Aristotle, in his book The Poetics, describes what makes a good tragedy. One of the elements of a tragedy is a tragic hero. The tragic hero is a noble person who struggles with a situation. Because of an error in judgement, the hero suffers, and others face the same calamity. Despite this tragic outcome, the hero gains knowledge to help him make decisions. In Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible, John Proctor, the protagonist, portrays the characteristics of such a tragic hero because he has excessive pride, a reversal of fortune, and an error in judgement.
Proctor’s excessive pride contributes to being a tragic hero by making him stubborn. When Proctor has given his verbal confession, Danforth wants him to do a written confession. Proctor refuses shouting profusely, “I have given you my soul, leave me my name” (1232). This quote shows how Proctor values his and his family’s reputation. Due to his pride, he is willing to lose his life. Even the characters in the play know Proctor has excessive pride. When Hale is trying to convince Elizabeth to get Proctor to confess he warns her, “God damns a liar less than he that throws his life away for pride” (1225). Reverend Hale
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When Proctor is lead out of the jail to Elizabeth he is described as such, “his wrists are chained…bearded, filthy, his eyes misty as though webs had overgrown them” (1225). When Proctor got involved in lechery with Abigail, he thought of it as comfort. Proctor did not expect Abigail to become an envious harlot out for vengeance. When Proctor is trying to convince Danforth that Abigail is lying about the witch trials, he confesses about his adultery. Things take a disastrous turn when Proctor aguishly says, “Elizabeth, I have confessed it!” (1208). Elizabeth denied the confession which made them look like liars. This leads to more trouble because they’re condemned as witches and can not defend themselves. This, also, leads to his
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…
Plays have been used as a method of storytelling and form of entertainment for hundreds of years. A tragedy is one type of play where the audience pities the characters and fear the same consequences that the characters face. In addition, tragedies often include a tragic hero who has a tragic flaw causing his or her downfall. One example of a play that is a tragedy and includes a tragic hero is the The Crucible. John Proctor in The Crucible is a true tragic hero because he possess the four characteristics of goodness, superiority, tragic flaw, and realization of his downfall.
Proctor argues with Danforth about his confession of being a witch, and yells, "I lie and sign myself to lies... I am not worth the dust on the feet of them hang!" (143). Proctor's point here is that if he confesses to lying, he is less of a man than those who were hung before him. Proctor knows if he lies and sign the paper, his reputation will be ruined. Reverend Hale attempts to make Elizabeth agree with him that "life is. God's most precious gift" (132), but Elizabeth ignores Ha's message. Elizabeth could have saved her husband from the decision he is making, but she then realizes, "[Proctor] has his goodness now. God forbid I take it from him!" (145). Elizabeth supports Proctor's decision by letting him decide what he will do with his
In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, it is evident that John Proctor is the tragic hero. Concluding through evidence in the play, it is fairly simple to connect him with separate parts of the definition. He makes his share of mistakes, just as many human beings do. John Proctor is fundamentally a good man, with respectable
Proctor 's decision to tell the court about his affair ironically demonstrates his goodness. He also spoke up for the innocent girls that had their names branded. He willingly sacrifices his good name in order to protect his wife and others who are wrongly accused. Only through his public acknowledgment of the affair does Proctor regain his wife 's trust. At the end of the play, Proctor refuses to slander himself by allowing the court to make him make a false confession. The court told him to lie, and that if he lies that he would not be sent to the gallows. He did the right decision by telling the truth about his affair with Abigail. He honestly told the truth about the affair, and that he was not part of the witchcraft. His response further exemplifies Proctor 's integrity. But John was not guilty. He had nothing to do with witchcraft, he admitted to his own mistakes. Proctor knows that if he confesses that he will be damned himself, yet again, if he agrees to confess, he will also be free from the torment from the demon inside him and set others free too. This realization, along with Elizabeth 's forgiveness, enables Proctor to forgive himself and finally regain his good name and self-respect. As the court
I believe that John Proctor is the tragic hero in the play “The Crucible.” I feel that his tragic flaw is the reason he became the tragic hero. He was trying to win back the trust of his wife and to do this he became the hero. By showing he was a good and decent person, this exemplifies he is a tragic hero. I see to prove his love and dedication to Elizabeth that John would do anything she told him to, in a way to win her trust back. He didn’t want the law to take her away, when she was suspected of witchcraft. He begged them not to take her and not to chain her. This persuasive essay will
Throughout the play, Proctor struggles with his honor as he changes from viewing it as his reputation to believing it is based on his own private moral of truth. The isolated Puritan community in which Proctor lives forces him to try and achieve a pious and perfect lifestyle, which ultimately pressures him into lying about his affair with Abigail in order to maintain a good reputation. This view changes in the courtroom, when Proctor becomes extremely frustrated with the lies and deceit that Abigail is telling the judges, Proctor screams in anger, “I beg you sir, I beg you - see her what she is… She thinks to dance with me on my wife’s grave! And well she might, for I thought of her softly. God help me; I lusted, and there is a promise in such sweat. But it is a
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.
In the play, The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, John Proctor fits the classic Greek definition of a tragic hero. Aristotle, one of the great Greek philosophers, teachers and writers, stated that one of the most important aspects of a tragedy was the tragic hero. He defined a tragic hero as a noble person that goes from a state of fortune and happiness to a state of utter misery. The character’s tragic flaw causes this change. Aristotle stated that witnessing the downfall of the character triggered an emotional release, which left the audience feeling relieved because they have empathized with the character, but not upset because the downfall was the character’s
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 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 tragic hero is a literary character who makes an error of judgment or has a fatal flaw that, combined with fate and external forces, brings on a tragedy. In the play, The Crucible, Arthur Miller portrays John Proctor, the protagonist, as a tragic hero who has a major flaw—lust for Abigail, his teenage house servant. For fear of being exiled in a town where reputation is highly upheld, Proctor initially tries to hide his crime of adultery, but this affair triggers a major series of events in Salem, where unproven accusations lead to internal struggle and eventually to catastrophe.
“ 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.
Since the times of the ancient Greeks, tragic heroes have been used to enhance the meaning of a play or literary work. Any character cannot be described as tragic hero. Several key characteristics are necessary for the tragic hero to possess in order to be characterized as such. He must be high-ranked or have a high standing in the community. He must have a weakness or a tragic flaw and be involved in a struggle. In the end, that struggle will lead to his downfall. Arthur Miller purposely incorporates these characteristics into John Proctor, one of the main figures in The Crucible. He masterfully portrays Proctor as a tragic hero even though he is a common man.
In the play by Arthur Miller The Crucible, the town of Salem is in pandemonium under the non-existent threat of witchcraft. Every character is either lying to save their lives or to end others, or dying for not admitting to a lie. One character who stands out among the chaotic conflagration is the tragic hero John Proctor. In Greek drama, a tragic hero is defined as “a great or virtuous character in a dramatic tragedy that is destined for downfall, suffering, or defeat.” No character in The Crucible fits this description better than John Proctor. John Proctor is the tragic hero in The Crucible because of his strengths and notable traits,