light on the reality of witchcraft in court, but chose to believe he had a compact with Lucifer. This does not make John Proctor a negative man, nor a man of the Devil. It tends to make him a man who had been unfortunate adequate to have much more individuals think he was than those who believed he was not.