John Proctor In The Crucible

What does it mean to be a good person? Being good has many meanings. It can be to contribute to help someone or simply to be nice to that person. A good person is most likely respected by people around them.

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…

The air is warm, sweat dripping down his face. He longingly looks towards his wife with tears in his eyes; knowing the end is nigh. And then, with a bang, a crack, a whimper; his soul left, hoping to be in a better place. This was one man of many who was hung for witchcraft during the Salem Witch Trials. They all were admirable and died for a cause. One of them was an influential man by the name of John Proctor. John Proctor is an admirable man in the play “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller because he is respectable, has a need to protect others in his life, and has integrity/honor.

People’s true character is revealed through their actions. Their morals and ethics can be told from how they choose to act in a situation. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible; the character of John Proctor is an honorable man despite having committed wrongful acts. He was able to redeem himself through acts that is considered courageous, such as when he refuses to contribute to the lie of witchcraft in Salem, when he fights for the people who were convicted of witchcraft and when he regrets being a dishonest man.

Throughout the play, The Crucible by Arthur Miller, the main protagonist, John Proctor, changed from a normal citizen and sinner to a tragic hero, then a person with a high sense of mortality. The play takes place during the salem Witch Trials in 1692, where spectral evidence was evident in the courts. John Proctor stopped attending church on Sundays, due to his belief that it was becoming less and less about God, along with his present feeling of guilt and his sinful actions. Rumors and accusations run ramped in Salem threatening to taint the good reputations of the townspeople. Proctor’s own morals, honesty, and religious beliefs were challenged on behalf of spectral evidence in the court and his sinful actions. Proctor harboured guilt for

In the novel The Crucible by Arthur Miller, John Proctor is a local farmer in the town of Salem, he is quite known due to his high reputation of being well respected and even slightly feared. John is a man of his integrity, he is considered to have an honorable name in his community, but John also has a great disdain for hypocrisy, yet has a secret of his own. In Act 1, John is described to be in his mid-30’s and as well as “a kind man, powerful of body, even tempered, and not easily led” (Miller 19). John Proctor is an independent man who has great strength in what he does and what he believes in. Throughout the play, John feels nothing but guilt about his little secret, cheating on his wife Elizabeth Proctor with Abigail. He has committed

Elizabeth, I have confessed it!" (Miller 113). He confesses his sin, and speaks those words, only because he is looking out for the good of the community, and others around him. He hates that his name is tarnished, but feels that God will forgive him for it. Proctor's decision to tell the court about his affair ironically demonstrates his goodness. Saying ”I want my life” (137) shows that he is willing to sacrifice his good name in order to protect his wife. Only through his public acknowledgment of the affair does Proctor regain his wife's trust. Proctor refuses to slander himself by allowing the court to nail his false confession to the church door. This action further exemplifies Proctor's integrity. John declined to give the names of innocent community members. He is taking a hit for the team. Proctor realizes that if he gives the names of innocent citizens they will be hanged. So instead he feels he has no choice but to do the right thing, and die for the good cause. Proctor respects and stands up for his fellow neighbors Rebecca Nurse by proclaiming the difficulty “so pious a woman be secretly a Devil's bitch after seventy years of such good prayer" (64). Proctor's decision is not an easy one to make. John is saving others lives, saving his name, keeping his pride, and his integrity.

In 1692, witchcraft was known as an evil sin to be commited on Earth, if accused of witchcraft, trial and execution was likely to happen and proceeded to happen to many innocent people. One well-known accussal was that of John Proctor. Proctor had committed adultery with Abigail Williams, a previous maid of the Proctor house, and once coming clean for his sin, in turn of events backfires and is accused of witchcraft. John Proctor is seen as a protagonist of the story full of courage and boldness when fighting for his life and good name in court. At the time, all possible outcomes were not at the top of his head but then he had to go through twists and turns to save his wife, Elizabeth, as well as himself. In The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, John Proctor's character traits is shown to be a cheater, fearless, and courageous. Therefore, John Proctor's character can be portrayed through the song "Womanizer" by

Rebellious, guilt-ridden, intelligent, and outspoken describes John Proctor. He is the main character in the drama: The Crucible by Arthur Miller. Over two-hundred innocent people were convicted of witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692 when hysteria swept through the town, no one could believe their closest friends. John Proctor and others show the consequences of Abigail accusing everyone of witchcraft. John shows us that suffering harsh consequences is better than lying.

In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible it is clear that the development of the play is about John Proctor’s tragic condition. Miller uses this aspect to compel the audience to see why Proctor did what he did and to develop a sense of empathy for him. John Proctor overall is both flawed and honorable. He has a complete reversal of fate brought upon by his own flaw. John Proctor is a tragic hero because he contains all of the characteristics of a tragic hero, such as catharsis and hamartia, despite not being born into nobility, he has many noble characteristics.

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.

A tragic hero is a literary character who makes a judgment error that inevitably leads to his/her own destruction. John Proctor's tragic flaw was having an affair with an impressionable seventeen year old named Abigail Williams. Although Aristotle’s qualifications for a tragic hero describes one of noble birth, John proctor can still be viewed as a tragic hero because of his vain attempts to bring justice to Salem, which ultimately resulted in his death.

John Proctor is generally respected by the townspeople and, while he is not of high rank, he is respected for his moral righteousness and goodness. In The Crucible, Proctor and his wife Elizabeth Proctor are both considered to be good people, and furthermore, Proctor’s wife Elizabeth even has a reputation for never telling a lie. According to The Crucible, “Proctor, respected and even feared in Salem, has come to regard himself as a kind of fraud. But no hint of this has yet appeared on the surface, and as he enters from the crowded parlor below it is a man in his prime we see, with a quiet confidence and an unexpressed, hidden force ” (Miller, 21). Before the word of his affair reaches the ears of the

“ I have given you my soul, leave me my name.” This is a quote said by John Proctor in The Crucible. John was getting ready to be hung and he ripped up the confession when he said this. John was a man in his 30’s who farmed in salem. John was a respected man. He also did not go to church often. He was not fond of Rev. Parris. John Proctor and I have very similar personality traits in that we are hardworking, outcast, and respectful.

John Proctor is the most respectable character in The Crucible. Proctor is a simple and honest puritan; although he is accused of witchcraft he stands by his beliefs. The girls of Salem, with Abigail at their head, accuse the townsfolk of witchcraft; Proctor sees that they are lying and attempts to put an end to it. However, when he presents his evidence to Danforth the girls target him and accuse him of witchcraft as well. Proctor decides to reveal his past sins in order to prove that Abigail is a fraud, he states, “I have made a bell of my honor! I have rung the doom of my good name—you will believe me, Mr. Danforth!” (P.111). Proctor is confessing to lechery with Abigail in order to prove that her word cannot be trusted. He does this regardless of the consequences for