What is a hero? According to dictionary.com, a hero is “a man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities.” A hero is other things as well. Heroes are people who put their lives on the line despite the possible unfavorable outcome. Heroes face their fears head on and conquer them. John Procter displays several characteristics that would make him the main hero of the play, “The Crucible.” John Proctor was a hero because he spoke the truth no matter what the risk or circumstances. After contemplating and trying to get around confessing, he finally owns up and confesses to having an affair with Abigail. By confessing to the affair John then makes the court question Abigail’s word. He did that after failing to take down Abigail. He tried taking her down by having Mary Warren testify, saying anything Abigail has said in the court was untrue. Mary Warren was another member of the group of girls accusing citizens of Salem of being …show more content…
As a result of his confession of adultery, he was arrested and accused of being a witch. Later John had an opportunity to redeem himself. He had a chance to write a public confession of being a witch. Had he signed the confession he would have been forgiven and would have been able to live. After writing the confession stating that he was a witch, he grabbed the paper and tore it up. Right after he ripped up the confession, he was loaded on the cart with two other women. John Procter, along with the two other women, were hanged soon after. Despite the probability that he would have lived, he didn’t want to confess to a crime he did not commit. John paid the price with his life. He didn’t want to sacrifice his name in the village and the way people thought of him. Ultimately, the reason he was in this mess because he had an affair with Abigail Williams. That grave sin is what became the nail in his
Even a hero can face tragedy. This very much applies to the tragic hero in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. John Proctor, a man who lived in Arthur Miller's fictional Salem, is by all accounts a tragic hero. The Crucible is about the town of Salem, Massachusetts and how all the residents turned against each other all because of two people, a man who committed adultery and a jealous teenager. There must be certain requirements fulfilled to be considered a tragic hero.
John Proctor’s excessive pride evidently led him to his downfall. In the beginning of the book, John is seen as a strong man, “in Proctor’s presence a fool felt his foolishness instantly” (Miller 20). He was seen as such a high man that he let his pride get the best of him, at first he didn't want to confess to the court about his affair with Abigail to keep his name from being blackened. When John eventually confesses to the court about his adultery with Abigail; His wife, Elizabeth, didn't know that John had already confessed, so she lied about it to keep him safe, which only made matters worse. In the end, he dies in order to keep his good name in the town.
He then had to become a one-man army against an armed and ready crowd. Although people feel that John threw away his reputation when he signed the paper confessing to witchcraft, he really did not because that was his only option at the moment. Subsequently, he was still
(Miller 211) The court advises that John would be able to save himself if he signed the confession acknowledging his use of witchcraft for all to see. His honor and his dignity for what he believed to be his respect for his family name kept him from signing the document which led to his death. How can his children hold their head high if their father signs a document that lessens their family name? He states that he has given his “soul” by admitting to performing witchcraft because he knows it is a lie in itself, but if he were to sign his name to it, it will always be remembered.
The Crucible Reading Logs 1: Thomas Putnam, a landowner in Salem, contributed greatly to the trials. Putnam was one of the first characters to blame witchcraft for his own daughter's sickness, along with the minister's daughter, Betty Parris. Furthermore, Putnam was quick to believe that “hurtful, vengeful, spirits” (Miller, 15) were laying hand on the children. In addition he feels as though there is a “murdering witch” (16) among them. Consequently, in Salem if someone is “hung for a witch” (96) then they must “forfeit their property” (96) which is “the law” (96).
In the play The Crucible, John Proctor, the protagonist, pays the ultimate price in the end. In Salem, Massachusetts, at the time, if you were accused of witchcraft, the only way to save your life was to admit that you were guilty of committing witchcraft and that you would like to repent. Even if you never committed the crime, it was the only way to spare yourself from the gallows. John Proctor did not agree with this idea. He thought that it was better to die with honor and dignity than to live the life of a coward and liar.
If he was to confess of witchcraft he would have been free but his good name in the village would have made other less prominent people in village to confess lies. John had never spoken with the devil and neither had the others in the village but the only way of getting out of hanging was confessing of witchcraft. Instead of taking the easy way out Proctor and confess, he took the high road saving his family’s good name for future generations (his 3 sons). Although Proctor’s family name was saved he was not and hung in the end of the
A tragic hero, according to the Greek philosopher Aristotle, demonstrates great bravery and courage in the midst of adversity. He presents himself as a good person and good leader. However, this hero experiences a downfall due to his own pride, or hubris. As a result, the hero faces nemesis, his fate due to their tragic flaw, and evokes a catharsis from the audience (). John Proctor, Arthur Miller’s main character in The Crucible, portrays these characteristics of a tragic hero.
This was another decision that John had to make, and one that would change his life forever. After pondering the options he concluded that he was going to sign his name to witchcraft. He signed his name, knowing this paper would be placed on the doors of the church he onced worshiped in. Reality set it and John raised his voice and said, “Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life!
John has committed the sin of adultery with Abigail Williams, the reverends niece. The event that lead to the uproar in Salem. At the end of the play John is accused of working with the devil and he either has the choice to confess and live or be hanged. John is about to be set free, all that was left was to sign the paper saying he confessed to Mr. Danforth, the judge of Salem. This letter would be plastered on the court door so the whole town could see.
He was given the choice to either confess to being apart of witchcraft and be spared or not confess and get hanged. He is allowed to talk this over with his wife and at first they decide it would be better to confess even though they know he didn’t do anything! At this point in the play John realizes that it is not the right thing to do. He says “ How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul now give me your name.”
The dictionary defines a crucible as a place or occasion of severe tests or trials. During the late seventeenth century, many places around the world began to have an increased fear of the supernatural. Witch trials sparked by these fears brought great pressure upon all involved. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, the people of Salem were placed under a lot of pressure as the witch trials were occurring. With pressure mounting, three men from the story each struggled in a different manner; Parris becoming fearful and cowardly, Hale undergoing a change in character, and Proctor taking a stand for what he believed to be right.
After speaking to Elizabeth, John agrees to confess to witchcraft to save his life and raise his sons. John is eventually condemned by the law when he refuses to confess by society’s standards. He writes his name on the confession list but tears the sheet immediately afterwards. On page 142 he says, “I have confessed myself! Is there no good penitence but it be public?
The Crucible – Zaynab Zahra Choose a play in which there is a character important to the theme. Explain how this character effects the understanding of this theme. ‘The Crucible’ by Arthur Miller is a play in which there is a character, John Proctor, who is important to the theme of reputation. Proctor, in the play faces a moral dilemma of whether to confess his sin of his relationship with Abigail Williams, or allow his wife and others accused of witchcraft, to die. Miller uses an allegory in this play, using Salem as a symbol of McCarthyism in 1950s America.
What John did cause pain to his wife Elizabeth; his affair caused the loving couple to break farther apart. A love that John missed Church to home and nurse his wife back to health instead. John is falsely accused of being a witch and is brought to prison. The distressed caused by being in prison is too much for John that he cannot think clearly. John is offered a choice to admit that he and the others practiced witchcraft, and be set free or serve a life sentence.