In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, the main character, John Proctor fills the role of a tragic hero as Miller defined it in his essay, “Tragedy and the Common Man”. John Proctor has the qualities and experiences of a tragic hero. These traits include to have flaws, a good heart, be common man, and have an optimistic and enlightening death. First, John Proctor has multiple tragic flaws, which is an important aspect of a tragic hero. John, a married man, had an affair with a seventeen year old girl, named Abigail Williams. This act of infidelity was the root cause of all of the witch hunts because Abigail was in love with John and determined to be with him. When Abigail accused his wife, Elizabeth Proctor, of witchcraft John’s problems began. His second tragic flaw is his stubborn pride. When John was wrongfully convicted of serving the devil, he was scheduled to be hanged. However, he was then given the opportunity to live if he admits to witchcraft. John could not sign his name to this lie and save his life because he would rather “secure one thing-his sense of personal dignity” (Tragedy 4). These actions …show more content…
Tormented, John struggled to find and honest and acceptable version of himself. After breaking ties with Abigail and committing to Elizabeth, John began “attempting to gain his ‘rightful’ position in his society” again (Tragedy 4). John also refused to give the church officials any names of other suspected witches in Salem. Instead, he claimed that he was the only person working for the devil. Since he felt he already deserved to be punished, he tried to take responsibility for witchcraft. John said this lie to protect the other innocent victims of the witch hunt. Though he committed lechery, John’s strong moral compass is what makes the audience like him. More so, the audience pities John and the unfair claims against him occurring despite the fact that the entire witch hunt is technically 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…
The Crucible is a great tale that shows us not to believe others just from the words they say, but by the actions and evidence for the claim. John Proctor was a huge supporter of this. Though John had done some bad deeds in his past, his actions during the end of his life prove that he is good man. John Proctor is the ultimate example of a man can still be a hero in spite of his flaws. John Proctor was the hero in Arthur Miller’s Crucible, because he overcame his shame from being adulterer, he was the only one to see the corruption in his society, and was adamant about keeping his good name.
John Proctor is a hero because he makes choices that show resilience, benefit others in the community, and he fights for what he believes in. Throughout the novel John proctor shows resilience by overcoming obstacles such as having his wife be accused of witchcraft and Abigail's lust for him. John is forced to defend himself and his wife from the bloodlust of the church and Abagail Williams when Elizabeth is accused of stabbing Abigail. John Proctor believes that the witch trials are unfair and does everything he can to defend the rights of his fellow people. Throughout the novel John testifies in court and tries to prove that people are being unreasonably convicted of witchcraft.
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.
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
Although reality John proctor is considered the Tragic hero of the story.the reason why they call him a tragic hero is because in the crucible it tells you at the end of the story the people accused of witchcraft end up being set free and an “innocent” man named john Proctor gets hanged for doing witchcraft, so that's why he is a tragic
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.
The Tragic Hero of The Crucible In The Crucible, there are many characters to choose as a tragic hero. John Proctor fits the very description of a tragic hero. He goes from a well-respected man who owns a farm to a man who is convicted of witchcraft and sin. He has a chance to redeem himself, but he must confess his secrets and release himself from what he hates the most: hypocrites. As all tragic heros are born, John Proctor come with an undeniable tragic flaw; his physical attraction to Abigail Williams.
John certainly exemplifies the essence of a tragic hero because he chooses his dignity over his cessation, which is a main component of being a tragic hero. Similarly, Proctor abides by the fundamentals of a tragic hero because he meets a disastrous ending and dies with honor. To illustrate the concept of John being a tragic hero, in the drama Proctor accepts the inevitable outcome of death by ripping the confession that would save his life. Rather than decreasing his name and shaming his family, he chooses death. In the text, John Proctor cries, “His breast heaving, his eyes staring, Proctor tears the paper and crumples it, and he is weeping in fury, but erect” (Miller 144).
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 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.
According to Aristotle, a tragic hero is a literary character of magnitude that “makes a judgment error that inevitably leads to his or her destruction”. Unlike the Greek philosopher’s description, Arthur Miller, the author of the essay “Tragedy and the Common Man”, considers a tragic hero to be a character of ordinary status that “is ready to lay down their life to secure his or her personal dignity”. Miller illustrates this belief in his Puritanical play The Crucible, featuring the honest and wholesome protagonist, John Proctor as the tragic hero. Proctor, a farmer who despises hypocrites, finds himself in a string of conflict when he commits adultery with his former house servant and becomes what he hates most, resulting in his death. Proctor’s role as a true classical tragic hero is demonstrated by his relentless fight to expose Abigail and the “witch trials” as lies, and save his wife and secure “good name”.
John Proctor became a tragic hero in “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller has brought a big problem to the Village of Salem, after Procto had an affair with Abigail Williams, she began to look for revenge and she started accusing people of witchcraft. John Proctor; a well-respected man in Salem, who is a hard worker always working for his family, love his children and his wife, is founded in a critical situation after committing adultery with a girl in the village. John Proctor, the protagonist of the play “The Crucible”, a well-respected man, a noble man who has done a lot for his family, possesses a major flaw he has had an affair with Abigail Williams, and eventually he realizes what he has done in Salem and to
He demonstrates all of a hero’s characteristics in some way or another. Although not upper class, he is still an upstanding member of the community. He is well respected and looked up to by those around him. As Miller describes him, “Proctor, respected and even feared in Salem, has come to regard himself as a kind of fraud.” (1098) He believes himself to be a fraud because of his tragic flaw: the affair with Abigail Williams. That affair is Proctor’s one weakness, and no one knows about it besides John, his wife, Elizabeth, and Abby. Another characteristic of a tragic hero is that he must be involved in some kind of struggle. Proctor is involved in two different struggles. One is the personal struggle between him and his wife. Elizabeth knows of his lechery and has a hard time forgiving him. Proctor tries to convince her of his love and faithfulness, but it is almost impossible. The other struggle Proctor faces is the social struggle that is going on throughout the whole town. The witchcraft hysteria has overtaken Salem, and Proctor struggles to stand out as an honest opposer of the hangings even though it may lead to his own downfall.
A tragic hero must have tragic flaws as well, which John Proctor does not have a lack of. It is arguable that his affair with Abigail Williams is the root of the witch trials. He tries to fix it by attempting to silence her. “Abby, I may think of you softly from time to time. But I will cut off my hand before I’ll ever reach for you again. Wipe it out of mind. We never touched, Abby” (Miller 15.) This affair he has with Abigail is an extremely deadly flaw. Abigail starts all of the witch paranoia because of her desire to get rid of Elizabeth Proctor because she falls in love with John. When John discharges her from his home and his life, she goes on a blood buzz for Elizabeth and the rest of Salem, causing the entire tragedy of the witch trials. A broader point that Miller depicts through the effect the affair has is all of the damage that lying and unfaithfulness causes.