Proctors Analysis Essay

‘What is John Proctor? I am no saint; for me it is fraud. I am not that man.† Explore Miller’s Presentation of Proctor in The Crucible. How far do you agree with Proctor’s Analysis of himself?  In 1962, Salem was affected dramatically by the tragedy of witchcraft. Miller use’s this hard-hitting occurrence to structure his story named ‘ The crucible’. By using a real event this can really affect the audience and influence them into picking up more understanding of the play and the happenings that are involved, hence the fact that witchcraft does not seem like a fully believable event. Miller uses the 1692 Salem witchcraft trials to symbolize the 1950s anti-Communist purges. The events of the 1692 Salem witch trials mostly parallel those of the McCarthy trials. If you opposed the McCarthy investigations, you were accused of being a communist. If you opposed to the Salem Witch trials, you were accused of being a witch. Those accused suffered great consequences in both the Crucible and the McCarthy trials. As the McCarthy trials were still currently going through during the release of this play it made the play more effective and easier to relate to. Miller uses clever dramatic devices and a range of different techniques that help engage the audience and manipulate them into siding with different characters in the play and collecting important data that will help with understanding of the alternate people mentioned. The language and stage directions he uses create tension throughout the play and this all builds up to an unpredictable ending, which the audience has been lead on to throughout the play. As soon as Proctor makes his entrance his type of personality is immediately familiar with the audience via the stage directions. It reads on page 16 â€Å"Enter John Proctor. On seeing him Mary Warren leaps in fright† this creates the audience to comprehend that Proctor must have quite a overpowering character that outputs into Mary Warren having such a dramatic reaction to his presence. The first sign the audience receives of an altered relationship between Proctor and Abigail is when the stage directions read ‘ Abigail has stood as though on tiptoe, absorbing his presence, wide-eyed’ this creates an atmosphere of tension between the couplet and builds up to understanding of her blatant feelings for Proctor. But the stage directions read that he only ‘Glances’ at her, an act that makes it obvious that he does not seem to return her feelings for him, as he only carelessly ‘Glances’ as her whereas she seems to be love struck by his presence. The first line that them two communicate is Abigail saying ‘ Gah! I’d almost forgot how strong you are John Proctor!’ The word ‘Forgot’ instantaneously confirms the fact that there has been a past between the couple, which the audience can only wait to be informed certainly of. The following script after this quotation confirms the audiences suspicions by Proctor and Abigail discussing the relationship that they once had, and Abigail attempting unsuccessfully to rebuild a relationship only by Proctor turning her down firmly. Proctor’s relationship with Elizabeth is first introduced at the beginning of Act 2. When Elizabeth delivers Proctor his dinner, it reads that â€Å"She watch’s him eat† and when he compliments her cooking she â€Å"blush’s with pleasure†. I think this activity shows that Elizabeth is very keen on pleasing Proctor. The audience already know at this point of the extramarital affair that Proctor had with Elizabeth betraying his wife. So at the beginning of act 2 I pick up that Elizabeth is attempting greatly to hang onto their marriage even with their tinted history. As of their history there must be a decent amount of tension between the both and mistrust going on discretely. Proctor is portrayed as a good man but who has made very somewhat foolish mistakes in his past, which he tries to almost block out. When Elizabeth mentions his past betrayal in act two Proctor declares â€Å"I have not moved from here to there without I think to please you† I think this shows his immense remorse and that he truly is a good man at heart. In Act 1 when Proctor is questioned why he does not attend church anymore he replies; â€Å"I have trouble enough without I come five mile to hear him preach only hellfire and bloody damnation. Take it to heart, Mr Parris. There are many others who stay away from church these days because you hardly ever mention God anymore† this proves that he opposes the expenditures of Parris in the church and felt that the church was becoming too materialistic and drifted away from the original purpose of a church under the influence of Parris. When Parris states that there is â€Å"a faction and a party against him and all authority† Proctor states that he must join it. This declaration shocks everyone, as it is an offence to join such an anti-authority clique. This shows the extent of Proctor and Parris’s mutual hatred. His relationship with Parris tells me that he is one of a type whom stands up for his own view and does not delay to express his views. During the majority of Act 2 we are introduced with the dilemma of Elizabeth being accused of witchcraft. Both Proctor and Elizabeth know factually that its Abigail’s vengeful plotting that has got Elizabeth into this shocking situation. The audience already knows by now that Abigail is still madly love-struck with Proctor so they understand that it’s Abigail attempting to get rid of Elizabeth in hoping that she could take her place. If Proctor had not gone through with the past affair in the first place Elizabeth would not have ever been accused so in Proctor’s eyes its his fault and as a normal being he knows he now has to get his wife out of this situation on top of the fact that its his role as a husband to care for her and to keep her absent from upset. When Proctor attempts to influence Mary Warren into testifying in court on his behalf she informs him of the problem that Elizabeth will expose him of his lechery. Proctor states; â€Å"Good, then her saintliness is done with. We will slide together into our pit† this line shows his major courage and that he will risk his pure stainless name for his wife, a sign of trust and heroic behaviour. At this point his selfless motive is to get his wife out of the darkness of the court even if it does risk his name, or if worst comes to worse his life. As Mary Warren has informed Proctor of the girls pretence in court he sets out to relieve the court of their manipulative acts and to output in many more lives being saved, another heroic act.  In conclusion I think that Proctor’s analysis of himself is somewhat false as throughout the play he has shown signs of heroic occurrences and he has realised of his past mistakes and felt regret.