The Crucible - Analysis of John Proctor

In the play, The Crucible there were many characters who stayed the same throughout the entire story, and there were others who changed. One of the characters who changed over the course of the play was John Proctor. He was an upstanding citizen in the community with one fatal flaw, his shame in sleeping with his servant, Abigail Williams. Over the course of the play, Proctor fights his guilt over what he did and faces whether or not to tell the court as he watches Abigail tear the lives of the people in the community apart. In the beginning of the play, Proctor’s only goal in life was to keep his good name in the society, but he changed in an effort to save the lives of others in court. He did so when he finally told of his adultery with Abigail even though by the time he did, it was too late. While his plan to save the other people who were being tried for witchcraft had failed, he succeeded in freeing his own guilt with his confession. From that point on in the story, John Proctor was a heroic figure instead of a cowardly one like he used to be.

John Proctor is a man who can be described as respected and even tempered, as well as stubborn with a sense of strong self preservation. In the beginning of the book, Proctor is happy with his life, if not guilty of cheating on his wife with his used-to-be servant, Abigail. He tries his hardest to ignore what he has done even as Abigail thrusts the town of Salem into hysteria, but once his wife, Elizabeth Proctor, is taken into custody, he can no longer overlook Abigail’s influence in the town. In order to free his wife, and other people who have been accused,