John Proctor As A Tragic Hero In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

In Arthur Miller’s book, “The Crucible” there is one character who stands out from the rest, who catches your attention throughout the story, and his name is John Proctor. A tragic hero is a member of the community that has a tragic flaw that eventually will lead straight to a tragic fail. Through his good and bad deeds, his adultery, and his stuck up pride, would Mr. John Proctor be considered a tragic hero?

John Proctor is a very prominent man in this community. He helps work the fields, he takes the load of people who can’t do it, and he is just all around a town favorite. Everyone respects and cares for him and his family just like they were their own. Throughout the story he makes decisions that question what people think about him, and while everything is playing out he is doing his best to keep his good reputation and name.

Some would say John is a good man, but everyone has their ups and downs, and their secrets. Mr. Proctor committed adultery with Abigail, his young female servant; Elizabeth, his wife has got a few hints that

It was quite ridiculous the lengths he would reach to keep a good name. In the story Elizabeth, his wife, was accused as being a witch, and one night they came and took them both away. In order to save her, John tells the court about the night he spent with Abigail and everything she told him. The court brings Elizabeth back in and they ask her questions to see if she fired Abigail because she knew about adultery incident. This part of the story is ironic because Elizabeth thought she was saving John, so she doesn’t tell them about John’s affair and instead says the only reason she fired Abigail was because she didn’t approve of the way she was working, and John on the other hand is trying to save her by telling them that he had an affair. They take them back to prison and wait for John’s execution now since she didn’t tell the court what they were looking