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John Proctor As A Tragic Hero In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

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In the story “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller, the character, John Proctor, was one of the

highly respected individuals in the town of Salem. He lend a hand around the town, was known

for his good deeds, and was wrongfully killed for telling the truth and not a lie. This is what

makes him a tragic hero.

John Proctor is considered a tragic hero because he has had a tremendous fall. Before the play

really starts off, he was described as this respectable individual who everyone looked up to

because of the great things he did for the town. However, when his wife Elizabeth Proctor found

out that Proctor was having an affair with Abigail, she kicked Abigail out and the rumors began.

Elizabeth knows that Proctor cheated on her yet remains with him throughout the …show more content…

He was trying to amend the relationship.

Proctor realizes in court when Mary Warren accused him of being the devil that all his poorly

made choice of sleeping with Abigail led him to his fate. A couple of months after he was

accused and sent to jail, the judge brings in Elizabeth to try and reason with Proctor. Elizabeth

told the judge that she doesn’t promise anything and to let her talk to him to see what decision

they could come to. Proctor does eventually confess to working with the devil, signs the

confession, but then he freaks out, grabs the confession, and tore it in half. Proctor made a

decision when he ripped up his confession. He chose to die telling the truth rather than lie, live

and taint his family’s name.

The punishment did exceed the crime. This whole witchcraft accusation started with Proctor

and Abigail having the affair. After he realized his mistake, Proctor wanted nothing to do with

Abigail. Abigail, heartbroken, and a couple of other girls were caught dancing naked in the

woods. Abigail did confess to Tituba forcing her to drink a potion that could kill Elizabeth.

However, when Reverend Parris catches the girls dancing naked in the woods, the

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Proctor: “You’re coming to the court with me, Mary. You will tell it in the court.” Mary Warren: “I cannot charge murder on Abigail.. (in terror) I cannot, they’ll turn on me-”(80). In this situation, it focuses on John Proctor and Mary Warren.

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Proctors final act was honor. Proctors actions were noble, he was a very honorable man. His actions really helped him and his family name. In the passage of the book ¨The Crucible” John Proctor says ¨i have given you my soul, let me keep my family name.¨ This statement is very noble.

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Since this his wife Elizabeth Proctor has forgiving him and no one else knows about the situation because he doesn't want to ruin his good name. Soon after the Witch Trials started, Abigail accused his wife of witch craft and the people came and got Elizabeth and took her captive. John Proctor was not happy about it at all. He knew his wife was innocent so he went down to the church and told them she was and that she wouldn't lie. In this he said that he had an affair with his servant and so the judge said I'll ask her if you did, if she says yes she's free if she says no she a witch.

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The play The Crucible written by Arthur Miller, is a story that takes place in Salem during the time when witches were real. The story of these people accusing each other of witchcraft to cover up their own story of attempting witchcraft which leads to innocent people being hanged for something they are not. Those people would rather die than to lie about confessing they have been with the Devil, because only cowards lie and the brave keep to the truth till the end. John Proctor’s wife Elizabeth is accused of witchcraft by Abigail. Because John rejected

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The Crucible was written by Arthur Miller, in the 1950. The story setting begins in a small town called Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. Two of the characters that played important roles in this story were John Proctor and Elizabeth Proctor. These two characters were a married couple who lived on the outskirts of Salem, Massachusetts. John Proctor displayed himself as an honest hard working man, who had only one secret.

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While it may be true that he loved Elizabeth, he had an affair with a 16-year-old girl named Abby. " ABIGAIL: 'give me a word john, a soft word.' PROCTOR: 'No, no Abby that’s done with'" (Miller 22)! Although the affair was completely out of lust, it caused a lot of mistrust between Elizabeth and John. Additionally, Abby then accused Elizabeth of murder which positioned her in jail.

