In the novel, The Crucible, John Proctor's life comes unravelled when he succumbs to an affair. At the end of the novel he remarks that 'god is dead'. His faith in himself, in mankind, and in his church has failed him. He has been able to see mankind as the corruptible instrument, and that the idea of god that he'd been sold on was no longer valid. To him there is no justice and there is no god, so he must be dead.
