Examples Of John Proctor In The Crucible

A tragic hero is a very favored person that suffers from a downfall which leads to their death. John Proctor, like many others, is a tragic hero. The author, Arthur Miller, gives John Proctor the role of a tragic hero throughout the story of The Crucible. This protagonist, John Proctor, made judgement errors that inevitably led to his own destruction. John Proctor is an afflicted individual. He believes his affair with Abigail irreparably damaged him in the eyes of God, his wife Elizabeth, and himself. John Proctor succumbed to sin and committed the crime of adultery; however, he lacks the capacity to forgive himself. When referencing criticism, John Proctor and the Crucible of Individuation in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, Michelle I Pearson, who also agrees John Proctor is a tragic hero, once said in her article that “While the people of Salem look at Proctor and see a strong, hard-working, no-nonsense man, Proctor himself knows that he is an adulterer, a lecher, and that he drives himself to try to be free of his guilt. Not until faced with a crisis, however, will he leave the persona behind and begin the process of individuation.” The criticism provided helps prove John Proctor fits the role of a tragic hero in The Crucible. In order to convey the message of iniquity in the Puritan society, Arthur Miller casts John Proctor in The Crucible because he is able to overcome his tragic flaw of hubris, but still the circumstances unfortunately led to his death. Proctor is a very respected man in Salem but he also has a few flaws that have proved him to be a tragic hero which are prideful, lustful, and well respected. Later in The Crucible, Proctor realizes his flaws and tries to fix them but it is too late. One of Proctor’s tragic flaws is that he is too prideful.

A Tragedy as a literary Work is described in which there is a hero that is basically moral individual destroyed by some character flaw and by force beyond his or her control. That hero is a tragic hero who experiences an inner struggle because of this flaw. Because of his charter flaw and his struggle to do what is right, John Proctor is a tragic hero.

A Tragic hero is a character who experiences a major downfall as the results of a personal mistake or the workings of fate. There are many tragic heroes in the play The Crucible, But the one that comes to mind is John Proctor for several reasons. It all starts out with the affair with Abigail, when that affair happens John Proctor breaks his wedding vows and violate the moral convictions of the community by engaging in an adultery affair with Abigail. John Proctor is a classic example of a tragic hero in the play, The Crucible for several reasons…

John Proctor is portrayed throughout the play to be a man who has high moral values that he must abide by. He

He demonstrates all of a hero’s characteristics in some way or another. Although not upper class, he is still an upstanding member of the community. He is well respected and looked up to by those around him. As Miller describes him, “Proctor, respected and even feared in Salem, has come to regard himself as a kind of fraud.” (1098) He believes himself to be a fraud because of his tragic flaw: the affair with Abigail Williams. That affair is Proctor’s one weakness, and no one knows about it besides John, his wife, Elizabeth, and Abby. Another characteristic of a tragic hero is that he must be involved in some kind of struggle. Proctor is involved in two different struggles. One is the personal struggle between him and his wife. Elizabeth knows of his lechery and has a hard time forgiving him. Proctor tries to convince her of his love and faithfulness, but it is almost impossible. The other struggle Proctor faces is the social struggle that is going on throughout the whole town. The witchcraft hysteria has overtaken Salem, and Proctor struggles to stand out as an honest opposer of the hangings even though it may lead to his own downfall.

Arthur Miller also conveys through John Proctor that it is acceptable to stand up to unjust authority. These traits that the character John Proctor possesses are what qualify him to be a tragic hero.

Since John Proctor behaves as an essentially good and upright man throughout the story, his tragic death stirs pity and fear in the audience. The audience cannot help but

Many men don't think things through before acting, so it is believed John Proctor was an impulsive character throughout the story. "You can play brand new to all the other chicks out here- but I know what you are". John Proctor did what he felt was right by having an affair with Abigail but he wasn't thinkingof the concequences. Elizabeth knew all along and acted different around her husband. The outcome of John Proctors choices turned out to be a horrible mistake since his reputation and life were put on

Tragic events brings out peoples fear and pity that leaves the readers hungry for justice, that’s when the hero comes in the story. The hero should be the most courageous and noble of the characters. He or she is the symbolic face of justice and honor. Proctors priorities are challenged when his wife is convicted of a crime she didn’t commit. He then so honorably goes to the court knowing that the only way to save his wife is to put his own life on the line. Aristotle says “A man cannot become a hero until he can see the root of his own downfall” (qtd. in Barnes). Proctor is faced with many trials and tribulations in which he needs to overcome.

A superhero is ordinarily a person with a secret identity and when danger strikes he or she is there in a fancy costume ready to save the day and move forward. However some heros don’t wear capes, they are common men and women with extraordinary capabilities and when the day is done the battle hasn’t always been won. These heros are the tragic heros. According to Aristotle “the tragic hero is introduced as happy, powerful, and privileged, and ends up dying or suffering immensely because of his own actions or mistakes (Source A).” In The Crucible the audience is introduced to a different kind of tragic hero by the name of John Proctor. Proctor possesses some characteristics of a tragic hero as well as those of a sad and guilty man. John Proctor has attributes of both an ordinary man through his own humane qualities that connect himself to the audience as well as the characteristics of a tragic hero with a remarkable courage to lay down his life and truly redeem his sin.

Arthur Miller introduces a dynamic character, John Proctor, in his play The Crucible. John, known for his loyalty and detest of hypocrisy, is involved in the adulterous action of cheating on his wife Elizabeth with their housekeeper, Abigail. The question of if John Proctor is a tragic hero surfaces as his downfall is followed by the very truth of his hidden affair. In Miller’s essay, Tragedy and the Common Man, he challenges the basic definition of a tragic hero and explains how the common man could be in the category of a hero. Based on Miller’s arguments, it is apparent that John Proctor encounters the situations that makes someone a tragic hero, and therefore can be considered one.

John Proctor, according to Arthur Miller’s definition of a tragic hero, portrays this role effectively. Proctor was seen as a good man in his community and strived to keep it so, even though he was unfaithful to his wife, Elizabeth Proctor, with their maid, Abigail Williams. This adultery is what indirectly caused the witch accusations in Salem, led by teenager, Abigail. Proctor was a good man of the church, but his relations with Abigail, contradicted “the central part of his virtue” (Source A). Proctor’s unfaithfulness led to an immense amount of shame on his part, according to Arthur Miller, and sets in motion consequences of a man’s compulsion to evaluate himself justly” (Source B). Proctor was unable to have peace with his actions and basically sell his soul

By in large Proctor is a fairly nice man; he works hard for what he wants and provides for his family. One may say he is the hero of this particular work, until it is discovered he has a flaw in his

            One more characteristic of the tragic hero, which Proctor possesses, is that he learns from his mistakes.  His mistake, which was also his tragic flaw, was his adultery.  He learns from his mistakes, which can be seen by how he will not be lured back by Abigail.  Even when she says

According to Aristotle, a tragic hero is a literary character of magnitude that “makes a judgment error that inevitably leads to his or her destruction”. Unlike the Greek philosopher’s description, Arthur Miller, the author of the essay “Tragedy and the Common Man”, considers a tragic hero to be a character of ordinary status that “is ready to lay down their life to secure his or her personal dignity”. Miller illustrates this belief in his Puritanical play The Crucible, featuring the honest and wholesome protagonist, John Proctor as the tragic hero. Proctor, a farmer who despises hypocrites, finds himself in a string of conflict when he commits adultery with his former house servant and becomes what he hates most, resulting in his death. Proctor’s role as a true classical tragic hero is demonstrated by his relentless fight to expose Abigail and the “witch trials” as lies, and save his wife and secure “good name”.