Epic Student
Timothy Jarman
Honors English III
24 October 2013
Analysis of the Downfall of John Proctor
The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a play set in Puritan society during the Salem Witch Trials. The
scheme of a young girl against John Proctor’s wife leads to a huge witch hunt based on hearsay and
circumstantial evidence. John Proctor is a tragic hero in the play. While full of internal flaws, he is also
equally a victim of external forces within the text. His excessive pride, paired with his arrogance, act
equally with external forces such as Abigail’s plot, and limited Puritan medical knowledge to bring about
his downfall.
The pride of John Proctor is made clear from the beginning of the play. While having a
conversation with Abigail, in which she is attempting to seduce him, he declares that, “I will cut off my
hand before I’ll ever reach for you again. Wipe it out of mind. We never touched, Abby” (23). John
Proctor is trying to deny his affair with Abigail in front of Abigail herself, demonstrating his pride and
fear of public opinion. Proctor not letting anyone know about his affair comes back to haunt him when he
tries to admit his guilt in front of Danforth and Hathorne, in an effort to discredit Abigail. Without prior
knowledge of these events, the judges must call in his wife to question her about the matter. Since she
knows that John has infinite pride, and that he takes his good name very seriously, she lies in front of the
judges, and John’s claim is immediately dismissed as being false. In another scene, while Elizabeth is
trying to get John to break his promise with Abigail and publicly denounce her, he tells Elizabeth doing
so would “speak deceit, and I am honest” (62)! Once again Proctor’s pride interferes with his better
judgment. If Proctor had been a man not afraid of being judged by the public, and had publicly confessed
to his adultery, the court would have been able to conclude that Abigail created the witch hoax in an effort
to replace Elizabeth. But since he is not, and he is unable to confess to the crime until it is too late, he
becomes the victim of a corrupt court system.
John Proctor’s arrogance- especially in regards to the church- is another hamartia that he
possesses. After Proctor states that he is a “Gospel Christian”, Parris replies, “Such a Christian that will
not come to church but once in a month” (90)! Even though Proctor loves God, his hatred for Parris and
his sermons compels him to not go to church. In addition to rarely going to church, he plows on Sunday.
These non-Christian tendencies allow the townsfolk to more easily blame satanic/unholy events on
Proctor. Despite this, Proctor’s arrogance prevents him from appeasing the townspeople and going to
church. Proctor demonstrates that he is better off reading the gospel by himself than having Parris
interpret it for him, alluding to many biblical passages in the play, and maintaining an honest and morally
upstanding character. However, even though he internally feels as if he is a good, upstanding man, the
community doubts his religious devotion because he is too arrogant to go to church, and not plow on
Sunday.