At the end of
The Crucible, John Proctor tears up his false confession, that which would have saved his life, in order to protect his name and reputation and live (or die) an honest man. Rev. Hale claims that "life is God's most precious gift; no principle, however glorious, may justify the taking of it." Do you agree with Rev. Hale, or do you thin Proctor did the right thing? Support your response.
Although I do agree with Reverend Hales and believe there is no greater gift than life itself, I do believe John Proctor died for the right reason. As he tore up his false confession he showed his inner strength to the corrupt court and set an example in the eye of the public. We see as the movie progresses and more and more pure citizens are accused of witchery, there is less and less support toward their execution. By the very end we see the kindest people from the entire play being accused because of such petty reasons.John Proctor did what was morally correct and so he could die and honest man with his dignity. Also throughout the play, we see Proctor struggling with the sin he committed with Abigail against his wife. In a way, I believe this was Proctors ways of forgiving himself and finally accepting that God may have forgiven him. The final scene put the play together and gave the readers a feeling of sorrow.
ReplyDeleteReverend Hale's belief in the sanctity of life has merit; however, John Proctor's decision of choosing death over disgrace is much more sound. Reverend Hale's zealous opinion of life is only partially correct because although I agree life is our most precious gift bestowed to us, I also believe that there may be situations or principles that supercede our right to life. For example, as the witch hysteria ran rampant in Salem, there was a greater increase in townspeople being accused, and as a greater number of townspeople pleaded innocent, they were hung promptly. The relevance of this example is that as innocent people were being hung by the dozens, the people of Salem began to develop a distaste for the hysteria and began to see the folly of the situation. Moreover, John Proctor's was nothing short of a martyr; if he falsely confessed to witchery to escape the noose, he would have established a precedent of lying which would lead to a prolonged presence of the hysteria and thus more executions. Because of the precedent that Mr. Proctor established, he contributed to the eventual end of the witch hysteria, saving lives, acting as a martyr and therefore justifying his death.
ReplyDeleteBy the end of the play, John Proctor is lauded for his integrity and honesty. I believe that he ripped up his confession not to commit suicide, but to die in peace rather than live in torment. Proctor was afraid that his sons would never respect him and think of him as a coward for caving into the court. His unhappiness would have made life difficult for Elizabeth and his children. By losing his self-respect, he would have felt incapable of being a fit parent to his children. Thus, he died a martyr in order to uphold his own good name, not for himself, but for his family. Being a highly respected farmer in Salem, by sacrificing himself, it shows everyone how ridiculous the convictions are. Regardless, no matter which decision he made, Proctor knew that any attempt to regain his honor would be futile. He could choose to die with honor or live with shame. If he had chosen to confess, he would have had to live every day in regret for what he had done. I think that by refusing to lie and confess to witchcraft, he sacrificed his life in the name of truth and regained his dignity. Proctor dies an honest, Christian man, cleansed of his sin of adultery. He chooses to die a whole man, rather than to live a life defined by a lie.
ReplyDeleteJohn Proctor truly wanted to live his life as an honest man, as evidenced by his admitting to adultery. Had he not torn up his false confession, and stated that he were not practicing witchcraft, his previous confession would have been in vain. Proctor was able to gain a sense of freedom by tearing apart his confession, or, as Elizabeth Proctor put it, "he hath his goodness now". Therefore I believe he did the right thing, because he would not have been able to go on with his life knowing he was holding another secret, and knowing his reputation was tarnished. Reverend Hale makes a good point about life, however it would not have made sense for John Proctor to have lived a life where he was in a perpetual state of disappointment, being disappointed in his soiled reputation.
ReplyDeleteJohn Proctor saw importance in not being a disgrace to his town, and instead an honest man. After he saw that they were going to tell the whole town about him signing the confession, Proctor ripped up the document because he valued his reputation much more over his life. If Proctor had decided to not rip up the confession, he would have gone to a life with a wife that would not live long, seeing as she was to be put to death after their child was born, and would not be respected by anyone in town, most likely not even his own kids. I believe that John Proctor made the correct decision in deciding to be sentenced to death instead of confessing to a crime he did not commit. And therefore I do not agree with Reverend Hale, seeing as Proctor would have absolutely no life if he were to sign the confession, never being respected or seen as someone that could be trusted.
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