John in The Crucible Essay

Arthur Millers The Crucible is a dramatic play about the witch trails that take place in the seventeenth century in the Puritan town of Salem, Massachusetts. The main character John Proctor experiences a test of character when he must decide whether he should confess that he is a wizard and live a lie for the rest of his life or hang for being a wizard and die a good Christian. John of course chooses to die a good Christian and his choice shows that he is strong and shows that he is a true believer. In Arthur Millers The Crucible Johns choice was the right choice because he wanted to protect his familys reputation in Salem, he wanted to protect his name, and he didnt want to dishonor the condemned.

Johns decision was a wise decision because he protected his familys name and reputation by choosing to hang. The Puritans highly valued their reputation in society and they went to extremes to protect their good name. John being a Puritan, not only did he value his own reputation but he also highly valued his familys name in Salem.

Since Johns decision protected his own name, John made a wise decision. John honored his reputation when he decided not to sign the confession because he didnt want to be remembered for being a wizard. Johns explanation for not wanting to sign the confession was, Because I lie and sign myself to lies How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name! John sees that if he signs his name on the confession he will destroy his good name because his confession to being a wizard is a lie and therefore he protects his name by not signing the confession. was because he didnt want to harm his spiritual well being. John wanted to keep his spiritual well being intact and he didnt want to be damned for lying. John didnt want to be damned by God for lying since in Act III John said, God damns all lairs, He didnt want to damn himself by signing his name on a piece of paper that stated that he lied. He would be damning himself if he did.

The third reason that Johns choice was wise was because john didnt want to dishonor the condemned. John felt that if he confessed he would dishonor the condemned because he would have to live with the fact that innocent people died while he lied to stay alive. In Act IV Johns reasoning for not signing the confession is, Because I am not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang! This means that John thinks that if he confesses he wont be worthy because while he watched the condemned die he would live if he lied.

John made a wise decision because he wanted to protect his familys reputation in Salem, he wanted to protect his name, and he didnt want to dishonor the condemned. John had to make a decision between life and death and he chose to die. He chose to die because he didnt want to live a lie while other innocent people were killed. The fact that John decided to die made him a strong and righteous person. Although John made the wise decision and died to protect his family from accusations at the same time he didnt make the wise decision because once he is hung the state owns his property and his family doesnt have settler.