Honest, upright, and blunt-spoken, Proctor is a good man, but one with a secret, fatal flaw. His lust for Abigail Williams led to their affair (which occurs before the play begins), and created Abigail’s jealousy of his wife, Elizabeth, which sets the entire witch hysteria in motion.

Is John Proctor a good man or do his faults overshadow his virtues?

Honest, upright, and blunt-spoken, Proctor is a good man, but one with a secret, fatal flaw. His lust for Abigail Williams led to their affair (which occurs before the play begins), and created Abigail’s jealousy of his wife, Elizabeth, which sets the entire witch hysteria in motion.

What is Miller trying to represent with Proctor?

Miller uses Proctor to symbolize the difficulty that righteousness entails. Whereas scheming and lying may be an easier path, Proctor chooses honesty though it is at great cost to himself.

Why is Abigail Williams responsible for the Crucible?

In the play The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, a group of teenage girls begin accusing people of witchcraft. Abigail Williams is to blame for the witch trials as a result of accusing others. Abigail constantly lies throughout The Crucible to make sure she does not get caught.

How does Miller make you sympathize with John Proctor?

One way that Miller helps us to sympathize with these two is through the simple fact that they are struggling so hard to get along, and fail so miserably. We feel really bad for them! Then, we sympathize with the fact that he confessed his adultery, and ever since then, has been trying to make it up to Elizabeth.

How does Abigail change by the end of the play?

At the end of the play, when Abigail realizes that her plan has failed and that she has condemned Proctor to hang, she displays the same cold indifference that governs her actions throughout the play. She flees Salem, leaving Proctor without so much as a second glance.

How does Miller instill sympathy in the reader for the victims of the trials?

Miller creates sympathy for John Proctor by revealing his feelings of guilt and shame for committing adultery. Rather than depicting John Proctor as a heartless man, Miller portrays him as a contrite sinner, who experiences remorse for having an affair with Abigail Williams.

How does Miller describe John Proctor?

Arthur Miller describes John Proctor as a farmer in his mid-thirties, who does not take part in the town’s politics and has a “sharp” and “biting” tone towards hypocrites. Proctor is further described as being a powerful “even-tempered” man, who is an independent thinker and is not easily led by others.