The Tragic Hero of The Crucible by Arthur Miller Essay

He commits adultery by cheating on his wife with Abigail. Although this may be true, he atones for his sin by sacrificing his own reputation, something he highly values to save his wife. In addition, he stays true to himself and does not confess, so that the same sacrifice others had made would not be in vain. In addition, he shows a crucial emotion that is needed for redemption. The emotion he shows throughout the play is guilt. Guilt displays remorse, and remorse is only felt when the afflicted acknowledge their wrongdoing and feel the need to redeem themselves. Those who do not regret their actions do not feel guilt. Because John Proctor is an admirable character, he becomes trapped in his own cage of guilt, determined to save his wife and atone for his sin, even when he knew he would be executed for

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

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.

Despite his being an insignificant and non-status-holding member of society, John Proctor is a much-respected man in Salem. However, in determining his fate, he continues to make several critical and irreversible mistakes that harm his reputation. For fear of being exiled in a town where reputation plays such a large role in their daily lives, Proctor initially tries to hide his crime of adultery, but his affair with Abigail triggers a major series of events in Salem, where simple, unproven accusations escalate to a far larger issue: “Abby—you mean to cry out still others?” “If I live, if I am not murdered, I surely will, until the last hypocrite is dead” (Miller 150). In the end, Proctor decides that for the sake of his desperate circumstances, it would be better to admit to his affair, but by the time he decides to reveal his crime, it is too late to reverse all past actions. He is convicted of witchcraft and doomed to be hanged, later, when given a chance to live, he caves in and confesses to seeing the Devil, only to go back even on this last lie, because he does not have the heart to be freed and saved by a lie.

“That John Proctor the sinner might overturn his paralyzing personal guilt and become the most forthright voice against the madness around him was a reassurance to me, and, I suppose, an inspiration: it demonstrated that a clear moral outcry could still spring even from an ambiguously unblemished soul,” Miller says this about Proctor. Procter the “sinner” was unfaithful to his wife Elizabeth; during the beginning of the play we see Proctor as a cheater and hot-headed adulterer. Throughout the play he truly tried to seek redemption for his wrongdoing towards Elizabeth. He later on changes from this cheater, hot-headed adulterer to a saint who tries to save the lives of the falsely accused by admitting to his sins and fighting for the truth until his very last breath.

The second way John Proctor is an internally conflicted character is that he had an affair with Abigail. John Proctor, a married man with three sons, cheats on his wife with a young Abigail. He confesses to this by saying “God help me, I lusted and there is a promise in such sweat, but it is a whore’s vengeance.”(Act III, 49 ). John did not want to confess but absolutely had to, to expose Abigail’s real desires on why she is accusing Elizabeth of witchcraft. What John had confessed to was adultery and is punishable so he took a big risk. When Proctor said “Whores

     John Procter is a strong man, who thrives at the chance to be right and known. But by the end of the play he questions himself saying, “Who is John Proctor, Who is John Proctor?” (act 4). The trials to John Proctor are a time of change. When Reverend Hale enters the town John leaves in disgust, he knows the girls are lying. John’s pride springs from his feeling of being smarter then the rest of the town. He was constantly found bickering with Reverend Parris about unnecessary expenses. He is worried to speak at the trials for he would condemn himself as a lecher. His wife has her finger on his button though because after the affair, she uses his guilt so he will promise to accuse Abigail. As soon as John steps into the trials he is labeled as a witch and condemned to death. But from his own pride is unable to confess. But at the same time he does not want to die for such an absurd reason.

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.

In the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a story that displays a tragic hero and many women who deceived about interacting with witchery. Proctor's life completely turned upside down when Abigail started all these lies and put the people he loved and cared to their death or jail.  John Proctor's fatal flaw was his great amount of pride, that continued a series of unfortunate events. Unfortunately, Proctor died for a crime he did not commit.

John Proctor, throughout the play, undergoes a personal dilemma. He earns our respect during the play by making some moral choices. Towards the end of the play he follows the courage of his convictions but ironically has to play the ultimate price.

“There are no greater treasures than the highest human qualities such as compassion, courage and hope. Not even tragic accident or disaster can destroy such treasures of the heart” (Daisaku Ikeda). In the play, “The Crucible” there are many characters that have an effect on each other. Two of the characters that could be called tragic heroes are John Proctor and Reverend Hale. The most tragic hero in my opinion was John Proctor. Although Reverend Hale may be considered a tragic hero to some people, John Proctor is the definition of a tragic hero because he risked his life, he tried to do what was right and he showed immense courage throughout the play.

If he had been faithful to his wife in the first place, this could have all been avoided. It is ironic that he is put to death because of his love and loyalty to his wife. When in actuality, it is his initial betrayal that causes the conflict in the first place. If he had not committed the initial crime of lechery, he would have had no problems focusing much-needed light on the crises. John Proctor's character is tragically flawed with inconsistency and the fragility of all humans.

John Proctor and Hester Prynne committed adultery. Leading to great consequences, punished with death. John Proctor is a hard-working, devotional man who values ​​his reputation and cares for his family. But, he was the cause of having destroyed his marriage, his conscious and his reputation towards the community didn’t leave he alone that ended up confessing to his wife. Proctor admits his sin,”... Nothing’s spoiled by giving them this lie that were not rotten long before” (Act 4 Miller). He

He is faced with extreme conflict due to the fact that he committed one of the biggest sins there is: adultery. Proctor then has to decide whether he wants to confess his sin in order to save his wife or to be selfish and live a slandered reputation. Just as John Proctor makes the decision to save his wife’s life and his family's reputation, so too will any person that believes it is more important to put their family above

John Proctor has a terrible struggle with his conscience towards the end of the play. John Proctor’s conscience is telling him that he should stand up to court and to not fear them. Furthermore it is telling him he shouldn't lie to the court and then his death can be a proud one because he spoke up. However his natural instinct, is telling him to lie. It’s telling him let people loose respect for you at least you will be alive. If he lied he will be able to grow old with his wife, see his children grow up, but he will be forever disrespected.