John Proctor is a very dynamic character who has an internal conflict between being righteous and falling into temptation. This character is very unique because he changes his personality throughout the story. I like John Proctor because he is a symbol of the common man because most men fall into temptation at one point in their lives. We all try to do well but we are all sinners and we need to learn from our mistakes. I can relate to this character because I to have fallen into temptation but turn to God to guide me and direct me in the right path. John has committed adultery previous to the play.
He is a farmer who has a good work ethic. John seems to be full of remorse for his affair with Abigail, his former servant. He has the mentality that he will not commit adultery ever again. A good example of this is when he is speaking to Abigail and says, “But I will cut my hand before I ever reach for you again. ” This shows that John wants to be a righteous man but is living in sin. Proctor starts to change throughout the novel. In the middle of the novel, John starts to realize that to save his wife Elizabeth, he must admit to his adultery to the court.
John puts his wife before his shame which shows a lot about his character. He was also willing to go to court to confess that what the girls were doing was all fake acts. Before, he refused to testify in court when Elizabeth asked him. So that is another change we see in John Proctor. He loves his wife and lets go of his past in order to save her. John Proctor changes drastically towards the end of the novel. He actually undergoes two big changes at the end. John is now accused of witchcraft by Marry Warren because she wanted to save herself.
Now we have to recall that John had not been attending church and could not remember the 10 commandments, but he was a Christian. He says that Elizabeth would never lie, so Danforth gives John a chance and says that Elizabeth can come and say if John is really telling the truth. Elizabeth goes into court, and Danforth asks her if it is true that Abigail was kicked out of the house for having an affair with John Proctor. Elizabeth lies to save her husband and says that it is a false account. John is then sentenced to jail but he eventually admits to witchcraft even though he did not practice any sort of witchcraft.
This is the first major change because we never expect for Proctor to make such a radical change to admit to something like that. Then, Proctor does not want to make that confession publicly so he tears it up and denies practicing witchcraft. We see yet another drastic change for the better this time. I feel that John Proctor has learned from his mistakes. He gets condemned by the judge because of adultery which lead to his tragic death. We clearly see that John struggles with the adultery he committed, but he has good intentions.
He cares a lot about his wife and he is willing to be faithful and not fall into temptation with Abigail. If John Proctor was to live, I think he would raise his kids to be loyal, and he would help them to become righteous young men. He would also not have any type of communication with Abigail because he values his wife a lot more than in the beginning of the novel. I feel that John is an ordinary human being who falls into temptation as many of us do. I learned that you have to ask God to guide you through your every day life so those temptations can go away.
