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

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 is one of the main protagonists in Miller’s play. At first glance he seems to have achieved the “American Dream”. He has a job, a house, a loving wife and two kids; it almost seems like he has the perfect life. But he has one regretful secret; he had an illicit affair with the play’s antagonist, teenager Abigail Williams. Since the affair, Abigail has been on a jealous rampage. She has let her emotions completely cloud her judgment and has even gone as far as to accuse the people in Salem of witchcraft. Her main target, Elizabeth Proctor. Once John figures out that the “witchcraft” is just a ploy by Abigail, he is reluctant to tell anyone of it. Because his pride and fear of the public’s opinion has compelled him to withhold this information from the court. That is until, Elizabeth is accused and is taken to court. Once his wife is taken, John is willing to go to any

Partly because they can’t see how Abigail could have made it all up; and partly because they don’t want to admit that they themselves were wrong and that they sentenced innocent people to their deaths. So the judges come to a decision that John is actually a victim of witchcraft himself and they await his confession that he has made a pact with the Devil. John knows that the court won’t change their minds and that he only has two options. Face execution or bind his name to a lie by agreeing that he was in cahoots with the Devil. John chose the