Is John Proctor a Good Man? (Yes)

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In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, the character John Proctor is a good man. He is a good man because even though he was aware of the consequences to come, he still eventually confessed his sins to the court in order to protect his wife. He is also a good man because he eventually chose to be hanged rather than having his name smeared for a crime he did not commit. John Proctor knew the consequences he would have to face by confessing that he committed the sin, adultery, to the court. Although it was not his initial plan to confess, he does so in order to protect his wife, Elizabeth. Elizabeth has been accused of witchcraft by their former servant, Abigail. The reason Abigail is no longer their servant is because she had an affair with John. It is evident that Elizabeth knew of the affair when Proctor said, “My wife is innocent, except she knew a whore when she saw one” (Miller 116). Abigail has accused Elizabeth of witchcraft because she feels John is more hers than Elizabeth’s. Abigail feels this because of the promise made in bed when they had the affair. John was forced to reveal the affair to the court so that they could understand Abigail’s motive. This is when he says “I have known her, sir. I have known her” (115). John does not want to tell the court about his sin though, he does it for the purpose of protecting Elizabeth from Abigail’s untruthfulness. This feeling is displayed when he says,”...A man will not cast away his good name. You surely know that” (115). What Proctor means by this that no man would blacken his own name without having a reason for doing so. He would not say that he has committed a sin if it was not unfortunately true. Proctor obviously knows that his wife is innocent and that he is the one that has sinned. He is sacrificing his name and life for the innocence of his wife. He wants to save his wife, but he also does not want his named
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