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In my opinion John Proctor is the protagonist of the crucible, because there are some reasons. One reason for me is that John Proctor is starting the Salem witch trials indirectly. It is Abigail who starts the trials, but she only does it to kill John’s wife to be the only one John love and they finally can get married. Because of that the relationship between John, his wife and Abigail is in the foreground. Another reason why John is very important in the Crucible is that he has a strong voice in the community.

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In Arthur Miller's "The Crucible", John Proctor is our passive protagonist as he tries to save his wife and others that were accused of witchcraft. Unfortunately, his attempt was in vain and his evidence had backfired. His knowledge did not stop the witch trials because of his self-respect, and the children's high reputations, and Abigail's tactful nature. John Proctor valued his self-respect because it made him confident and helped him stand up for what he believed in. John proctor's name was synonymous with honor and integrity and was most respected in Salem.

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This is basically the only reason for conflict in the story. If it hadn’t been for Proctor’s decision to commit adultery, and lechery, Abigail wouldn’t have accused Elizabeth, therefore saving both Mr. and Mrs. Proctor. In Act one, Proctor says, “Abby, I may think of you softly from time to time. But I will cut of my hand before I ever reach for you

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Abigail Williams In the play "The Crucibles" by Arthur Miller, Abigail Williams was not such a good Puritan woman. She was a very young and gorgeous women but had sinned a lot against her Puritan religion. Abigail definitely did not make the right decisions for herself. She is an magnificent liar and tends to get others in trouble to save herself from getting caught.

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The Crucible by Arthur Miller is set in Salem in a Puritan community, John Proctor is the tragic hero because he is loving, loyal, authoritative, but his tragic flaw is his temper. The most well known definition of a tragic hero comes from Aristotle who was a great philosopher . When describing a tragic hero, he states "The change in the hero's fortunes be not from misery to happiness, but on the contrary, from happiness to misery, and the cause of it must not lie in any depravity but in some great error on his part. "He also explains the four essential qualities that a tragic hero should have, which are appropriateness, goodness,consistency, and lifelike. These necessities help, classify the character of John Proctor in Arthur Miller's play The Crucible as the tragic hero.

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This affair was never fully proven, but Proctor did say, “Abby, I may think of you from time to time but I will cut off my hand before I’ll reach for you again” (Miller 1140). Abigail was madly in love with Proctor and wanted Elizabeth out of the picture so she could have Proctor all to her self. Abigail was very jealous of Elizabeth. She thought that if Elizabeth would die, she would get Proctor all to her self. She accused Elizabeth of being a “cold, sniveling woman”(Miller 1140).

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In Act One of the play, Abigail says to Proctor “I know how you clutched my back behind your house and sweated like a stallion whenever I come near!”(Page 470). Then, Abigail mentions “Abigail (with a bitter anger). Oh, I marvel how such a strong man may let such a sickly wife be-”, referring to Elizabeth, Proctor’s wife and the playwright writes “Proctor (angered-at himself as well). You’ll speak nothin’ of Elizabeth!”(Page 471). Proctor responds the way he did because the reader knows that Abigail is telling the truth referring to the affair, and he is denying everything she says to keep his reputation and not let the secret get out.

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" Proctor was willing to admit a violation that could send him to jail to prove his point by doing this it also helped Proctor since the judge's started to view Abigail as a lost credibility. Proctor confesses to his sins because he is trying to defend his wife’s life Proctor states “A man may think God sleeps, but God sees everything, I know it now. I beg you, sir, I beg you—see her what she is. . . . She thinks to dance with me on my wife’s grave! And well she might, for I thought of her softly.

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He cared greatly about his family and wife even though Elizabeth was often distant towards him. In the end of the play, Proctor chooses to die rather than sign his confession, ratting out his friends and ruining his good name in the town. He did this to protect the reputation of his children so they won’t have to grow up with a lying father. Lying went against Protctors’ views and that ideal is prevalent throughout the entire play. It is revealed that as soon as he had an affair with Abigail, he confessed to Elizabeth the next day because of the guilt he was carrying around.

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