Many people say a leader is born from hard choices. That is true in many cases, like in Arthur Miller’s dramatic play The Crucible, set in the late 1600’s in Salem, Massachusetts. In the play many girls blame people for witchcraft, which lead to many arrests. Due to the fact that Puritans believed that Satan was the center of witchcraft. One lady blamed for witchcraft towards Abigail was Elizabeth Proctor. Her husband John, who had an affair with Abigail, tries to save Elizabeth by making their servant mary Warren confess it was all a lie. This backfires and some hard decisions come up along the way to decide his fate. Yet as we now know in The Crucible many people make the easy decision to stay alive. But John Proctor is a separate man who makes decisions that reveal himself as a character such as redemption, honesty, integrity, that change the face of Salem Massachusetts forever.

At the beginning of the story we the reader are first painted this picture of John Proctor that he is this strong man who tends to his fields and he does not like hypocrites, yet he himself is one since he committed adultery. When we meet him for the first time this happens when he comes to town to find out if witchcraft is present when Betty is sick. Abby starts to try to remind him of some old memories. But when he is saying “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”. Proctor makes a bold statement to the reader and Abby in these sentences. He revives himself or shows redemption to Abby and himself. He admits they did do some adult things, and he has thought of her a little bit. Yet he will never go for her again not before he even cuts off his own hand. This is so important because we start to see Proctor as this strong man who makes tough decisions.

As the story progresses we see good and bad from Proctor. We see his anger towards his wife that is not necessary, since she is just trying to please him. But during the end of Act II Proctor tells Mary Warren she and him will go to court the following morning to tell the truth, this act shows love on his part. So when he and Abigail are going back and forth in the courtroom he realizes the only way to win is to be a honest man. Proctor confesses his sins by saying “I have known her, sir. I have known her”. In puritan times he is called a lecher, and due to that fact they have no confession this will stick with him forever. He defeats this single crucible by being an honest man and saying that he has had adult relations with Abigail. Being honest in puritan times was the only way.

Throughout the story Proctor makes difficult decisions that will change him and the way people look at him, but the most difficult decision comes when he is about to die. After the trail he just said there is no God. He did this to end the drama and show everyone there are no witches. When he is signing a paper that says he has committed the crime of witchcraft they tell him it will be hung on the church. Proctor rips it out of their hands and tells them no he has boys to raise and how will they respect him if his name is up like that.
When he is saying “Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life because I lie and sign myself to lies”. By doing this it shows that he fears no hanging and he is a man of integrity. He does this by upholding his morals with firm principles. He told Danforth that is can not have his name upon the church since it is his name. A person gets one name in their life and that is his. He also doesn’t want his name associated with lies since he is not a witch or anything else. Integrity saves a man's morals.

Yet as we now know in The Crucible many people make the easy decision to stay alive. But John Proctor is a separate man who makes decisions that reveal himself as a character such as redemption, honesty, integrity, that change the face of Salem Massachusetts forever. Throughout the story he is called a follower of satan, but any man who sacrifices himself for others is a man of God. Although many men are corrupted and have no admirable traits; There are many men that do have integrity, honesty, redemption deep down inside one including John Proctor.














God is great