Tragic Hero In The Crucible

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.

In The Crucible, John Proctor is considered the anti-hero. Honest and humble, Proctor is a good man, but one with a secret, fatal flaw. He has fallen for Abigail Williams leading to her jealousy of Elizabeth, Proctor’s wife. Once the trials begin, Proctor realizes that he can end Abigail’s accusations, but only if he confesses to his adultery; however, Proctor is a proud man who

John Proctor regrets of breaking his marriage vows, now his wife Elizabeth is being accused of witchcraft by Abigail Williams. Based on the statement by

Throughout the story, John expresses qualities of an honest man by defending his wife Elizabeth when she is accused of hurting Abigail. John defends Elizabeth” Herrick! Herrick don’t chain her” (page 177: Proctor) in many ways despite the hardship they have been going through with their marriage.

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.

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,

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.

In The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, despite the fact that John Proctor has various respectable assets, he is considered a tragic hero and destined to tragedy as a result of his own imperfections. The way that John puts his companions above everything else proves his noble characteristic, his aspiration to correct his previous errors, and his need of justice. However, his imperfections are his temper, him hardly ever going to church, and his affair with Abigail Williams. Although he is a virtuous man, his flaws lead to his ruin.

A tragic hero, according to Aristotle, is a literary character who makes a judgment error that inevitably leads to his or her own destruction. The Crucible is a play by Arthur Miller. The Crucible is a play about the Salem Witch Trials. In Salem there is a huge dispute over who has came in contact with the devil, beginning with a couple of girls who were caught in the forest dancing by Reverend Parris. People began to name names of who they saw with the devil in fear of getting accused, and the town enters a chaotic state. This causes the Salem witch trials, where if someone is accused they must confess to coming in contact with the devil to the court, even if they did not, or they will be hanged. In The Crucible, John Proctor is the

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.

Throughout The Crucible we learn many things about John Proctor. Despite learning about the sins he has committed with Abigail the reader’s tend to agree with his character and support him. John Proctor has committed very intense sins and is clearly not free of guilt which is why his decision to hang instead of falsely confess was noble.

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.

Abigail made these false allegations because of her obsessive jealousy that John Proctor was Elizabeth’s husband. This obsessive behavior came only after John pursued Abigail’s interest in him one night, despite his commitment to his wife: “I should have roared you down when first you told me your suspicion. But I wilted, and, like a Christian, I confessed!” (The Crucible, pg.55). This secret of John’s comes back later in the play in an ironic twist which ends up getting him accused. Some may argue that all of the problems that Proctor encounters does not qualify him to be called a tragic hero, but his actions do fall under those of a common tragic hero.

The Crucible by Arthur Miller is an interpretation of the Salem witch trials of 1692 in Puritan Massachusetts in which religion, self- preservation and self-dignity play a vital role. The three factors I listed played a huge role in John Proctor, Rebecca Nurse, Reverend Hale, Danforth and many other lives. Many other characters such as, Abigail Williams and her friends can be characterized by being greedy, bitter, and selfish. In the play, Miller reveals how people can go against their own morals, therefore they can protect themselves. In Arthur Miller's play, The Crucible, he reveals to readers how fear escalated in Salem because of people's desire for personal gain.

Throughout The Crucible, John Proctor showed immense courage when he stuck to his beliefs. In Act 3, John Proctor confesses to the court his affair with Abigail Williams because he doesn’t want his wife being accused of witchcraft. He further explains Abigail’s plan to kill his wife, Elizabeth Proctor, and dance with him on her grave. (Miller 873). When Proctor calls Abigail a whore, he gives the court an opportunity to end the trials. Additionally, John faces the ultimate test when he has to sign the document that would keep him alive. Proctor is unable to lie, so he shouts, “ Because it is my name!..Because I lie and sign myself to lies” (Miller 886). His action of ripping up the document further represents Proctor’s integrity and courage. Proctor knows he will never forgive himself if he agrees to confess. He chooses to be hanged over living the remaining of his life on a lie. Proctor refuses to name others and tears up the document. Overall in The Crucible, John Proctor is a firm believer in the fact that one’s name is the only thing that stays after death.