Essay The Tragic Hero in The Crucible by Arthur Miller

Many people have made mistakes and have been in bad situations or tried to help others by hurting themselves. John Proctor made mistakes and he tried to help Elizabeth, his wife but in doing so he hurt himself. He confessed about Abigail and everything that happened between them because he could not live on a lie even though that could mean being executed. John was truthful and felt as if he needed to do the right thing for his wife and confess his sin. John Proctor served as The Crucible tragic hero, which means that he is fated by the Gods or by some supernatural force to doom and destruction or at least to great suffering.

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.

Many people think that John Proctor was a shame of a husband because of the affair he had with Abigail Williams. I agree, his decision to have an affair with Abigail was a despicable thing to do, especially for his wife Elizabeth. John

How many people have you met in your life that is stronger because of a difficult experience they went through? Most people are because we take these difficult experiences and grow from them and become better people. This is the exact case is expressed in the play, The Crucible, by Arthur Miller. The story begins in Salem, Massachusetts 1692 right in the middle of a period of witchcraft hysteria. During this time many people were accused of being witches and wrongly convicted by judges Danforth and Hathorne. The characters in the story are struggling because of a girl named Abigail who gets caught practicing witchcraft and then starts naming and accusing others so that she doesn’t get in trouble; one of these people being a well-respected farmer, John Proctor’s, wife Elizabeth. The title, The Crucible, refers to a test, trial, ordeal, formation by fire, and vessel baked to resist heat, and the entire story is an allegory meaning it has a hidden meaning. John Proctor symbolizes a crucible by embodying the definition of one, as he went through a test and was formed by fire.

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,

of witchcraft because Abigail plotted a plan in order to get her lover back. One main

John Proctor felt so bad for the way he acted and the things he had done in the past and would not give up until they were made up for. John made his sin right by convincing Abigail that their relationship was over and he could no longer have any contact with her because it was such a wrong thing (Miller 22). He was devastated and embarrassed after admitting this situation to the court but begged them for forgiveness because he knew how wrong he was. “A man may think God sleeps, but god sees everything, I know it now” (Miller 110). John himself was way too harsh on his situation, punishing himself far worse than he needed. He told the court he was not worth the dust of the feet on all of those who were hanged because he does not think he deserves as much as others due to his sin (Miller143). Even his wife Elizabeth knew it was not her who needed to forgive him, but it was he himself. “I do not judge you. The magistrate sits in your heart that judges you” (Miller 55). John carried his sin with him until the very last scene of the play. As a hero, John made up for his bad ways. Towards the end of the play, when John had confessed to seeing the devil, he denied seeing anyone else there with him. John stood his ground, pleading to them that it was only him who was there (Miller 140). John made up his sin to his wife, Elizabeth, by fighting hard for her safety and for the court to let her go. He told them how much of an honest women she was, how their accusations were completely wrong (Miller 92). All of John’s heroic actions were to make up or the sin he knew he committed, which was the only way he could think to forgive himself. As readers could see, John’s self-assessment of himself was very wrong, he never saw how good of a person he really

John was forced to make a serious decision for being a tragic hero. As Proctor came home late after finding out that people first been accused of being witches, Elizabeth believes that he was out with Abigail. He then learns that she may not trust and believe that he was not with the girl. That he was having an affair, which is true but he does not want her to know that. As they fought he says this to her, “Because it speaks deceit and I am honest! But I’ll plead no more! I see now your spirit twists around the single error of my life and I will never tear it free!” (Miller,1275) John can’t tear his guilt away from himself and that he feels very bad for making this big error of his life. John does regret having the affair and everything else bad he did. In the end, John Proctor had a troubled life which led to him having to decide whether to confess or not as was the hardest decision in his life.

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.

The Crucible was based in 1692 in and around the town of Salem, Massachusetts, USA. The Salem witch-hunt was view as one of the strangest and most horrendous chapters in the human history. People that were prosecuted were all innocent and their deaths were all due to false accusation of people’s ridiculous belief in superstition and their paranoia. The Puritans in those times were very strict in personal habits and morality; swearing, drunkenness and gambling would be punished. The people of Salem believed in the devil and thought that witchcraft should be hunted out.

In The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, John Proctor is a tragic hero. A tragic hero is defined as a person who is good and decent, yet he has a tragic flaw which leads to his downfall. In The Crucible, John Proctor is a highly respected farmer whose tragic flaw is pride. John Proctor plays a crucial role in Salem when the townspeople were being falsely accused and hanged as witches by a group of teenage girls. One of these girls is Abigail Williams, with whom John Proctor had an affair. John Proctor is a tragic hero because he is noble and honorable, he is very protective, yet his tragic flaw is that he had an affair with Abigail Williams.

Could you imagine making one mistake that could result in the loss of your life? Neither did John Proctor. In Arthur Miller's The Crucible, the story takes place in Salem, Massachusetts during the 1600s. John Proctor commits the sin of infidelity and has an affair with young Abigail Williams. Abigail became jealous of John's wife, Elizabeth, and wanted to kill her.

John Proctor is accused of wizardry like many other men and women in Salem. During his trial, He is asked about his hesitation with baptizing his youngest baby boy. He states the fact that he fails to identify the Christian morals in Rev. Parris by declaring: “I like it not that Mr. Parris should lay his hand upon my baby, for I see no light of God in that man, I’ll not conceal it.” (Miller 124) By doing this, Proctor shows the court and the citizens of Salem that he is generally and upright, honest man; despite any unearthly allegations presented against him.

His unwavering perseverance leads him to do anything to save his wife which results in him being tried and hanged. Proctor speaks his mind in opposition of the trials and against the girls which leads them to turn against him and accuse him of working with the devil. The most significant flaw of Proctor is his lust which guides him to infidelity and results in him having an affair with Abigail Williams. The affair leads Abigail Williams to turn upon Elizabeth Proctor out of jealousy after being fired from working at their house. This jealousy leads Abigail into accusing Elizabeth of witchcraft to have her be hanged which causes John Proctor to attempt at saving Elizabeth, leading to his own

During the eight months past, Proctor committed adultery with Abigail who worked in his home at that time. At first, just like any other man, Proctor concealed his sin. However, when confronted by his wife Elizabeth Proctor, he confessed to the sin. Elizabeth Proctor put Abigail out on the street the following day. Proctor truly repented to God and his wife for the sin he had committed. “I will cut off my hand before I’ll ever reach for you again.” (Miller, 1109) Abigail tries to tempt Proctor into touching her, but because of his true repentance he will never touch her in that manner again. A man who can admit to his mistakes and truly repent without repeating the sin is a good and righteous man. However, Abigail is relentless to have John Proctor for