John Proctor has had the hardest time trying to figure out is character and what he stands up for. He does not know whether he should lie and live with guilt from his sin or should he confess and come to turn with his consequences. In the beginning of the book Proctor was living with the consequences of his sins. For example, in the beginning his marriage his taking a blow because of his infidelity. When him and his wife, Elizabeth Proctor, talk to each other it does not seem like they are married, their tone towards each other is blank.
They don’t really show emotion towards each other. Elizabeth knows that he had an affair with Abigail, therefore she kicked out Abigail. John still wants his wife to love him. Integrity is “the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness.” John started showing integrity when he realized that Elizabeth was pregnant with his child.
In Act III Danforth tells John that Elizabeth is safe until she gives both to their child. After getting told this John starts to appreciate her more and think about what he had to to her. John’s integrity starts to become primary for him in Acts III and IV. For example in Act III he wants Abigail to be condemned so badly that he confesses to having an affair with Abigail. In Act III he also says “ God is dead!”. By him saying this it shows that he is becoming a man that cares about how he is looked at and his integrity.
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The quote “ God is dead!” means that church is not practicing the Bible and everyone is lying to save themselves. John gets tired of everyone lying, so he tells the truth, but during that time people who lied were saved from dying, while everyone who was telling the truth ended up dead because the church’s values were not pure. Because John confesses and tells the truth he is arrested. In Act IV Abigail sneaks to where John is and she tries to get him to leave with her, but he does not leave with her.
This shows his integrity because if he would have left with her he wouldn’t have to die, but he decides to face his consequences head on. It shows how he has learned from his mistakes and is mentally strong enough to tell Abigail no. In Act IV, Reverend Hale wants Elizabeth to get John to lie so they could stay alive. John does not want to confess because he wants to be honest to himself and he does not want his name to be lied upon. This shows integrity because of his strong moral principles.
In Act IV, John is signed the plea and ended up ripping it up because of his self love and morals. John feels that he would rather die than his name be disrespected and lied upon. By this time John Proctor is well enough to realize that by lying, he is conforming to the church’s wrong practices and he is not making his life any better.
