In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, the author depicts puritan Salem and the witch trials of 1692, revealing the effect of hysteria and intolerance on a community. Through the character of John Proctor, Miller’s purpose is revealed. John Proctor goes from being an ignorant, innocent bystander to a passionate, unyielding soldier which shows the message that dignity and true justice are worth ‘going to war’ over. As Proctor grew from antagonist to protagonist, he followed a certain process that consisted of initial remorse, moving to a sudden realization of ‘nakedness’, and finally valuing his life which became a desire for his dignity. Proctor regains his dignity by being truthful and steadfast to all attempts made by the law to defeat him, which ultimately leads him to an honorable death. When John Proctor enters in the first scene, he is described as being “powerful of body, even-tempered, and not easily led” but “the steady manner he displays does not spring from an untroubled soul” (Act 1, pg 20). Proctor appears confident and strong, and though he is “respected and even feared in Salem”, he “has come to regard himself as a kind of fraud” (Act 1, pg 20-21). In this introduction, the author states that Proctor is like the other upstanding citizens, yet he is not. He is living with the hypocrisy of his own actions. Proctor has little difficulty calling out those who have acted unfairly as he does when Thomas Putnam accuses him of taking lumber from land that he inherited from his grandfather. “I bought that track from Goody Nurse’s husband five months ago” he states to Rebecca, then he tells Putnam “your grandfather had a habit of willing land that never belonged to him, if I may say it plain” (Act 1, pg. 32). However, he has yet to come to terms with his own unjustly actions. John Proctor’s biggest mistake in life could arguably be his decision to commit adultery with Abigail Williams. Proctor,