John Proctor's Argumentative Essay

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.

In the book The Crucible there is a struggle within to have one have a sense of belonging to society. They want to be loved by that society no matter how much they may seem that they don’t belong. But they do want to show that to everyone, everyone that may not think that.

I believe that John Proctor from the play The Crucible written by Arthur Miller should have been proven innocent. John Proctor (March 30, 1632 – August 19, 1692) was a farmer and tavern keeper in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He was the son of John Proctor, Sr. and Martha Harper. He was hung to death on August 19, 1692 in Salem Village, Massachusetts Bay Colony during the Salem Witch Trials after being accused and convicted for witchcraft. (John_Proctor_(Salem_witch_trials).

Many actions dignify the traits of a tragic hero, but only few stand out. In the tragedy The Crucible by Arthur Miller, a tragic hero dies a good man when brought to trial over nothing more than child’s play and dishonesty. John Proctor is an honest, upright, and blunt-spoken man because he fought for what is right and found forgiveness in his fatal flaw. Although he exhibits these traits throughout the story, John dies a dynamic character.

The primary dramatic focus in the play The Crucible is the moral struggle of its protagonist, John Proctor. Certain characteristics of John Proctor's character and also the environment of the Puritanical Salem alleviated this problem for him. The main issues running through out the play are a series of dilemmas that John Proctor faces. The first and foremost of these is his guilt over his adulterous affair with Abigail Williams, the second his hesitation to testify against Abigail to bring out the truth and the third, his final decision to make the ultimate sacrifice.

Another inner quality that defines John Proctor is the value he holds to his good name. Proctor is a firm believer in the fact that one’s name is the only thing that remains after death, and what is done with it while living can affect one’s posterity for generations. This is the driving force behind his actions in the final act of the play. At first, he felt no shame in lying to the court about his accusation of witchcraft because he felt there was no more damage he could do to his reputation and that one more sin would not make any difference. His attitude changed when he realized his confession would mean blackening the name of those who already had died, and his sons would have to live with that mark on their names. He knew he could not teach his sons “. . . to walk like

"How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave my name!" (Proctor) John Proctor a farmer, and the husband of Elizabeth. He had an affair with Abigail Williams while she worked as a servant in his house. John is a powerful man in both build and character. " John Proctor is a tormented individual. He believes his affair with Abigail irreparably damaged him in the eyes of god, his wife Elizabeth, and himself. True, Proctor did succumb to sin and commit adultery; however he lacks the capacity to forgive himself." (www.cliffsnotes.com) John Proctor goes from being loved and well respected to a sinner and later on becoming a tragic hero which was surrounded by strong feelings and beliefs.

Months after the trial, John Proctor sat in a jail cell, struggling between survival and pride. He would be pardoned if he signed a confession of being a witch, yet his name would be soiled. Pressured from Danforth and Hathorne, Proctor succumbed and signed the confession, then immediately snatched it back up.

John Proctor faces one of his many moral dilemmas to confess to witchcraft in order to stay alive. In making this decision he has to think about his

“I am not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang.” John Proctor is the protagonist of the Crusible, though for the first two acts, he does little to effect the flow of the story as the reader is introduced to their setting. One is thrown into Salem village as the sparks of accuzations begin to fly setting ablaze paranoya in the name of witchcraft. Abigail Williams, our antagonist uses a lie to cover up her mistakes and decides to get something out of it when she discovers that people are ignorant enough to believe her. She takes the chance to throw allegations of witchery onto John’s innocent wife, Elizabeth. The thrust behind this action comes from the fact that a year earlier she had found her way into John Proctor’s arms and with his wife out of the picture, they could dance together on her grave… though Abigail had been in his arms, she had never been in his heart. Abigail would loose complete control of her seemingly simple scheme as she would loose her only purpose she had left in life- John. John Proctors downfall occurs before our story ever begins.We watch his once stregnths become his weaknesses. The standards he held for himself were shattered and he fumbled in picking up the pieces. His downfall did not end his story, but began it as he would have to rebuild his honor and self respect when it mattered the most.

John Proctor tried his hardest and went through hell and gave his life to try to save the people of his town in Salem. “ I am only wondering how i may prove what she told me Elizabeth. If the girl's a saint now; I think it not easy to prove she's a fraud the town gone silly., she told me in a room alone, I have no proof for it” (2.127-131). My explanation is by him saying that he means its going to be hard to prove Elizabeth Proctor is guilty and they are going to find out it's a lie. I connected to this because John and his wife are innocent and she never tells a lie, also they can't even prove that they are lying even if they were. Joth talked to Hale about the situation when Hale came to John's home in the middle of the night to ask questions.

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.

We should not judge people by their peak of excellence; but by the distance they have traveled from the point where they started”(Henry Ward Beecher). In 1692 Salem, Massachusetts Madness is consuming Salem, and everyone is accused of being with the devil. John Proctor’s affair with Abigail jump starts the witch hunts. In the Crucible Arthur Miller embodies Proctor as a tragic hero with many flaws but his fatal flaw was his pride which caused his demise. Throughout the play we witness Proctor’s transformation as a person from a sinful remorseless adulterer, repentant, and to an honorable man.

In the book, The Crucible by Arthur Miller, John Proctor is a farmer and a prominent member of society. However, he had an affair with a girl in town, Abigail Williams which leads to his wife being convicted of witchcraft and himself convicted of dealing with the devil. John Proctor is a strong and effective speaker and proves his point with the three rhetorical appeals and devices such as personification, similes, metaphors and tone.

The consequences of shirking accountability for ones actions are depicted through the tribulations John Proctor faced, in Arthur Miller's, The Crucible. Although John reluctantly became involved in the Salem witch trials, his initial silence proved to be the downfall of not only himself, but of his fellow townspeople as well. John Proctor remained silent for one reason, and that was to protect himself. As a result of his self-serving desires to avoid the consequences of his actions, innocent citizens were put to death.