John Proctor As A Tragic Hero In The Crucible By Arthur Miller
Tragic Hero
In the play “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller there is a tragic hero. A tragic hero is a great or victorious character in a dramatic tragedy who is destined for downfall, suffering, or defeat. The tragic hero also exhibits a tragic character flaw that directly leads to his downfall. John Proctor fits the description due to his traits of a tragic hero. In the play John Proctor had troubles and he had to make the right choices to whom he wanted to effect.
John Proctor has positive traits about him as well as a dark side shown through his affair with Abigail Williams, led to his eventual fatal downfall and the downfall of others as a result. His flaw was that he had a physical attraction for Abigail Williams. When his wife became
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He tells Elizabeth "...I have not moved from there to there without I think to please you...I cannot speak but I am doubted, every moment judged for lies..."(II,1270). This shows John's effort in attempting to redeem himself for his sin and wants to make right the troubles his mistake brought upon, because of John's failure to control his craving and resist attraction, his life is being turned upside down by the jealousy and need for revenge of Abigail, marking the beginning of his downfall and path to becoming a tragic hero. However, Proctor was willing to at least reverse the effects of his actions to save others around him, even if he paid for it with his life. John Proctor’s decision to betray his wife causes internal struggles and ultimately leads to his devastation at the …show more content…
Abigail is a young woman, and she is also an orphan who mistakes John Proctor’s love. When Proctor tells Abigail “Abby, I may think of you softly from time to time. But I will cut off my hand before I’ll ever reach for you again. Wipe it out of mind…” (I, 1246), the girl becomes angry and unhappy. To prove Abigail’s wickedness and to scandal her in front of the court, Proctor states that he had an affair with this evil child. The outraged court officials call Elizabeth Proctor to find the truth. When Elizabeth was asked about her husband, Elizabeth’s soul is twisted, for reporting the truth that could destroy her husband’s reputation, but lying means breaking her solemn oath to God, because she is selfless. Elizabeth chooses to lie and save her husband, but perhaps doom herself to hell for such a sin. This scene indicates dramatic irony, for Proctor knows that which Elizabeth is not aware of, and this is what he has already
Strengths And Weaknesses Of John Proctor
194 Words | 1 PagesJohn Proctor’s strengths is that, “He is a kind of man—powerful body, even-tempered, and not easily led—who cannot refuse support to partisans without drawing their deepest resentment” (Miller 1245). His major flaw is not forgiving himself after having an affair with Abigail, which caused a riff to happen in his marriage. This flaw led Proctor to not fully cut off ties with Abigail, out of guilt, making her believe that they had a chance of truly being together if Elizabeth wasn’t there anymore. John Proctor transforms from a selfish character that only cares for his image to a man who will die for his beliefs and to prove the corrupt ways of the court to save many lives of innocent people. His inner conflict is how he views himself, “My honesty
John Proctor As A Tragic Hero In The Crucible By Arthur Miller
590 Words | 3 PagesJohn Proctor does not qualify as a tragic hero. While he possesses many character traits of a tragic hero, he lack one important factor. He admits to lechery. Therefore giving up his pride. His pride is his tragic flaw, however it does not cause his downfall like a tragic hero's tragic flaw should.
John Proctor As A Tragic Hero In The Crucible By Arthur Miller
834 Words | 4 PagesWhat 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.
John Proctor's Reputation In The Crucible By Arthur Miller
621 Words | 3 PagesThe Crucible has many different themes. One of the major themes in “The Crucible” is preserving one’s reputation. Three Characters who show this theme are John Proctor, Reverend Parris, and Governor Danforth. John Proctor has a good reputation which he wants to keep in tact. This causes events that will get him hung at the end of the play.
Court Cases In The Crucible By Arthur Miller
637 Words | 3 PagesJohn Proctor had a very important decision to make, it was either let his wife lose her life for something she never did or to waive his name and reputation and come clean about his affair with Abigail. During this time no man wanted to share their empathy to the whole entire town not Salem this was very difficult for John to do but he knew it was right to save the person he loved the most he couldn’t lose her for something he did in the past. “... trembling, his life collapsing about him: I have known her, sir. I have known her.”
