John Proctor As A Hero In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

A hero is someone who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities (OxfordLanguages). The brilliant novel, The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, calls for a true hero in the middle of a catastrophe. In this play, the religious town of Salem becomes involved in mass hysteria. Abigail Williams is an eighteen-year-old girl and the leader of these acts. Along with Abby, many other girls in the town become obsessed with partaking in accusing those of being witches. The performance of witchcraft quickly spreads all around the town of Salem and threatens the lives of many. Although this novel has many ups and downs, The Crucible reflects the main character, John Proctor, as a hero. To begin, John Proctor proves himself

First, John Proctor, or Proctor, is a farmer in his mid-thirties. He faces Danforth, the head of the court, along with the rest of the Salem court. Proctor’s wife has been accused and arrested for witchcraft. John comes to the court with high hopes to end the allegations. Danforth insists, “...You say your only purpose is to save your wife. Good, then she is saved at least this year, and a year is long. What say you, sir? It is done now. Will you drop this charge?” (Miller 3.141). This illustrates that Proctor, being fearless, will not give in to Danforth's offer. He wishes to go against Abigail and the Salem Court, not only to save his wife’s life, but many others. It certainly takes guts to do this. This also illustrates how Proctor shows off his heroines by being one of the only ones in all of Salem to stand up against the unjust court and all of its wrongdoings. His unselfish ways show how amazing of a character he truly is. Later, in the courtroom once again, all eyes lay on John. Proctor charges Abigail with spreading lies and pretending to be bewitched. He slowly comes forwards, giving away his secret only Abigail and him share. Proctor trembles, “I have known her, sir. I have known her” (3.378). This proves the

To start, Mary Warren, the Proctor’s maid, comes rushing into their humble home after a busy day in town. She begins to speak frantically about how the number of hangings and accusations has increased rapidly. Mary feels ill and her head is spinning with stress. Proctor firmly declares, “You will not go to that court again, Mary Warren” (2.129). This confirms that even though Proctor knows little about the witchcraft disasters, he keenly realizes from the beginning, nothing good would come out of it. This also ensures that John wants to put a stop to something wrong before it gets worse. He uses his brilliant brain to assume what would happen before it starts. Proctor knows everything Abigail is up to is unacceptable. Next, when Reverend Hale comes to arrest Elizabeth, the Proctor’s house becomes filled with commotion. Proctor’s friends, Giles Corey and Francis Nurse appear at the action-filled house as well. The friends inform Proctor that their wives have been taken too. John Proctor quickly becomes overflowed with rage after hearing this nonsense. John outbursts, “Is the accuser always holy now? Were they born this morning as clean as God’s fingers? I’ll tell you what’s walking Salem - vengeance is walking Salem. We are what we always were in Salem, but now little crazy children are jangling the keys of the kingdom, and common vengeance writes the law” (3.340). This