PARRIS: Proctor, Proctor!
HALE: Man, you will hang! You cannot!
PROCTOR: I can. And there’s your first marvel, that I can. You have made your magic now, for now I do think I see some shred of goodness in John Proctor. Not enough to weave a banner with, but white enough to keep it from such dogs.
– Arthur Miller
The Crucible, Act 4. John Proctor goes to the gallows refusing to falsely confess to witchcraft. In doing so he preserves his integrity and finds his "shred of goodness." He chooses not to live a lie. Instead he decides to die with honor with the other good people who will not make a false confession to save their lives. Having initially signed the confession, he tears it up before a horrified Hale and Parris. They cannot believe his refusal to permit it to be publicly posted on the church door as "proof." John’s last speech before being hanged shows that, having been racked with guilt over his lechery, he has at last forgiven himself for his sins. The animal metaphor "dogs" are the figures of authority in the court trying to get John to confess to the bogus charge of witchcraft. Proctor also uses a weaving metaphor in his final dramatic speech.