Proctor was a farmer in his middle thirties. He need not have been a partisan of any faction in the town, but there is evidence to suggest that he had a sharp and biting way with hypocrites. He was the kind of man – powerful of body, even-tempered, and not easily led – who cannot refuse support to partisans without drawing their deepest resentment. In Proctor’s presence a fool felt his foolishness instantly – and a Proctor is always marked for calumny therefore.
– Arthur Miller
The Crucible, Act 1. In these character description note by Miller, protagonist John Proctor is portrayed as a man of integrity who possesses an independent mind and spirit. He didn’t support any particular group in town and didn’t suffer fools or hypocrites gladly. That made him a target of calumny, or attacks on his reputation. This passage is foreshadowing of a number of things: Proctor’s biting criticisms of the hypocritical Reverend Parris and greedy Thomas Putnam, and the accusations of witchcraft leveled against Proctor himself.