From Sinner To Martyr: The Evolution Of John Proct Essay, Research Paper

Was John Proctor a basically good man who thought he was just having a little fun with Abigail by cheating on his wife, or was he an evil sinner who had bad intentions while having an affair with Abigail in the first place? Was he or did he become a sinner or a martyr, someone who dies for their cause? Well, John Proctor changes throughout the play in many ways. He ends his affair with Abigail, knowing himself thus to be a sinner, yet |he had a sharp and biting way with hypocrites.X He knew from Abby+s confession that the witch trials were based on lies but did not realize how wrong they were for everyone until his wife Elizabeth was accused as well. His attitude toward organized religion, which was never very favorable, changed to an even more negative one as the play progresses. But throughout the story he believes in a god, even though he is accused of great evil. This paper will summarize John Proctor+s changes throughout Arthur Miller+s The Crucible. For instance, John Proctor was a basically good, prominent farmer before the witch trials had begun; except for the fact that he had been having an affair with Abigail. During this time though, he also wanted to end and forget this sin which had developed into a relationship; for example, |Abby, I may think of you softly from time to time. But I will cut off my hand before I+ll ever reach for you again. Wipe it out of my mind. We never touched, Abby.X During the witch trials, Abigail had accused Rebecca Nurse of witchcraft because she was a prominent, church-going person in the town of Salem, Massachusetts and could speak on behalf of the many accused witches, including John Proctor, testifying that they were not witches. She has known John and Elizabeth Proctor, and although they were not church-goers, they were good, somewhat prominent and Rebecca Nurse+s friends. When John and Elizabeth are brought to court as being accused of witchcraft, John must now openly admit his affair in court, to try to save his wife, and by this, Proctor himself is a hypocrite, not acknowledging the truth previously. So he changes that way, only becoming willing to admit his sin when not admitting it could mean Elizabeth+s death, for whom he still loves and cares for.

Proctor died valiantly as he hanged. He chose death over living with the guilt that he knew that the witch trials were just a way of covering up sins, some worse than his. He knew the girls were lying. The courts were blaming people who were different to protect a way of life that covered up a lot of real sins He had lost r