The tragic hero is defined as, "a literary character who makes an error of judgment or has
a fatal flaw that, combined with fate and external forces, brings on a tragedy." (Web). There are
many tragic heroes in literature. A good example of a tragic hero is John Proctor, from Arthur
Miller's play, The Crucible. John Proctor is a farmer living a simple life in a Puritan town with
his wife and children. He has a secret, his affair with a girl named Abigail Williams. Williams
wants to kill Proctor's wife, so she and her friends start practicing witchcraft, which causes
turmoil in their town. The girls are put on trial. In order to save themselves, the girls start naming
names of people in the town, who they believe they have seen practicing witchcraft
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She wants revenge, and her
revenge results in John's tragic downfall.
John's affair is not the only flaw that he possesses. John's attempt at saving his reputation
is what eventually leads to his demise. He wants to save his reputation and knows the
only way to end the turmoil in his community, is to admit to his affair with Abigail. He
knows the confession would ruin his good name and end the hysteria in his community.
Elizabeth asks her husband to go to court and tell them that Elizabeth is a fraud. John refuses.
Elizabeth is arrested, John has to chose between his wife or Elizabeth. He brings Mary Warren
into the court to save his wife by confessing to lies and pretense concerning the accused witches.
Mary turns on him and John admits to being an adulterer. He saved his wife by putting his
reputation on the line. He is arrested. Elizabeth tries to protect her husband by lying to the
court. She wants protect his name, but he is arrested for perjury and witchcraft instead. He tries
to do good, but things keep going wrong for him, people feel sorry for him, and this adds to his
being the tragic hero of the