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Michael Rossi
December 31, 2009
Advanced Placement English Language
Crucible Long Papers- Prompt One
Proctor’s Garden
Proctor led a fateful life in a twisted society. In Salem, it was understood that sins left a stain so dark that no holiness could ever again prevail within the sinner. Proctor’s soul was black with adultery and admitted he was the Devil’s man, but in reality Proctor was achieving redemption. The residents of Salem took a very teleological approach to making sure the Devil was purged from their society. In the process, they ignored forgiveness, which is one of the chief tenants of Christianity, and embraced pride. The Devil was loose in Salem, but not in John Proctor or Goody Nurse. Throughout the course of The Crucible, Proctor earned redemption through improving his understanding of his society.
At The Crucible’s opening Proctor is vexed by the fact that he could not earn Elizabeth’s forgiveness for his affair with Abigail. Proctor attempted to alleviate his guilt by coaxing Elizabeth to allow his lechery to escape her thoughts. This approach in itself is unworthy of forgiveness. Proctor’s initial goal is not to have Elizabeth forgive him, but to have her forget about the entire incident. This is best exhibited when Proctor declares, “You forget nothing and forgive nothin’. Learn charity, woman” (Miller 54). This is a serious problem not only for Proctor, but for relationships as a whole. When any group has an argument over a matter that they do not wish to negotiate, fighting takes place. Any war in the history of man can be looked to for reference. Proctor is ignoring the crucial fact that love requires two people. Elizabeth has dealt with Proctor’s dishonesty and he now demands that she also comes to peace with it.
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Elizabeth made this lucidly clear when she said, “I do not judge you. The magistrate sits in your heart that judges you” (Miller 55).
In the beginning, Proctor was swallowed by the lecherous evil that Abigail exposed him to. He demanded that Elizabeth extend her arm and hoist him from it, but he was unable to extend his own as it was heavy with lies and selfishness. When Salem decided that Elizabeth was a witch, Proctor learned that by burying the truth he not only blinds himself, but the very court who is judging his wife. When Proctor admitted to the lechery, he soiled his good name and admitted his flaw not only to the court but to himself. When Proctor buried the truth, and all the weight it carried, it was far too difficult to dig himself out. Like any relationship, one has to truly realize the offense before they can seek forgiveness for it. Understanding the problem was proctor’s first step toward redemption.
The author, Arthur Miller, made it effortless to empathize with Proctor, as repression is a common and negative coping mechanism that everyone has experienced. Utilizing the witch hunt, Miller demonstrates how repression can be harmful to an individual and the individual’s society. Any unchristian man, with no remorse, who was open about the affair, would have received a few whiplashes. By characterizing Proctor as the strong silent type, he demonstrates how even a devout Christian man can adversely affect society with nothing more than a repression of emotion, even if he is sorry. Miller shows that if Proctor was more in touch with his feelings, his proactive confession could have quelled the hysteria and exposed Abigail as no more than a lying strumpet. If Proctor had been more in touch with his feelings, he would have been able to testify in court instead of taking that time to first testify to himself. Miller makes it lucidly clear that tough guys create a tough guise, which in Proctor’s case, leads to the near
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destruction of his relationship with himself, his wife, and the Court. Overcoming this state of mind and rapidly striving to understand things as he should for the sake of his wife, allowed Proctor to grow even closer to redemption.
Proctor was ultimately redeemed when he resolved to die in the name of those who were hanged. Proctor realized hysterical state that Salem was immersed in and the honorable nature of those who were hanged in the name of truth: “Because I lie and sign myself to lies! Because I am not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang!” (Miller 143). Proctor relinquished the last of his ego when he would not agree to the singed confession. Miller facilitates the reader’s ability to empathize with Proctor because Proctor’s last minute regression towards selfishness exhibits tendency that most people experience at some point in their lives. Proctor conquered his human instinct of self preservation in the name of truth and honor. This is a natural fear which most people will never conquer. Proctor was coming to grips with the fact that he was singing his death sentence by shredding his confession. Thoughts of fear and sorrow sped through his mind and left logic in the dust. Nevertheless, Proctor was able to gather his thoughts and be selflessly martyred. Proctor finally gained redemption because in the eyes of the reader, God, and Elizabeth because he ended the very witch hunt that he could have prevented. Proctor makes made amends to Salem by hanging alongside those who were hanged and destroying the court system which was responsible for advocating the witch hunt.
Throughout the course of The Crucible, Proctor earned redemption through improving his understanding of his society. Salem is like the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve were negatively influenced by the devil and misused the tree of knowledge in order to try to compete with God’s knowledge. In the same way, Abigail fooled the residents of Salem to preserve the community.
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In doing so, Salem ignored the fact that a community cannot be a community without people. Whimsically killing cast numbers of people defeats the purpose of having an organized community, whose goal should be to protect people in the first place, and is the wrong approach to trying to preserve its members. Abigail tainted Salem. Similarity, God punished the devil and removed Adam and Eve from the garden. By acting selflessly Proctor became symbol of Christianity. In life, Proctor was a lecher who was partially to blame for the witch hysteria in Salem. In death Proctor was a martyr who demonstrated what it means to selflessly die for an injustice.
Monday, January 4, 2010
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