Who is the Tragic Hero in The Crucible?

This essay will describe in-depth how John Proctor was a tragic hero in his time and place of the story The “crucible,” by Arthur Miller. In the story, we see that Proctor is very stern and stands up for his beliefs. In the story Proctor says “ They think to go like saints. I like not to spoil their names.” (130) This shows that proctor even though in a struggle keeps true to his word and does not ruin anybody's name by blaming them for something.

He doesn’t let the court post his confession on the church to keep his name somewhat clean. The confession would also reveal other people so he doesn’t allow it to be posted and he would be hung for this action. Proctor preserves his pride and dignity, dying as a man with flaws yet a good man. He meets the meaning of a tragic hero because of his fatal flaws, having an affair with Abigail and his pride, but his redemption at the end of the play saves his moral beliefs.

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The affair with Abigail is his downfall because it provokes the witch trials. Abigail didn’t want to believe that the affair was over, so she tries accusing Elizabeth, Proctors' wife, of using witchcraft so she Abbi could have John to herself.

Everyone sees proctor at the beginning of the story as a humble and honest man. He never caused any trouble in the village, Proctor liked attending to his family on his farm. He had children to worry about so why would he want to commit the crime of witchery? There are many things he dislikes about the village such as going to church, only because of Parris being the minister.

Proctor dislikes Parris. Proctor also has a family consisting of a wife and kids. He has to provide for them and never let them down. Proctor says in the story, “I speak my own sins; I cannot judge another.” (131) this tells us that Proctor knows of his sins and admits to them and doesn’t bother to talk about other people's sins. We later learn that while the girls in the story are accusing innocent people of witchery john is trying to protect his wife from Abigail trying to take her down to have Proctor for herself. Proctor ends up going to court to try and resolve the false accusations about his wife by being truthful. While trying to save his wife he evens tells about his deepest secret of committing lechery to try to save his wife. This all represents that Proctor is truthful yet cares about what is happening to innocent people. Proctor later says,” Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies!” (133) This shows us that even though he lied to the court he did it to save people that have done no sort of witchery and should not be punished for it. Proctor was willing to lie to save himself but later he denied being part of witchcraft and was hung because of his pride in not telling lies.

John proctor’s tragic flaw being his pride has put him in a situation where he has to face his own death. He could have lied and went thru with everything he was accused of and be spared his life, but he let his pride overcome him by wanting to stay true to his word. So he was hanged for not confessing to witchery. Proctor says,” I have three children-how may I teach them to walk like men in the world, and I sold my friends.” This relates to his pride situation where he wants his kids to be like him and be loyal, trustworthy, and honest. John Proctor can be considered as a moral person because he does the right things and obeys the laws, but when he had an affair he was concerned that bringing it up in court would crush his reputation and ruin his name. So we could think of Proctor as a moral person. He cares about the laws and the consequences it will bring if he were to break them.

Although he and Abbi had an affair, his wife knows about it and she still accepts him for the man he is. The affair had a big role in the story because Abbi held it against John, if he didn’t do what she said she would tell the court. She also used it to hold against John while she accuses his wife of witchery so Abbi could have John to herself. In the end of the play, we hear that John commits to lechery and his wife is called to confirm it and she was trying to protect him and said he didn’t do such a thing.

Proctor is the type of person who doesn’t like innocent people getting blamed for actions they did not partake in. Proctor tells us,” I have confessed myself? Is there no good penitence but in the public? God does not need my name nailed upon the church! God sees my name; God knows how black my sins are! It is enough!” This important quote lets us know that Proctor is willing to lie to save himself but does not want to sell out his friends. The quote is him telling the court that he doesn't want his name blackened in the village by posting the confession on the church door. When John has a big argument about the confession, he backs out on the confession and this is when he realizes his fate. Proctor tells his wife,” Spite only keeps me silent. It is hard to give a lie to dogs. I would have your forgiveness, Elizabeth.” (126) We can interpret from this quote is that Proctor doesn’t feel good about lying to save himself because he feels that it is wrong and that he will be judged in the afterlife. We can also see that John is concerned about his wife and asks for her forgiveness. To sum everything up Procor just wants what's best for everyone, he stays to himself, minds his own business, but is always there if someone needed him.

In conclusion to the many details covered, the story reveals to us that John Proctor is seen as a tragic hero in his resemblance that he is well respected in the village, Proctor is a very honorable man on his behalf, he also is dependable and despises lying to people. John faces his fate when he denies being part of witchcraft and was later hung for denying it. Throughout the story, Proctor stays strong and tries his best to save wrongly convicted people from facing fate.

References

• CliffsNotes: The Crucible
• History: Salem Witch Trials
• John Proctor in The Crucible | Shmoop
• John Proctor's Home From Salem Witch Trials Era Now For Sale