Character conference

Just got out of my character conference with Jason. It was a really good meeting and it gave me a lot to think about in terms of who John Proctor and what he embodies. We talked about who John Proctor would be outside of the Puritan world. Maybe he'd be a drinker. He's a man who lives out on the fringe, connected to the earth and standing away from the the society of man. Jason proposed he may be an old hippie who'd take you out on a mountain and show you the land and say, "this is my religion and my world". He's intelligent, yet still would want to use his hands. I discussed my thinking about John and Elizabeths marriage apart from the Puritan framework, and what she means to him and what she represents.

Jason asked me what I think John dies for, which is something I discussed in an earlier blog post. Jason phrased it as not just dying for himself or for his family, but for mythology. He's dying for an idea and is sacrificial in that respect. John is obviously a Christ-like figure, and in a Puritan society, He would be the only mythological or literary hero he has an example. The road to his death is very similar to that of Christs; but when does John fight against it and fear his death as Christ did, and when and why does John accept his fate and comes to terms with it? Jason suggested I look to images of the crucifixion and the stations of the cross.