John Proctor's Jealousy In The Crucible By Arthur Miller
680 Words | 3 PagesAbigail said to John, “I look for John Proctor that took me from my sleep and put knowledge in my heart... I will not, I cannot! You loved me, John Proctor, and whatever sin it is, you love me yet!”(Miller, 150). During this brief conversation between the two, Abigail says on how she still believes that he loves her and wishes to be with her in her imagination when in reality he doesn’t want anything to do with her anymore and this creates most of the conflicts and how the story ends. This quote shows on how delusional Abigail really is with her love with John and how she believes that he wants to leave his family
Role Of John Proctor's Conscience In The Crucible
477 Words | 2 PagesProctor knows what he did was wrong and never wants to hurt Elizabeth again with his sinful acts. Therefore, Abigail is furious and wants Elizabeth out of the picture. John Proctor betrays himself by going against his marriage by being with Abigail. Proctor does not want to tell Elizabeth what he did so he would not hurt her.
John Proctor As A Tragic Hero In The Crucible By Arthur Miller
503 Words | 3 Pages“ (Act 3) by also calling Abigail a “whore” in public consequently leading to his sentence as a witch. Instead of Abigail and the witch trials being exposed as fake and a lie, Proctor is inreturn called a liar and then accused of witchcraft by the court. His attempts in return leads to his downfall. Abigail’s revenge on him for ending their affair yet she avoids to make their affair public because it would lead to his disgrace.
John Proctor As A Tragic Hero In The Crucible By Arthur Miller
598 Words | 3 PagesWhat may be the best known definition of a tragic hero comes from the great philosopher Aristotle. According to Aristotle a tragic hero is ““the change of fortune presented must not be the spectacle of a virtuous man brought from prosperity to adversity.” (ohio.edu). If this statement does not bring the character of John Proctor to mind then what will? John proctor has all the characteristics that one would need to be characterized as a tragic hero.
John Proctor As A Tragic Hero In The Crucible By Arthur Miller
932 Words | 4 PagesIn numerous literary works past and present, tragic heroes are often prevalent throughout the plot of the story. A tragic hero, as defined by the world renowned philosopher Aristotle, is a character who makes a judgement error that leads to his destruction. Some prominent examples of a tragic hero in literary works is Romeo in Romeo and Juliet, Oedipus in Oedipus Rex, and Achilles in Greek mythology. One literary work that may not be notorious and prevalent for having a tragic hero is The Crucible, a play written by author Arthur Miller. This play is mainly known for its mass hysteria and false accusations, but what is ignored is the fact that a tragic hero is prevalent in the society of Salem, Massachusetts, and this man’s name is John Proctor.
John Proctor As A Tragic Hero In The Crucible By Arthur Miller
469 Words | 2 PagesHe 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.
The Crucible: John Proctor As A Tragic Hero
259 Words | 2 PagesIn The Crucible, John Proctor’s tragic flaw-his considerable amount of dignity-drove him to his ruinous death, establishing him as the tragic hero. Even though John brought his destined defeat upon himself, he is still considered the tragic hero. In the beginning of The Crucible, John Proctor was thought able enough to stop the allegations of innocent people because he was outspoken against the accepted beliefs throughout Salem. This gives him the title of a virtuous character because he is being beneficial to the community. When Arthur Miller reveals John Proctor’s past liaison with Abigail Williams to the reader it is unknown by the rest of the community.
The Crucible: John Proctor The Tragic Hero
323 Words | 2 PagesProctor the Tragic Hero Like most good works of literature, the Crucible contains a tragic hero; the tragic hero is John Proctor. While most people think very highly of Procter, he holds a secret, a major flaw, that will lead to his death. John Proctor is considered a tragic hero because of his good reputation turing bad because of his tragic flaw, hubris; this flaw will lead to his downfall, his death. Throughout the Crucible, the townspeople of Salem think very highly of John Procter.
The Crucible John Proctor Guilt Analysis
872 Words | 4 PagesProctor’s guilt is present when he, attempts to pay for his sins by giving his wife materialistic objects, hesitates to obey his wife's suggestion to accuse Abigail of false bewitchment, and breaks out in anger for not wanting to be judged any longer. The romantic relationship between the Proctor’s is undoubtedly extinguished, but even casual engagement cannot exist without tension since everything John Proctor says to Elizabeth is a symbol of repentance. He offers Elizabeth the possession of a cow and expresses “with a grin” that all he
Examples Of Heroism In The Crucible
609 Words | 3 PagesAfter cheating on his wife with Abigail Williams, the villain of the story, John knows that he has made an error and is determined to leave the past behind him stating, “… I will cut off my hand before I’ll ever reach for you again” (Miller 1261). Proctor knows that he has made a grave mistake, and it has haunted him ever since he has reached for her. His very character is permanently flawed by his
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