On
the morning of August 19, John Proctor was hanged for being a witch. He had used his magic to compel the witches into believing that they did not do
witchcraft, and that they had been lying to the court. Along with this, there were rumors of him having an affair with Abigail Williams, one of the bewitched.
These rumors had not been proven by the court. Nonetheless,
Proctor had been accused for his involvement with witchcraft, and his execution
was conducted without any delay.
Deputy Governor John Danforth claimed that Proctor was mad for
behaving the way he did. He had given John Proctor a choice to choose; confess
his sins and receive light punishment, or to stay silent and face the
gallows. Despite what Danforth said, Proctor still decided to not confess to
the court. According to Danforth, when trying to convince him to prove his
innocence, John Proctor exclaimed: “Because it is my name! Because I cannot
have another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies! Because I am
not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang! How may I live without my
name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name!” (143). Despite how little of it he
has left, Proctor took pride in his honor and dignity. Still, this had not affected the outcome of his situation; a dead man with a noose around his neck.
Even his wife, Elizabeth, was not able to persuade John into deciding the correct path to follow. Recently, it was revealed that she was pregnant
with Proctor’s third child. An eyewitness saw the two have a conversation right
before Proctor’s execution. (To read more on this conversation, see our
exclusive article about their encounter.) Afterwards, Proctor was about to
inform Danforth that he was to confess his sins. However, when he learned that
his confession would be pinned to the door of the church, Proctor denied his
confession. The witness heard this particular outburst from Proctor: “I have
three children – how may I teach them to walk like men in the world, and I sold
my friends?” (143). Despite his third child coming on his way, Proctor could not have lived without feeling shame because of his actions. He could not have taught his
children to be great people with strong morals, with his own being so weak.
Even though his actions resulted in the consequence of his death,
Proctor still had pride in what he had done. Just before he was led
to the gallows, he had said this to Elizabeth, who was crying: “Give them no
tear! Tears pleasure them! Show honor now, show a stony heart and sink them
with it!” (144). Even Rebecca Nurse supported his decision, since it is what Proctor
thought was right. He stuck onto his morals like a barnacle on the side of an
old ship, never letting go even through the harshest of waves. In the end,
Proctor was convicted and sent to his death.
What
would you have done in his situation? Proctor’s choice was not an easy
one to decide. For some, it may have been an obvious choice, but Proctor’s
integrity was at stake here. If he were to have chosen to confess, his
standards of morality would have been shattered into a million pieces. Proctor
would’ve had to live the rest of his life with no guide to follow, no rules to
adhere to. Would he still have the honor to hold up his head in public?
Nonetheless, his decision will most likely be noted as one of the most memorable
points during these turbulent times.
-Justin Choi
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