John Proctor is well known for his wisdom and moral correctness. However, when he commits adultery with his former maid Abigail, his reputation begins to crumble. Proctor’s wife Elizabeth suspected this and proceeded to fire her. Although Elizabeth and John may still be in marriage, tension does not dissolve.
Compensation
PROCTOR: If the crop is good I’ll buy George Jacobs’ heifer. How would that please you?
ELIZABETH: Aye, it would.
PROCTOR: I mean to please you, Elizabeth.
ELIZABETH: I know it, John (48).
Proctor is determined to win Elizabeth’s heart back. He hopes to please his wife and show her that he is a good person. Due to his previous action, he has made detrimental harm to their relationship. Proctor seeks for confirmation and approval from his wife in order to heal himself. He is disgusted by his own hypocritical actions as he does not and will never be able to live up to his words. Despite all the attempts to make her happy, Proctor feels Elizabeth’s reluctance to forgive him.
Frustration
When Proctor accidentally mentions that he was alone with Abigail after already saying that he wasn’t, Elizabeth grows suspicious of her husband. Proctor’s anger begins to grow as he expects that Abigail should have already pardoned about all of his previous actions.
ELIZABETH: You were alone with her?
PROCTOR: For a moment alone, aye.
ELIZABETH: Why, then, it is not as you told me.
PROCTOR: For a moment, I say. The others come in soon after.
ELIZABETH: Do as you wish, then.
PROCTOR: Woman. I’ll not have your suspicion any more (51).
Proctor only cares about his own feelings as he does not consider the amount of trust Elizabeth has lost for him. He does not understand that Elizabeth still being married to him is a large step of recovery. When Proctor does not get what he desires, which is approval in this case, he throws the blame on his wife.
Confession
Knowing that he has sinned and that the guilt will always be present, Proctor accepts himself and his actions. He states to Elizabeth, “I cannot mount the gibbet like a saint. It is a fraud. I am not that man. My honesty is broke, Elizabeth; I am no good man” (126). He now understands that he has done something that is wrong. He does not try to seek for approval from Elizabeth, but rather tells her that what he has done was unforgivable. He does not expect anything from Elizabeth anymore.
Accepting—Connection
From the comic book, American Born Chinese, Chinese-immigrant Jin Wang struggles to be accepted in his American community. When Jin first came to the US, he was bullied for being different—for being Asian. One day, another Chinese immigrant Wei-chen arrived in his classroom. He tries to please his White classmates by bullying Wei-chen just like how Jin himself was treated. He becomes frustrated when a girl he liked, who is Amelia, did not like him back because of his nationality. It was considered lowly of Amelia to be spending time with Jin. He then starts to become more like a “White” person, starting with his hairstyle. His relationships with his close friends also changed as he became a totally different person. Towards the end of the book, Jin confesses that sacrificing all of his relationships to build another with a stranger was not worth it. His realization allowed him to reconstruct his relationships for the better.
Citations
- Miller, Arthur. The Crucible. New York, Penguin Group, 2003.
- Yang, Gene. American Born Chinese. New York: Square Fish, 2006. Print.
Hi Alison. It’s quite interesting to see you divide John Proctor’s change into three phases. I believe one of the most important factors of a good story is the changing of a certain character that faces something significant. I think the process of change you mentioned in your blog post is a very common situation most people would face in their lives(I did). The first two phases were caused by the misunderstood and not knowing someone or a situation well enough so when we try to interact with it we just make the situation worse. But in the end, because we don’t know how to solve the problem, the only thing we can do is to confess, to say sorry. I hate to go through this process, it makes me feel guilty and lost. Are there any ways that can help us avoid or at least to decrease the times this situation happened? The only thing I can think of right now is to fully understand the situation before I act.
Hey, Allison!
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed your article and have found the connection made to American Born Chinese, a graphic novel I’ve greatly enjoyed since I was a kid, insightful and interesting! I’m also fascinated on something that you might take interest in: both The Crucible and ABC are very much about characters going on journeys to learn to do the right thing and find their true identities.
To elaborate: Jin is someone who, like John Proctor, wishes to gain acceptance from others, whether if it’s a crush, classmates or a wife, and it’s very much throughout the journey of the book in which they understand that the most important thing is to actually accept themselves first. What others perceive them to be doesn’t matter because that wouldn’t mean a genuine change, and it’s only if they willingly become the version they want to be will they truly reach the point of acceptance.
However, I personally feel like The Crucible is a book more darker and heavier than ABC, and that while protagonists like John might actually go through with this positive character arc, don’t you feel like antagonists such as Parris go through the exact opposite, constantly hiding the truth away from others and using lies to protect themselves for the sake of preserving their reputation that they ultimately become the exact opposite of what they hope to be? Do you think Arthur Miller might’ve intended this on purpose, to have characters go on opposite paths to underscore the actual message of the story, perhaps?
Great post as always! I’m quite happy to be reminded of a book that I haven’t through about in a while.
Thanks,
William.