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Heroism In The Crucible

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You may believe the heroism is something found in distant conflicts or stories of hardship that come to a mythical character, perhaps Hercules of Greek mythology or the soldiers of World War 2. To the surprise of many, however, heroism takes place not just in these epic tales of extreme gore and violence, but instead in your hometown. This is exactly the situation the town of Salem, Massachusetts found itself in as they fell into peril. As illustrated in Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible”, the fear of witchcraft and petty hatred towards others lead to the downfall of innocent lives. Throughout the destruction of the town’s civil order, certain characters went against the flow that they had been peer pressured into and instead decided to act heroically …show more content…

One particularly strong event that shows this is when Hale comes to his house to question his faith. Soon after the start of their exchange, John Makes his true opinions true. He states “ I like it not that Mister Parris should lay his hand upon my baby. I see no light of God in that man” (Miller 65). This shows John’s heroism because not many people would openly admit to disliking their minister, especially when they are being interrogated for witchcraft. He stood up for his opinion even when the stakes are so high. Such a statement would be taken as an act against the church directly, though Hale senses John’s honesty and takes the statement at face value. Another clear example of John’s heroism happened towards the end of the play when he refused to sign his confession. In refusing to do so, he called out the corrupted justice system. After he saw what had happened to the previously accused, he found it unfair to sign his name away, saying “I have confessed myself! Is there no good penitence but it be 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” (Miller 142). John decided he would rather die an honest man rather than selling himself out even at the loss of his life. What made this act heroic isn’t John’s greater desire to die

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Throughout history there has been a number of martyrs celebrated for their heroism and integrity in defending their truths and beliefs to the very end. Nathan Hale, for example, is an American soldier and spy during the American Revolution who was captured by British soldiers. Instead of giving any information and compromising his strong beliefs in defending the United States, Hale was hung. Now, Hale is considered an American hero, and was officially declared the state hero of Connecticut. Similarly, John Proctor, and other characters, from Arthur Miller's play, The Crucible, are placed in a situation where they must decide if dying with integrity is more important than falsely confessing and living a life of compromised principals that may

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Arthur Miller implemented heroism in the play, The Crucible, using the characters; John Proctor, Elizabeth Proctor, and Giles Corey. The first person to display heroism is John Proctor. John Proctor did not want to have his confession nailed on the church door and explained why, “I blacken all of them, when this is nailed to the church the very day they hang for silence.” (Miller 143). This shows that John is heroic because he chose to not let the church use his confession and let innocent people die because of it.

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“A man cannot become a hero until he can see the root of his own downfall,”Aristotle. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, John Proctor, the main protagonist of the play faces several situations in which he struggles both internally and externally; all of the struggles that Proctor encounters throughout the story heavily affect those around him, but most importantly they impact the way that he perceives Salem and his own life. Truthfully, the troubles that Proctor experiences in life are the most impactful occurrences in The Crucible because they reflect the righteousness that is within him, even in times of corruption; it is ultimately Proctor’s ability to discover righteousness that allows him to be seen as an tragic hero. It can also be said

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Salem: The Village of Courage, Weakness, and Truth Courage, weakness, and truth are all three things that everyone can relate to. Everyone has experienced all three at some point in their life, so they understand what they are like. Arthur Miller in The Crucible uses courage, weakness, and truth to help the reader relate to Elizabeth Proctor, Abigail Williams, and John Proctor. Elizabeth shows courage, Abigail shows weakness, and John shows truth. Elizabeth shows immense courage when she tries to save her husband's name.

