The title of the play "The Crucible" means a test of one's beliefs. The title fits the play perfectly because many people's beliefs are questioned. One of the people was John Proctor. In the play "The Crucible", John's first mistake was his affair with Abigail. During the play he tries his best to stay away from Abigail. This way John wouldn't be tempted by Abigail. John made the decision that his wife is more important to him and he wishes to try to save his marriage so to stay away from Abigail was a good decision. Abigail still insists that John still has feelings for her. John tells her, "Abby, I may think of you softly from time to time. But I will cut off my hand before I'll ever reach for you again." John explicitly made it clear to Abigail that he would never touch her again in this quote.
Abigail
ABIGAIL SPEARS
Map of West Peabody, MA, indicating the 20th centu...John made a good choice telling Abigail flat out, he would never touch her and by doing this he relieves some of his guilt. Next John tries to battle the court to try to save his wife, Elizabeth.
John takes Mary Warren to the court to tell the truth that she and the girls never saw any sprits or the devil. This proves that John really loved Elizabeth because he was willing to do anything to save Elizabeth. When Mary Warren telling the truth didn't work, he told the court about his affair. The court calls Elizabeth out and for the first time she lies to exonerated John. John yells out, "She only thought to save my name!" This shows that Elizabeth really loved John because she never lies. John tried his best to save Elizabeth and because of this he was condemn to die. John's next mistake was his pride. On the day John was going to be executed, Mr. Hale, Mr. Parris, and Danforth try to get John to confess he was a witch. They tried to get him to confess so other people would confess because John held much weigh with the town's people. Elizabeth gets John to confess a lie in an expeditious confession. When Mr. Parris and Danforth tell John they are going to hang his confession on the church doors he objects by saying, "How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name." John rips the confession into pieces.
John is too prideful of his name if he would have just let them hang his confession on the doors he could have lived. Instead he is going to die because of his pride. He did stand his ground in that he was not a witch, and he died a good Christian because he didn't lie to the court. In conclusion, John Proctor was tested a lot in The Crucible. He was tested by him trying to stay away from Abigail, through the court, and his decision to die or not to die. In the end John overcame these tests even though he chose to die instead of lying to save his life.
A photograph of the historic John Proctor House in...
The Crucible (John Zorn album)
The Crucible