Hubris In The Crucible
A tragic hero, according to the Greek philosopher Aristotle, demonstrates great bravery and courage in the midst of adversity. He presents himself as a good person and good leader. However, this hero experiences a downfall due to his own pride, or hubris. As a result, the hero faces nemesis, his fate due to their tragic flaw, and evokes a catharsis from the audience (). John Proctor, Arthur Miller’s main character in The Crucible, portrays these characteristics of a tragic hero. The people of Salem view John as a good person: “No, you cannot break your charity with your minister. You are another kind, John.” But, like a tragic hero, John faces a downfall due to his pride and mistakes: “God help me, I lusted.”
HUBRIS
In The Crucible, John Proctor has great pride in his reputation. According to Aristotle, a tragic hero’s pride or arrogance is called hubris. A tragic hero’s hubris causes his or her downfall. John experiences two critical events where his pride causes his downfall. First, John’s pride keeps him from revealing the truth of his affair with Abigail Williams. This starts the beginning of his downfall. Secondly, John’s pride determines his
…show more content…
John Proctor’s affair with Abigail Williams, a seventeen year old girl in the town of Salem, serves as his tragic flaw. The people of Salem respect John as a hard-working farmer and a good person. However, only his wife, Elizabeth Proctor, and Abigail know about the affair. John’s pride and reputation keeps this affair hidden from the rest of the town. When Abigail starts to accuse people of witchcraft, this secret catches up to John. In an attempt to take John for herself, Abigail accuses Elizabeth of witchcraft. At the end of Act III, Abigail finally accuses John of witchcraft. All of this happened because of John’s secret affair with Abigail: “God help me, I lusted.” Therefore, John must suffer the
How Did John Proctor Change Throughout The Crucible
926 Words | 4 PagesWhen John Hale came up to find the truth, Abigail, and other girls start to accuse they neighbors in witchcraft. One of them was Elizabeth Proctor, John Proctors wife. Abigail accused her because Elizabeth fired her when she finds out that John and Abigail
Examples Of Abigail Williams In The Crucible
317 Words | 2 PagesThe society came to the conclusion that it was witchcraft. Abigail is questioned by her love, John Proctor, about the witchcraft. She reminds John Proctor of their affair, but John does not love her anymore and only thinks of her softly from time to time. Abigail
Righteousness In The Crucible
139 Words | 1 Pages“A man cannot become a hero until he can see the root of his own downfall,”Aristotle. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, John Proctor, the main protagonist of the play faces several situations in which he struggles both internally and externally; all of the struggles that Proctor encounters throughout the story heavily affect those around him, but most importantly they impact the way that he perceives Salem and his own life. Truthfully, the troubles that Proctor experiences in life are the most impactful occurrences in The Crucible because they reflect the righteousness that is within him, even in times of corruption; it is ultimately Proctor’s ability to discover righteousness that allows him to be seen as an tragic hero. It can also be said
Essay On John Proctor A Tragic Hero
502 Words | 3 PagesThe characteristics of a tragic hero, a fatal error, pride, and death, are what describes John Proctor. His error of lust leading to death, his pride in his name, and the redemption in his death. John Proctor is a tragic hero to the core. If he had not slept with Abigail then Salen would not have had the witch trials. If he had spoken out sooner, many lives could have been saved.
John Proctor As A Tragic Hero In The Crucible By Arthur Miller
932 Words | 4 PagesIn numerous literary works past and present, tragic heroes are often prevalent throughout the plot of the story. A tragic hero, as defined by the world renowned philosopher Aristotle, is a character who makes a judgement error that leads to his destruction. Some prominent examples of a tragic hero in literary works is Romeo in Romeo and Juliet, Oedipus in Oedipus Rex, and Achilles in Greek mythology. One literary work that may not be notorious and prevalent for having a tragic hero is The Crucible, a play written by author Arthur Miller. This play is mainly known for its mass hysteria and false accusations, but what is ignored is the fact that a tragic hero is prevalent in the society of Salem, Massachusetts, and this man’s name is John Proctor.
John Proctor A Tragic Hero Essay
1218 Words | 5 PagesIn The Crucible, John Proctor is dragged down by his flaws of guilt and lust. His journey shows that honesty and loyalty are very important traits to have. He redeems himself by being selfless and helping other people rather than thinking of himself. John Proctor qualifies as a tragic hero because his wrongdoings lead to his downfall. This downfall helps John to forgive himself which makes him a better person at the end of the story.
John Proctor Tragic Hero Analysis
777 Words | 4 PagesThe Crucible, by Arthur Miller, is categorized as a dramatic tragedy, and all tragedies, by definition, have a tragic hero. So who is that hero? In this story, it would be John Proctor. According to Aristotle there are five characteristics of a tragic hero, he must have a flaw or error of judgement, he must cause his own downfall, he must recognize that he caused his own downfall, he must have pride, and his fate must be greater than he deserved. In this play, John Proctor has all of these characteristics.
