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

A tragic hero, by short definition, is someone who falls because of a tragic flaw and not because they are evil or a bad person. Aristotle in his book, Poetics,

In the Salem community Proctor was looked at as a very honorable man. Yet, John Proctor was not a perfect guy by any means. He cheated on Elizabeth with Abigail, and sometimes he would get violent towards Elizabeth. He felt guilty about it all though and just could not forgive himself. Elizabeth also did not want to forgive John which led to their very unhealthy relationship. John confessing to the court showed how much of a trustworthy guy he could be. Now everyone looked at him as an adulterer but it relieved some of the guilt off of him. The crowd now knew that he was associated with Abigail and so they then assumed witchcraft. If Proctor would've confessed then he would

John Proctor was a man of honor and had a well respected name in the town of Salem. Sadly he died tragically but as a hero. He was hanged because he was accused of doing the devil’s work. He was given the chance to save his life if he admitted on a piece of paper that he was working with the devil but he refused to tell that lie. He wanted his sons to be able to walk the streets without being shunned from the world because they deserved better. John Proctor didn’t want his name to be the ruined because he felt that was all he had left. John Proctor was tragically killed for a sin he had not committed but was found a hero because people followed in his footsteps by not confessing to something they didn’t do.

One major character trait of John Proctor was his honesty. When John Proctor found out about the accusations, he looked for the truth. Once he was told by Abigail Williams that the witch accusations were not true, he went to court with Mary Warren to tell the Judges the truth. When the Judges started questioning him, he admitted his affair with Abigail Williams, which put his name at risk. Then, John was accused of witchcraft. He was given the choice to tell the truth and be prosecuted or confess to a crime he didn’t commit and be set free. He chose to tell the truth and got sent to jail. During this time, he said “... what is John Proctor? I think it is honest” (page 138). This showed that he was trying to keep his name clean by telling the truth. When John was in prison, they give him another chance to be freed of charges. They tried to persuade him

The Crucible by Arthur Miller, is known for its critique of our society through irony and literary techniques such as foils or tragic heroes. A tragic hero is considered to be an individual who is well respected, but makes a mistake that ruins their stature or personal well-being. Another characteristic of a tragic hero is a life ending with an untimely, yet still often brave death. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller utilizes John proctor as a tragic hero to show the hypocrisy of society through his fall into adultery, his fight to regain the trust of his wife and others around him, and his tragic yet heroic death.

A tragic hero is a character in a play or novel who is destined for a downfall, suffering, or a defeat. In the play of The Crucible John Proctor is a tragic hero. The reason for John Proctor being a tragic hero, is because he has such noble characteristics, and honorable qualities. But at the same time in the play John Proctor has a darker side to him, and it takes time for all of this to come out and show.

John Proctor is not troubled with his reputation because he would rather tell the truth. Proctor yells to the court, “Damn the village! I confess to God, and God has seen my name on this! It is enough!” (Miller 1356). It started with him telling the court that he had an affair with Abigail Williams. Once, he was convicted of witchcraft he confessed and wrote his name on the court's document and tore it up. Proctor did not want the village to see his name because he does not care about having a good name he cares about telling the truth. The court did not see the same views as Proctor so he got hanged.

In order to classify someone as a martyr, one must first identify just what exactly a martyr is. By definition a martyr is someone who makes great sacrifices for a principle or cause that is larger than self-gain. In Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible; there are numerous characters who have the ability to be considered as a martyr. But alas, one character who is commonly referred as a tragic hero, stands out more than the others.

John Proctor was a hard-working farmer who took great pride in himself, his family, and farm. He was a loving father and husband to a wife and three children. He was a very righteous, dedicated, and prideful

"The change in the hero's fortunes be not from misery to happiness, but on the contrary, from happiness to misery, and the cause of it must not lie in any depravity but in some great error on his part." In The Crucible by Arthur Miller John Proctor the protagonist, portrays the role of a tragic hero, his honest and upright character had a mortal flaw, his pride that slowly tied a series of event leading to his downfall, which additionally led to his death. Unfortunately, he did die for a crime he did not commit. In addition another one of his fatal flaw is his passionate character towards Abigail William which led to their affair. Which creates a panic in Salem because of Abigail’s jealousy towards Proctor’s wife, Elizabeth Proctor. As the trails begins because of Abigail false accusations, soon Proctor realizes the only way to stop

In scene 1 of The Crucible by Arthur Miller, Anne Putnam, whose daughter was currently lying “afflicted” on her bed, blurted out to Rebecca Nurse “There are wheels within wheels in this village, and fires within fires”(26). Contrastingly, in the movie version of The Crucible, rather than Mrs. Putnam, John Proctor says this line to Reverend Hale when he arrives in the village. Both speakers mean different things by this line, but I do believe that John Proctor should be the owner of this line.

What may be the best known definition of a tragic hero comes from the great philosopher Aristotle. According to Aristotle a tragic hero is ““the change of fortune presented must not be the spectacle of a virtuous man brought from prosperity to adversity.” (ohio.edu). If this statement does not bring the character of John Proctor to mind then what will? John proctor has all the characteristics that one would need to be characterized as a tragic hero. In the Crucible by Arthur Miller, this is a play about the salem witch trials. When girls are in their beds, unresponsive, fingers begin to be pointed. False accusations are made from left to right and the town of Salem is no longer safe. The character John Proctor is in the middle of all this. He has committed adultery, but, it can be proven that John is a tragic hero. This is proven by him being eminently good and just, how hes

Imagine being a well-respected man in Salem and making one mistake that threatens your name as well as your reputation. Everyone makes mistakes and sometimes it leads to the end of a good reputation for yourself and could even lead to a tragedy. In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, lies the most tragic character of them all who is known as John Proctor who portrays all the elements of a tragic hero being one that was very well-respected and has personal dignity in his name that he would do anything to hold onto.

In 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 was always a well respected and honored guy throughout all of Salem. When the people figures out that he is going to be hanged for something that he does not take part in, it is displeasing. The audience did not want to see him go. John was being an honest man and was dying for something that he had no business in being involved with. They could not believe John was dying for witchcraft, even when he confessed his true story about the affair with Abigail. Elizabeth fears it is all her fault. She states, “I have sins of my own to count. It needs a cold wife to prompt lechery” (Miller 1162). It’s a shame that Elizabeth has to feel this way about herself because of what is about to happen to her husband whom she loves very much. To the audience, it’s disappointing for all of this to be happening at once. The audience feared what was to come in the community as a result of all of these deaths. They think so highly of Proctor, it worries them what riots and chaos is going to brake lose in Salem after these innocent people get