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John Proctor The Tragic Hero In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

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John Proctor the Tragic Hero
“The Crucible” is a play written by Arthur Miller that is set in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. The play focuses on a small community where some members have been accused of witchcraft. One of the main characters, John Proctor who is a farmer, is one of the accused of witchcraft along with his wife, Elizabeth Proctor. In this story, John Proctor is seen as a tragic hero, who is someone who is of noble stature, has a tragic flaw that ultimately leads to a downfall and experiences meaningful suffering. The tragic hero is someone great, but not perfect, and is often someone the audience can see themselves as. John Proctor is a tragic hero because he is noble in character, he has a tragic flaw, he suffers greatly, and …show more content…

We can see where Proctor struggles with his pride in Act II, when he says to Elizabeth, “I'll not have your suspicion anymore” (Miller). Proctor gets defensive when Elizabeth questions him about his relationship with Abigail, even though he knows he has done wrong and sinned, he refuses to confess to the affair publicly. His pride gets in the way of him doing what’s right and confessing the affair to the community because he is afraid of ruining his reputation and suffering the consequences. Proctor's unwillingness to put his pride aside is one of his tragic …show more content…

In Act IV, when John says, “Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies! Because I am not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang!” (Miller), it shows his commitment to his integrity. Proctor finds redemption here because he is willing to die for his beliefs rather than lie to save his life. By choosing death, he is making the ultimate sacrifice to save his reputation. Proctor proves his redemption for his past mistakes, by tearing up his confession and choosing to die to maintain his

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