Robert Maynard, an American journalist, once said that the dignity of man is an ideal worth fighting for and worth dying for. In the play “The Crucible,” the price of dignity is passed through a litmus test by John Proctor. He has to decide between his life and his dignity. In the end, John chooses his dignity over his life, a position I support, and give reasons for doing so in this paper. What Proctor gained from his decision to recant his false confession was worth the price of his life.
Proctor is a decent bloke, genuine, straight, and flat, but he has a significant drawback: his love for Abigail led to their infidelity, and Abigail’s hatred of his wife, Elizabeth, launched the witch craze. When Danforth demands writing and publicizing the admission, John recognizes that the statement is more than a technicality; it is also a possible chance for the judge to confirm the witch hunt and sanction the deaths. Thus, his admittance runs counter to his aim to end the town’s panic. “You’ve worked your spell now, and I believe I see a ray of decency in John Proctor. It’s not sufficient to make a banner out of, but it’s white enough to keep such dogs away” (Miller 105). As he qualifies his decision to recant his confession, Proctor adds this. While an oral admission may have no link to reality, putting his signature on record will lend legitimacy to the prosecution’s lies, staining the reputations of his companions who have perished in denial of the accusations leveled against them.
Proctor’s refusal to give up his dignity implies that he believes that such fidelity will lead him to eternity. He is absolved of his previous transgressions and goes to execution. “Because it’s my name!” says John, “Because I don’t have room in my life for another! Because I am not worth the dust on the hangers’ feet! I’ve given you my heart; leave my name!” (Miller 143). “He hath his goodness now,” Elizabeth remarks at the close of the play, in response to Hale’s appeal that she persuade John to admit openly. “Please, God forbid I take it from him!” (Miller 116). This phrase argues that, instead of being remembered for accepting a false confession against his neighborhood, he recognizes that his reputation will be renowned for standing firm, even at the expense of his life. Elizabeth does not push him to rethink because she comprehends the sacrifice he is undertaking for both the community and their household.
As the play concludes, Proctor achieves martyrdom as he gives up his life, having refused to have put the false confession in writing. He ensures that the lives of his neighbors are not lost in vain and gives the town a chance to recover from all the drama and chaos caused by the witchcraft allegations. Living for him by lying to the court would have been untenable, therefore demeriting the claim that decanting the false confession and being hanged was not worth the price of his life. “How may I live without my name (Miller 153)?” John contemplates himself as useless, equating it to death, if he abandons all of his principles to avoid execution.
In conclusion, Proctor loses his life and keeps his dignity, his decision well documented in the town’s history books and one I firmly concur with. It is important to note that there are issues or scenarios in life that transcend the importance of one man and, in that measure, their existence. The preservation of this life in this instance would have spelled doom for the town and probably cost more lives than the one lost by Proctor deciding to stand for the truth.
Work Cited
Miller, Arthur. The Crucible. 1953. New York, Penguin Books, 2003.
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