The Crucible: John Proctor, The Tragic Hero

Jacob Tavarez
Mrs. Lamorgese
Honors English 2, Class 2
5 December 2022
John Proctor, the Tragic Hero John Proctor is one of the best, and most flawed characters throughout his time within the play. The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, is a tragedy that shows how people truly act when their backs are pressed against the wall. John Proctor is a character that never falters when put on trial and always stays true to himself. He is loved by the town for this and is viewed as someone with a happy life, despite everything happening behind the curtains. His prideful nature is what ultimately leads to him being a tragic hero. Although John Proctor committed adultery, he is still a tragic hero because of his affair with Abigail, his mending relationship

John Proctor’s toxic relationship with Abigail directly leads to his demise in the play. His affair with Abigail comes back to haunt him when Abigail wants to curse his wife, Elizabeth, for taking him away from her. This event leads to the first evidence of witchcraft, which allows Abigail to convict Elizabeth, not only saving herself, but getting rid of the person she hates. Unfortunately, Abigail isn't the only one who knows about her attempt of a curse. Betty: You did, you did! You drank a charm to kill John Proctor’s wife! You drank a charm to kill Goody Proctor(Miller 18!) Knowing that Betty is aware of the charm, Abigail is forced to threaten all of the girls, causing them to be wrapped around Abigail's finger throughout the witch trials. Abigail's only goal is to get John Proctor back for herself, and she uses the rumors of witchcraft to take a high authority in the town, and get rid of Elizabeth for good. John remains unaware about his indirect promise made to Abigail during the affair, which is a main reason as to why Abigail wants revenge so badly. John was doomed from the beginning as there was no way for him to break this promise after it

John doesn't admit it directly, but he doesn't want his public image damaged, and he doesn't want to have to confront Abigail. Of course John wants to do the right thing, but he is torn between that and his own reputation. This is further shown after John Proctor reluctantly goes through with the confession. At this time the confession didn't mean much as Abigail already had control over the whole town. But when John is asked to nail his name and confession on the church door, which is the same door he hung himself, he refuses, which is the equivalent of John putting himself to death. He knows what he is doing, as he has a child on the way, and his name is more important to him than his own life. To ensure that his family wouldn't have to bear the consequences of his actions, he takes his own life and keeps his pride. All of this supports the case of John, as the tragic hero, because he started off the story very high up in social relations, and his own actions cause him to fall to the bottom, and die. This same superiority is what originally fed into his very own pride. John Proctor is the tragic hero of this story because of his both selfish and selfless action of not confessing