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Once Proctor admits to the court that he has known Abigail and that she was being dishonest about the affair, the court starts to see that she if she is capable of lying about their affair then she must also be capable of lying about witchcraft. An additional example of heroism in The Crucible, is seen when Reverend John Hale tries to convince those accused of witchcraft to confess even though they aren't guilty. Hale speaks with Elizabeth and

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John tries to take action by saying “vengeance is walking Salem” and questioning if the accusers are “as clean as god’s fingers”(77). Nobody has a reason to believe that the girls are acting out of vengeance all John has to do is give them the reason, but he is still caught up in his ignorance that he cannot let go of. His prideful obsession over his name does not allow him to do what he knows to be the right thing, John refers to Reverend Hale as “Pontius Pilate” and that “God will not let” him “wash” his “hands of this”(77). John accuses Reverend Hale of sitting there and not doing anything when he knows something's not right in these trials. John is doing the same thing he is accusing Hale of doing, but as a Puritan man he is more concerned with the preservation of his good name and he would rather point fingers.

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“The Crucible” is a fiction story that took place in a small town called Salem in the state of Massachusetts in 1692 during the spring time. The plot of this story is about a group of girls who went into the forest led by a black slave named Tituba. They were all dancing in the forest until Reverend Parris caught them dancing in the forest and even saw one of the girl naked. Parris’s daughter Betty who was there in the forest falls into a coma-like state when Reverend Parris caught them. Reverend Parris only noticed his daughter was sick the next day and accused Abigail William, who is Reverend Parris’s niece, of witchery and caused his daughter to go into a coma-like state.

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The Crucible “The Crucible” is a play, by Arthur Miller, about the Salem Witch Trials. After reading “The Crucible”, you will be asking yourself, is it necessary for a person to suffer? The answer to the question is shown through the characters, Giles Corey, John and Elizabeth Proctor, and Abigail Williams. John Proctor is a respected puritan man in the community. John had made the mistake of sleeping with, a teenage girl, Abigail Williams.

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This shows that John is a merciful being and desires forgiveness from his wife and God, therefore demonstrating traits of a good man. Furthermore, John has a heated argument with his wife, due to his encounter with Abigail, alone. Although, he thinks his wife will doubt him, she states on the contrary, “I do not judge you. The magistrate sits in your heart that judges you. I never thought you but a good man, John - only somewhat bewildered” (55).

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Hero: A person, typically a man, who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities; however, heroism is not synonymous with perfection. Man can be a hero in spite of having some flaws. This is apparent in The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, a story about the Salem Witch Trials in which Abigail Williams accuses dozens of innocent people of witchcraft. Despite being flawed, John Proctor, Reverend Hale, and Elizabeth Proctor can demonstrate their heroism in The Crucible. John Proctor is shown to be both a hero and a flawed man in regards to his lechery.

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John is also conveying through his words that he believes the situation is his own fault/ he would rather die than deal with living a lie for the rest of his theoretical life of having confessed which is a form of self preservation. Along with the other reasons for his words he goes along with the execution to keep what’s left of him untarnished. or pure in the way he never was. The next character that has actions for the sole purpose of their self preservation is Reverend Samuel Parris. Throughout the majority of the crucible parris is shown to only care about his power and his image towards the other people of salem.

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1009 Words | 5 Pages

He believed in doing the right thing and he was willing to fight for it. During the witch-hunts that affected us all, John tried with every ounce of strength he had to stop the court from going along with Abigail’s manipulations and lies, and in the process confessed to the court the truth of his lechery to make it known that Abigail was just pretending. He knew that his reputation would be ruined, but he knew that it had to be done to save the innocent people accused of trafficking with the devil. I don’t know how many other people would do the same and be able to risk their own reputations knowing that they would no longer be looked at as a respectable person. Some people doubt whether or not John is in heaven.

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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.”

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He then rips the paper, changing his mind about confessing to a false accusation. This angers everyone else, but John doesn’t care. He knows what is right and tries his best to do

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Near the end of the play, John signs a confession that he consorted with the devil, but he eventually tears it up because he realizes that his integrity is more important than keeping a good name. He publicly confesses and allies himself with others who refuse to confess. John came to realize that had he confessed to save his life, those who refused to confess would look even more guilty to the court. John says, “ I have three children – how may I teach them to walk like men in the world, and I sold my friends?”

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