John Proctor: A Eulogy by Sir Francis Nurse Today we grieve the sad death of a man that is known throughout this village of Salem. He was a farmer, a husband, a father of two, and to me, a good friend: John Proctor. He was hanged next to my sweet Rebecca, and after speaking about my dear wife, I knew it must only be right if I share some words about John. John Proctor, born March 30th, 1632 in England. He was brought over here to Massachusetts when he was just a young boy, at that time, I was around his age.
His family moved in right next to my pervious land in which they also started to farm; we’d become very close and John’s parents and Rebecca and I would always come together to have some tea, getting to talk about the village and our work. John grew up to be a fine young man, hardworking and dedicated to his profession, wanting to carry on his father’s work in the farm. They had quite the land back then, the richest and most arable in most of Salem.
After the passing away of his father, I became much of an advising figure for him as he had slowly starting losing his way and understanding for how he must move on, questioning society. Me and Rebecca would spend time with him when we could to help him see the people for their good and that many mistakes can be made by them; however it is what we truly stand for and how we come back from events like these that can help us understand society better. As John’s father had been murdered by one of his close friends who’d been like an uncle to him, it was hard at first for John to understand.
But John was an understanding, forgiving, and courageous young man, learning to accept what had happened and learnt to move forward by helping others in any way he could. To question what John Proctor stood for, to most who knew him, would be as if to ask if he’d ever lived in this village. After coming to terms and understanding the death of his father, John constructed a quite beautiful, yet short and sweet stanza to sum up what he would to growing up as a man in the village of Salem and how he will live life.
It says, “One may fool the hearts of many yet not get pass through to me, and although I might be condemned I must look where there is plea, and help those around to view through the lens I may look through, and do my best to do good whenever I may come by to you. ” Although he directed his feelings towards myself and Rebecca, the actions of those words resonate throughout our village and the good work he does. John stood for respect, goodwill, and his undeniable selflessness.
And although he had made mistakes along the way, he understood they were unjust but repented and did his best to make it right. John could always be seen around the corner trying to help out either fixing Mr. Jacobs wagon, or even carrying the heavy bags of wheat into the home of the Corey’s. If not for John Proctor, as well as Mr. Corey, our village here in Salem could still be a madhouse, with the witches trial to have continued until who knows what next could have happened; perhaps all the people in the village could be at large until there comes a point where there was no one left to be accused.
If not for John Proctor, every morning like these past months have been we’d be going up to the court, just to hear another absurd allegation of someone else in our village to have been possessed by Lucifer himself. John understood clearly what Abigail Williams and her friends were doing and knew he must put a stop to it. He’d committed the severe crime of adultery, but he himself questioned his own goodness. When the village was blind to see what was truly happening he made sure to put a stop to the nonsense, in exchange for taking away his good name.
It was a sacrifice that he made for the good of us, the people of Salem; therefore if not for John Proctor, we all could not go back to go on with our lives in peace. When an individual sacrifices them self so selflessly to keep their name good, to save the ones they love, and keep their dignity dying for it, they must be remembered dearly. For what John has done for this village, he must be honored to have died a tragic yet heroic person. This man, John Proctor might be gone, but the work he has done will not take away respect for his name, but praise his name as what he’s done can never be forgotten.
