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Elements Of Heroism In The Crucible

877 Words4 Pages

Rayhan Khan
11/1/15
English 10 Block Three
Crucible Essay
Is John Proctor a Hero: A tragic hero is a person who is born with certain heroic qualities in a dramatic tragedy who is destined for downfall, suffering, or defeat because of a specific fatal flaw. Tragic heroes have been seen in many works of literature such as Oedipus Rex and Romeo and Juliet. The iconic tragic hero in The Crucible can be defined through John Proctor, due to his heroic quality of persisting with the truth and his fatal flaw of excessive self-pride. His devotion to the truth and fighting against the system ultimately drives his fate towards death. Every tragic hero has a heroic quality that sets them apart from ordinary characters, that quality is often outstanding and brings greatness to the person. In John Proctor’s case, his …show more content…

Proctor confides to his wife that if he confesses to witchcraft so he may be able to live and spend time with her. “With great force of will, but not quite looking at her: I have been thinking I would confess to them, Elizabeth. (She shows nothing.) What say you? If I give them that?”(Act 4) Proctor is trying to overcome his fatal flaw of self-pride so that he can spend his life with his wife Elizabeth. However, when Proctor writes his confession he is told to sign it so that the town of Salem could see it. Proctor's flaw of excessive self-pride starts to become evident when he has an outburst about honor. “Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies! Because I am not worth the dust on feet of them you have hanged! How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave my name.”(Act 4) Proctors self-pride finally gets the better of him when he exclaims that his name is more important than his own life. Proctor accepts his fate and ends his suffering through the

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