Julia Meagher Orzel English III 22 September, 2012 Crucible Essay The Crucible: Everybody Makes Mistakes To characterize someone as good or bad is a very hard task. There are few people in this world that can be defined as one or the other. In the play The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller based on the witch trials taking place in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692 we meet John Proctor, a local farmer of an outside town. At first, you may believe that he is a man with many flaws or a "bad  guy. However, the audience may look at him differently as he makes up for those mistakes throughout the play. John proctor is a good, brave man of honor and integrity. John Proctor had an affair with his 17 year old servant, Abigail Williams. He made an obvious mistake and he was disgusted with himself. He had told Abigail that he is done with whatever they had, however she is still caught up on John. Abigail is in love with him and she cannot seem to get over him "I am waitin' for you every night  (Miller, 1109). Even though he has clearly made it apparent he cannot nor wants to go back with her. He tells her to put him out of his mind and he will never come for her again. "Abby, I may think of you softly from time to time. But I will cut off my hand before I'll ever reach for you again. Wipe it out of mind. We never touched, Abby.  (Miller, 1109) Even though John made that mistake of adultery, he has clearly learned from his mistake and will not go back to that place again. He wants to stay loyal to his wife and family. Everybody makes mistakes, and fixing and learning from your mistakes is an example of a good person. One may argue that John Proctor is not a good man, which is understandable. He did have an affair; therefore you could say he is a liar and cheater. However, you cannot only focus on the bad things that someone has done. Nobody wants to be known for their flaws or mistakes. The way that John handled his mistakes made him much