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

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What is necessary to qualify as a tragic hero? A tragic hero must have a respected background, a fatal flaw whether it be their pride, ignorance, or carelessness that ultimately brings the downfall of the character in question. This flaw would then need to cause the character to experience a reversal in fortune. The character would also ultimately need to suffer greatly in the end. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, John Proctor qualifies to be a tragic hero, due to his fatal flaw being pride. In the beginning of the play, the readers find out that Proctor, in his mid thirties, cheats on his wife and had an affair with a 17 year old character, Abigail Williams. Due to John Proctor’s pride he doesn’t confess in court after Abigail’s first accusations …show more content…

John Proctor, while not a king or duke, is still very respected in Salem. Farmers are seen as good, honest people and that’s what was important in those days. Everyone knew who Proctor was, no matter who they were. During act four, Proctor is confessing to witchcraft, although he refuses to accuse or out another. Danforth won’t let him sign the paper due to this. Parris and Hale are pleading with Danforth to let Proctor sign. Parris says, “It is a weighty name; it will strike the village that Proctor confess” (Miller 131). This shows that Proctor’s name is known and respected. This is one reason Proctor qualifies to be a tragic …show more content…

John Proctor experiences this reversal of fortune when his life was at stake and if he were to give his written confession over to Danforth, Proctor would live another day. However John chooses the opposite, because of his pride, and he won’t give up his name. As I showed in a quote above. This decision he makes causes him to suffer greatly and result in the loss of his life. I think Proctor at first doesn’t give up the confession due to pride, but then realizes that this is silly and gives up his life for the greater good and to punish himself. You can see John gets over his pride in act 4 when he says, “Tell them I confessed myself; say Proctor broke his knees and wept like a woman” (Miller 132). You can obviously see, his self image is getting less and less important because he is realizing how silly it was to think that way

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Do you think John Proctor should have confessed to witchcraft? In Act IV of “The Crucible”, John Proctor is accused of witchcraft. Hale calls for Elizabeth and tries to get her to convince John to confess. Proctor is about to confess, but then changes his mind and tears apart his confession paper. This action, however, costs him his life and other’s lives.

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How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul, leave me my name!” (Miller 143). John Proctor is indignant towards the people of Salem and sacrifices himself to show that he’d rather die with honesty and the protection of his name rather than live with the weight of a lie. Both Danforth and Abigail selfishly put the lives of others at risk throughout the trials rather than their own, like John.

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The court wanted John Proctor to confess to witchcraft; this was vital for the court, as it would help their case in many ways. For example, it would bring an end to the plots against the court. As a result of giving his name, The court will spare Proctor’s life, but it came with a cost: he must sign a document as written proof of his confession of witchcraft and hang it in the church for everyone to see. He cannot follow through with the greedy desires of Danforth and the others because he “cannot have another name in [his] life” (Miller 207). Proctor does not want people to remember him for what he is not; by giving his name, he tarnishes the truth about himself as a respectable and upstanding citizen, as well as the everlasting effect it will have on his prosperity.

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John Proctor’s fears manifest when he resists in allowing Deputy Danforth and Reverend Hale post his name on the church door that he has practiced witchcraft (IV.712-717). John Proctor is Elizabeth Proctor’s husband, who has had an affair with Abigail Williams when she was still working as a maid in the Proctor’s household. When Elizabeth discovers that her husband and Abigail have committed adultery, she fires Abigail. Driven by lust and jealousy to own Proctor for herself, Abigail aspires to terminate Elizabeth by playing her Mafia-like games and forcing the other Salem girls to participate (I. 460-473). Nevertheless, later in the play, John falls into the category of a witch when Elizabeth twists the story about how she dismissed Abigail

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138 Words | 1 Pages

At last, a tragic hero realized his bad and try to fix that into right way. In the book “the crucible” John Proctor said to lawyer and judgement that “Tell them I confessed myself: say Proctor broke his knees and wept like a woman:say what you will, but my name cannot-”(p62). It reflects that he is trying to be honest, and also trying to be a good father to his child and husband to Elizabeth. This is because, if he confess and avoid death, his child cannot inherited anything and Elizabeth lived with suffer because her husband is a witch. But, Proctor doesn’t confess that he is witch, and be honest to his child and wife.

