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The Crucible John Proctor Character Analysis

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John Proctor, throughout The Crucible struggles to overcome the burdens that not only he, but those around him have lain upon his chest. The eventual martyr of John Proctor was necessary to prove him a tragic hero, but it was also a bit unbelievable considering human nature. As a human being one faces many struggles and problems, and on many occasions one makes choices that only benefits them. As such, they show their selfish nature. This isn’t true of a single person, or just a group of people, but all people. The definition of a tragic hero is: a great or virtuous character who is destined for downfall, suffering, defeat, or death. Proctor can be labeled as a tragic hero because he is a righteous man who is destined to bear the mistakes …show more content…

Another point in which John proves himself a good man comes in the beginning of act three when Danforth offers Proctor a year with his wife, “if she begin to show her natural signs, you shall have her living yet another year until she is delivered-- what say you to that?” Danforth asks. Proctor, proving his own righteousness with, “I--I think I cannot...These are my friends. Their wives are also accused.” Proctor Denies Danforth’s proposal despite how much he longs for his wife, in order to help save the others. Furthermore, Proctor is a tragic hero because he is destined to be a martyr, and in the process of martyring himself he helps stop trials. From the beginning Proctor has made it more than known how …show more content…

Such a sacrifice can be written or imagined by people, but when it comes down to it, a man would save himself. Through social conditioning or an enormous sense of pride, people have been convinced to lay down their own lives, but that seems unfathomable in proctor’s situation. What could have persuaded him to lay down his life? Proctor’s wife is the only thing that could have swelled a strong enough emotion in him to override the primal instinct to save himself. Proctor wanted to win the trust of his wife because her opinion of him meant more to him than any else as he proved when he confessed his lechery to the court. John, finally procures the forgiveness of Elizabeth when they meet in prison before John rips up his last chance at

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767 Words | 4 Pages

"Never let pride ruin everything. Its better to lose your pride than to lose the love of your life because of your pride. "-Unknown. John Proctor was a man wo honored his pride more than anything else. He tried his best not to let anything or anyone get in the way of that either, but soon enough it catches up to him and he chooses to only think about himself.

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317 Words | 2 Pages

Although Aristotle states that one must meet certain qualifications to be a tragic hero, like being of noble descent, Proctor does meet all of the other qualifications. Proctor meets the qualifications by sleeping with Abigail, by being accused of witchcraft, and by being highly praised in this community. To be a tragic hero his/her downfall is one's fault. Proctor decided to created his downfall when he has an affair with Reveron Hails orphaned niece, Abigail. Proctor knew what he did was wrong but his pride was too high to admit it.

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1271 Words | 6 Pages

”(Miller 118-9). She is corrupted and falls to peer pressure despite knowing what was the right thing to do. She caved under the pressure and knowingly sacrificed John Proctor to save her own reputation and life. John Proctor and the other husbands, on the other hand, stand firm and tall in the face of this tragedy. They never give up, and one man is crushed to death before he would even relinquish his family farm.

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478 Words | 2 Pages

In Arthur Miller’s book, “The Crucible” there is one character who stands out from the rest, who catches your attention throughout the story, and his name is John Proctor. A tragic hero is a member of the community that has a tragic flaw that eventually will lead straight to a tragic fail. Through his good and bad deeds, his adultery, and his stuck up pride, would Mr. John Proctor be considered a tragic hero? John Proctor is a very prominent man in this community. He helps work the fields, he takes the load of people who can’t do it, and he is just all around a town favorite.

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912 Words | 4 Pages

“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! How may I live without my name?

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924 Words | 4 Pages

In the court, he admits to adultery not only to save his wife from death, but also to save himself from the guilt and the shame inside him. “My wife is innocent, except she know a whore when she see one”; When Elizabeth brought in the court to ask about Proctor sin of adultery, she said, “Elizabeth, I have confessed it”(III. 50). John recognizes that coming forth in this forum about his adultery is the last chance that he has to save his wife. In his confession, Proctor is showing his level of self- awareness and full disclosure to remedy the hidden demons.

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994 Words | 4 Pages

When he comes to the court about his affair with her, Proctor puts his own name in jeopardy; as a result, he is thrown into prison and accused of witchcraft. After rotting in prison for quite a while, John Proctor concludes that in order to save his life he must confess; however, when he goes to confess Judge Danforth declares that his confession will be made public, Proctor responds in the following manner, “You will not use me! I am no Sarah Good or Tituba, I am John Proctor! You will not use me! It is no part of salvation that you should use me!”

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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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Also in Act 4, he was highly conflicted over whether or not to confess to working with the devil to escape death. In the end, he decided lying was a sin he did not want to commit and chose to die a honest man rather than survive as a deceptive man. So in the end it is clear to see that John Proctor still is a good man despite his short-lived affair with Abigail. He was an honest, good-hearted man who wished for nothing more than to live a good life with his wife and children.

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Nothing’s spoiled by giving them this lie that were not rotten long before” (Miller 1352). He is ultimately giving up his confession even though he knows it is not the right thing to do. A previous break to Proctor’s Christianity beliefs is when he commits adultery; however, instead of standing up for himself he gives into the court’s desire. When John Proctor confesses, his actions prove a huge weakness John Proctor has. However, his actions of confessing result in a strength.

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835 Words | 4 Pages

John Proctor is a good man despite anything others may say about him. He displays three very noble qualities throughout the witch trials which are bravery, honesty, and an overall goal to save lives even to the point where he sacrificed his. While many argue John is a bad man because he committed adultery they are entirely mistaken. Just because he had one bad sin gives no right to anybody to call him a bad person when clearly the good side of him is shown more than the bad. John Proctor is a good man who displays the characteristics of a hero and could be seen as one for giving his life for his friends.

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1159 Words | 5 Pages

John Proctor never settles for keeping his opinion or what he thinks is right to himself. He knows telling Danforth that he is guilty for adultery won’t help his cause but it shows his desperation to win the case in order protect his wife, Elizabeth. John Proctor was sick and tired of watching Abigail win with a lie, in this case he spoke the truth knowing his consequences. John states, “Excellency, forgive me, forgive me. She thinks to dance with me on my wife’s grave!

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822 Words | 4 Pages

In the Crucible, many of the characters go through changes because of the intensity of the situation. But there is only one character that I think changed the most, and that is John Proctor who is the protagonist of the novel The Crucible by Arthur Miller. I think that John Procotor changes the most in the Crucible because he is in every act and mostly in every scene, and throughtout  the play I see more drama (Dynamic Character) in him than any other character in the Crucible and I will go through and tell you how John Proctor changes in the Crucible.     In the beginning of the play (Acts 1 and 2), we focus on John Proctor and we know that he is a good puritan citizen, a hard-working farmer and who is a husband and father.

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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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477 Words | 2 Pages

John Proctor’s character is one based on reputation, and guilt. The guilt comes from his affair with Abigail Williams. The reputation aspect comes from when he is accused by Mary Warren of trying to turn her to the Devil. I believe that John Proctor grows tired of the accusations, as to why he speaks of his false involvement with Satan in front of the town. Specifically, Deputy Danforth uses John Proctor as an example for conviction as he is certain he will be able to turn others

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