Davis 1Lacey DavisMartin 1The Crucible Essay2, April 2014The reputation of a good man. John Proctor, the man most seen as the protagonist of the book: The Crucible. In the past, not long after the play began, Proctor extricated himself from the deals he had made. He had a good life, a loving wife, two children and a healthy farm. He was a respectable member of the Salem community and, more importantly, he respected himself. Everything got worse when Proctor had an affair with Abigail Williams, who was 17 at the time. John had committed adultery, and this shameful encounter erased his most precious possession: his self-respect. With a straight but at the same time blunt description, we see John Proctor for the first time in the play when he enters shortly after Abigail, Mercy and Mary discuss the events. of the night before. Before long, he orders Mary to return home, and after Mercy leaves due to the Proctor's presence, he and Abigail are left alone. Abigail immediately mentions the "affair" between her and Proctor, and as she waits for him at night, he solemnly states, "Abby, I may think of you sweetly from time to time. But I will cut off my hand before I can." look for yourself again. Erase it from your mind. We will never touch each other, Abby. "John longs to forget his sin, is ashamed of it, and clearly shows that he does not want to repeat such an incident in the future. He is caged by guilt, and the emotional weight of the play rests on Proctor's quest to regain his lost self-image, his goodness lost. He is strongly committed to his wife, Elizabeth, and is determined to avoid any further contact with Abigail. Unfortunately, Abigail cannot simply dispel what happened so easily. John knows what she has done, and she does her best to please him... middle of paper... on his path to redemption. To save his life, he is tempted to admit that he is actually in cahoots with the Devil, if he did, he would be telling a terrible lie and he is also smearing the names of all the other prisoners who refused to surrender. When John is asked to actually sign his name, he refuses. The act of putting his name on paper is just too much. By signing his name he would have surrendered his soul. Even though it would save his life, his goodness would forever be out of his reach. a banner with, but white enough to keep it away from these dogs...."With this final courageous act, John Proctor comes to a kind of peace with himself. John Proctor transcending from shame to redemption is what constitutes the story of The Crucible.