The Final Chapter of John Proctor’s Life
Why does it seem that most people would do the wrong things to save their necks? Which includes, people standing for what they believe in, and get punished for it? In The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, this principle comes into play all over the place in the 1800’s salem witch trials. John Proctor, being one of many falsely accused of witchcraft in the salem witch trials, is condemned to death for not confessing. He would lead some to believe him to be a scoundrel and that “He’s come to overthrow [the] court” (Miller 179) as he is trying to prove that there are no witches, which is contrary to the belief of the time. Furthermore, John Proctor is a good man because he tries to unveil the madness and injustice behind the trials, confesses about his affair with abigail to elizabeth, and dies for the greater good.…show more content… however, she was frightened by Abigail’s threat to “...come to you in the black of some terrible night and… shutter you.” (Miller 144) which makes her back down and join Abigail, again, doing the wrong thing to save her neck. That’s how every other girl got there in the first place, they listened to Abigail's threat instead of standing up for their actions, which was only dancing in the woods, not conjuring spirits. That was the point John wanted to make, but he was alone with the one person who could testify, and that was Abigail, the woman he had an affair with and the person responsible for the entire