The crucible is a novel written by Arthur Miller, based around the Salem witch trials, which he reflected his own personal experiences into. Around the time of writing the novel Miller, was subjected to the McCarty trials of the 1950s which sole purpose was to destroy communism by questioning either those suspected of it or those who may have information regarding it. The protagonist of story John Proctor, is himself subjected lies within his town, regarding witchcraft. He and many others are thrown into a freefall of squirting due to the accusation placed by a group of young girls Proctors character is a many-sided, he shows strengths throughout the play, including his loyalty to his wife ...view middle of the document...
Which gives Proctor his status in the play as a dominate male as he has strength enough to harm a “wild thing” such as Abigail Williams
Proctors attitude and unpleasant nature towards Mary Warren can be seen as flaw in his character. The way he approaches her, “bending” suggest he is being sly, wanting her to react to his motion but not too much. It is even more unnerving as you know he is being “pleasant” only to get what he wants, which is to save his wife. The word “quietly” suggest a more flirtatious way of holding someone’s hand., like two school children but it could also been seen as a good part of Proctors character. “Quietly” suggest that he knows that the only way to save his wife is by getting Mary to confess that the girls had been lying and naming others in order to save themselves. This may be used as an analogy to explore what happened in the 1950’s and McCarthyism, of which the author, Arthur Miller himself was subjected to, which lead him to express his feelings, however using a different time period within the book. Very much like what miller was subjected to, instead of the naming of witches it was the naming of communists. Again Proctors flaw in his character shows when he knows Mary has lied to him previously but unsurely trusts her not to turn her back on him.
One of proctor’s strengths throughout the play is his respect towards his wife, Elizabeth. When proctor is told of his wife’s pregnancy he immediately reacts and replies with “But if she is pregnant then she must be! That woman will never lie”. This shows proctor feels he has a great judge in character, and finds it as strength of his. It is although he is saying that the he feels that his opinion on the situation counts most, which indicates his power. It also shows his defensive side as a husband, and we see his dominance within the village, and his instinctive nature as a man to defend. However we can also call this weakness on Proctors part. This is due to the fact it may appear as though he is too keen to trust people, and he has although oblivious to it defended a sinner, much like himself, and in this theocratic society it will be seen as more of a weakness then at any other point in history.
Once Proctor hears news that his wife is saved for at least another year he still continues to protest for the sake of his friends. It is shown in the quotation “these are my friends their wife’s are also accused”. The key word within the sentence which shows the good part of Proctors character is “friends”. This is because he has done what he wanted to and secured the safety of his wife, but he...
