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

John Proctor could be considered a tragic hero in The Crucible. A tragic hero is a person who a great or virtuous character in a dramatic tragedy who is destined for downfall. John is also a very respected man in Salem and he had a prominent role in his community. WIth every tragic hero they have a great flaw that can help with their downfall. Therefore we are lead to believe that John Proctor is a tragic hero.

In the beginning of The Crucible the book begins to describe Proctor. The way the book describes him is that “He was the kind of man-powerful of body, even tempered, and not easily led- who cannot refuse support to partisans without drawing their deepest resentmant.”(1269) This shows how John was a powerful man. It then goes to describe how he has status in town is “Proctor, respected and even feared in Salem,”(1269) This quote shows that John is a respected figure in his town.

WIth every tragic hero they have a great flaw that can help with their downfall. John’s greatest flaw is his pride. In act IV he doesn’t want the confession to go on the church and they ask him why. Proctor’s response is “Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life!” (1357). This shows that John’s pride of

John tried to go without anyone finding out that he committed adultery, but they soon find out. He goes to the court with Mary to get her to tell that Abigail is lying about being a witch and he ends up telling of his adultery with Abigail for her to lose the respect of town. When he tells of his adultery Elizabeth is brought. She is brought in because she has never lied and the court wants her to tell that John is telling the truth of the adultery.She is brought questioned and she says “No, sir”(1335). When she lies about John committing his is sentenced to death for perjury. For John to be hung it is a big deal because he was such a well respected community