Dramatic Tension in this final act Essay

Perplexed still, we get the impression that John Proctor wants his life but cannot stand having a guilty conscience. Elizabeth perhaps adds to his puzzlement, â€Å"I want you living John. That’s sure†. This is the first real emotion we have seen between them in the play. Elizabeth’s words finally persuades John to save himself, and as he confess’ Rebecca Nurse is brought in. Her presence makes John ashamed and guilty, especially when asked â€Å"Did you ever see Rebecca Nurse with the devil? † He is under immense pressure and when at last he is asked for his signed testimony we realise another factor as to why he took the ultimate sacrifice. â€Å"Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! Because I live 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! † The presence of Rebecca Nurse, a saint in his eyes, the importance of his name are all important factors as to why John Proctor gives up his life, but he also realises he will die a good man. It is the one good thing he can do for Elizabeth after all the pain he has caused her. There is a dignity in what he is doing for himself, Elizabeth and his own community. He is an important figure in his society and by standing up to the corruption and being brave enough he is truly doing the right thing but not just for himself. The last act shows John proctor’s emotions and his own physical bodily actions ‘in agony’, but when he tears up his false testimony his can stand up straight for the first time. His death will also bring redemption from his own guilt. He has made a statement as to how un-just and corrupt their justice system was, and by leaving behind a world of prosecution and pragmatism he has become a man of principle. In act four, John Proctor decides to give up his own life rather than confess to being with the devil falsely. We encounter Proctor as a different character, a martyr, almost Christ like. Procter wavers, and at one stage he wants his life, â€Å"I will have my life†, but at the last minute he tears up his confession to save his integrity. Arthur Miller builds up the tension in the last act by using the interaction of characters, language and stage directions. Arthur Miller reveals a character’s innermost thoughts and feelings. In comparison to Act two, when Elizabeth and John Proctor’s conversation had been confrontational and short plagued by the crime John had committed, in the last act when they meet for the final time, they act truly in love and this is portrayed by the stage directions given to the actors. John is described to be ‘weak of body’, but seems to be stronger here than at any other time in the play.