John Proctor Tragic Hero Quotes
367 Words | 2 PagesThe Tragic Hero of The Crucible A tragic hero is a character who undergoes a devastating fate for the greater good. They are often protagonists meant to arouse pity by relating to the reader. The Crucible by Arthur Miller features John Proctor as its tragic hero; he is a leader of Salem who dooms himself due to his fatal flaws and mistakes. John Proctor, though a mere farmer, wields considerable influence in Salem.
John Proctor: A Tragic Hero
747 Words | 3 PagesIn the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller, the town of Salem is afflicted with hysteria, intolerance, and accusations that lead to death. According to philosopher Aristotle, a tragic hero possesses a tragic flaw, excessive pride, and an inevitable downfall. Protagonist John Proctor illustrates a tragic hero because he is presented as happy, powerful, and privileged, which later leads him to suffer because of his own actions. First of all, John Proctor possesses a fatal flaw, pride, which is a characteristic of a tragic hero. Proctor’s fatal flaws includes honesty and pride.
Reputation And Integrity In The Crucible
799 Words | 4 PagesBy looking at The Crucible by Arthur Miller one can see that the characterization of John Proctor reveals the theme of reputation and integrity, which is important because refusing to tell lies to protect his reputation and stop delirium from spreading throughout Salem. John Proctor states that the woman of Salem who have been locked up for witchcraft:”Excellency, does it not strike upon you that so many of these women have lived so long with such upright reputation”(3.1.305-309). Proctor represents reputation because he would rather die than have his reputation downed to a victimizer. Protecting his reputation motivates John Proctor to deny that witchcraft exists in the village. All he hears is crying out of screams and wailing which is a cause of the Devil 's work: “What 's she doing?
Examples Of Abigail Williams In The Crucible
756 Words | 4 PagesAbigail is willing to accuse any one in her path of witchcraft even if it means taking the lives of those close to her. Abigail Williams’ emotional desire guides her actions even if it conflicts with morality. Abigail williams is driven to do unthinkable things because of her love for John Proctor. Abigail works in the Proctor’s home and while doing so she finds herself attracted to John. Abigail’s obsession with Proctor leads them to have an affair, which they try to keep
John Proctor Conflict In The Crucible
302 Words | 2 PagesAbigail Williams accused John Proctor of participating in witchcraft. Seven months earlier Proctor had an affair with Abigail who worked as his maid. When John’s wife Elizabeth Proctor found out, she fired Abigail immediately. This left Elizabeth feeling doubtful of John.
Similarities Between John And Elizabeth Proctor In The Crucible
652 Words | 3 PagesThis secret was his affair with Abigail Williams. Abigail Williams was trying to get rid of Elizabeth, because she wanted to take over her spot as John Proctors wife. Due to Abigail's jealousy and revenge for Elizabeth she mentions Elizabeth's name during the Salem witch trials which causes nothing but chaos. During this chaos, John Proctor displayed traits of being short tempered and aggressive. The characteristics of anger, aggression, innocence and compassion where portrayed by John and Elizabeth Proctor in the story The Crucible by Arthur Miller.
The Crucible John Proctor's Transformation
159 Words | 1 PagesThe character John Proctor from Arthur Miller’s; The Crucible is a model example of a tragic hero. Proctor is initially made out to be a character that has committed the sinful crime of adultery and is attempting to re-set up his reliability in himself and his better half, Elizabeth. As The Crucible advances an extraordinary transformation in nature and character happen in John Proctor, making the crowd sympathize with him when his nemesis begins. A tragic hero is someone usually of great reputation that falls into a state of utter pessimism,. As the audience witnesses the fall of this character they would feel feeble understanding that the fall of this hero was caused by accident, fate or a critical flaw in his character.
Theme Of Moral Weakness In The Crucible
548 Words | 3 PagesMoral Weakness An anonymous person once said, “Integrity is choosing your thoughts and actions based on values rather than personal gain” (CoolnSmart.com). This idea is one many characters from The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, struggled with. In this 1600 Salem society, many characters abandon their morals and act in spite, fear or love in order to achieve some level of personal gain. Based on these actions, the overwhelming theme in The Crucible is moral weakness.
More about Hubris In The Crucible
How Did John Proctor Change Throughout The Crucible
926 Words | 4 PagesExamples Of Abigail Williams In The Crucible
317 Words | 2 PagesRighteousness In The Crucible
139 Words | 1 PagesEssay On John Proctor A Tragic Hero
502 Words | 3 PagesJohn Proctor As A Tragic Hero In The Crucible By Arthur Miller
932 Words | 4 PagesJohn Proctor A Tragic Hero Essay
1218 Words | 5 PagesJohn Proctor Tragic Hero Analysis
777 Words | 4 PagesJohn Proctor Tragic Hero Quotes
367 Words | 2 PagesJohn Proctor: A Tragic Hero
747 Words | 3 PagesReputation And Integrity In The Crucible
799 Words | 4 PagesExamples Of Abigail Williams In The Crucible
756 Words | 4 PagesJohn Proctor Conflict In The Crucible
302 Words | 2 PagesSimilarities Between John And Elizabeth Proctor In The Crucible
652 Words | 3 PagesThe Crucible John Proctor's Transformation
159 Words | 1 PagesTheme Of Moral Weakness In The Crucible
548 Words | 3 Pages