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362 Words | 2 Pages

When Danforth tells Proctor he has not sold his freinds, Proctor states, “Beguile me not! I displays that Proctor is a hero because he is blacken all of them when this is nailed to the church the very day they hang for silence!”(Miller, 132). This incident displays that Proctor is a hero because he is willing to incriminate himself to save his friends because of an affair he decided to have with Abigail that led to her speaking blasphemously about Witchcraft in order to become Proctor’s wife. This exhibits honesty and supportiveness, Proctor himself could’ve stayed out of the trial, but he refused to let Abigail falsely incriminate his society, so he takes a stand. John Proctor is a tragic hero because he stood for a good cause and feels remorse knowing that if he had told the court that he had an affair with Abigail earlier, they wouldn’t have killed off prominent members of their society.

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Knowing if he would’ve confessed, it would have ruined his children's lives. They would have been known as the sons of a witch who sold out his friends. John later rescinds his confession, and he feels great for the first time in a long time because he feels like him doing this good deed wiped away all the sins from the past. John Proctor is a selfless man because he is not only thinking about himself but about the future of his loved

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1356 Words | 6 Pages

Proctor: I did not” ( Miller 129-130). John Proctor shows self-sacrifice by not giving up names of the others and sentencing them to death by hanging based on the accusations he could make about the practicing of witchcraft. John Proctor also shows mental strength by refusing to give Danforth names when pressured and threatened by the court and the judge. This also shows the reader how much he values his name and reputation and that he doesn’t take giving up his name lightly. He values his name because his name holds power and that it is his and his

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440 Words | 2 Pages

What is a tragic hero? The most common definition of a tragic hero is a literary character that displays characteristics of bravery and courage, yet is destined to downfall. Often times, these characters have a tragic flaw which leads to the ultimate collapse of the hero. In Arthur Miller’s tragic play, The Crucible, John Proctor is a good, well-respected man, however he has one fatal flaw. His secret affair with Abigail Williams spurred the jealousy that Abigail has towards Elizabeth Proctor, John Proctor’s wife.

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Proctor knows that the majority of Salem thinks that the witch trials are real, but he doesn’t care. Proctor tells Danforth (the judge) that the witch trials are ridiculous because “These are landholding farmers, members of the church” and how “never saw no

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945 Words | 4 Pages

JOHN PROCTOR: TRAGIC HERO Arthur Miller’s The Crucible is a greatly revered work, and it reflected the times of America in the days of McCarthyism. Perhaps the character that connected to the audience most was John Proctor, the protagonist of the play. He reflects the mistakes that we have made in our lives, and the struggle that some of have while trying to take the blindfold off of other people. He should be considered a hero because he feels guilt, and therefore tries to make up for the fact that he once had an affair.

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747 Words | 3 Pages

In the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller, the town of Salem is afflicted with hysteria, intolerance, and accusations that lead to death. According to philosopher Aristotle, a tragic hero possesses a tragic flaw, excessive pride, and an inevitable downfall. Protagonist John Proctor illustrates a tragic hero because he is presented as happy, powerful, and privileged, which later leads him to suffer because of his own actions. First of all, John Proctor possesses a fatal flaw, pride, which is a characteristic of a tragic hero. Proctor’s fatal flaws includes honesty and pride.

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478 Words | 2 Pages

John Proctor is well liked and respected in the Puritan community and is trusted by everyone. In Act I, on page 1269, It says “Proctor, respected and even feared in Salem, has come to regard himself as a kind of fraud.” This quote shows that John has a lot to lose if his secret gets out because everyone looks up to him. Although John is a great man, his tragic flaw is his pride.

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594 Words | 3 Pages

John Proctor, the protagonist of The Crucible, qualifies as a tragic hero because he has a tragic flaw, is ethically superior to the other characters in the play, and struggles to find peace with himself in midst of the lies and chaos during this play. John Proctor possesses a tragic flaw that forces him to hide his prideful mistake, which eventually brings about his downfall. I guess the old saying is true, “Pride comes before the fall”. John Proctor’s tragic flaw is his excessive pride, and he expresses it abundantly throughout the play. In Act I, it states, “ Proctor: Abby, I may think of you softly from time to time.

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705 Words | 3 Pages

John Proctor was a man of honor and had a well respected name in the town of Salem. Sadly he died tragically but as a hero. He was hanged because he was accused of doing the devil’s work. He was given the chance to save his life if he admitted on a piece of paper that he was working with the devil but he refused to tell that lie. He wanted his sons to be able to walk the streets without being shunned from the world because they deserved better.

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