The Tragic Hero of The Crucible A tragic hero is a character who undergoes a devastating fate for the greater good. They are often protagonists meant to arouse pity by relating to the reader. The Crucible by Arthur Miller features John Proctor as its tragic hero; he is a leader of Salem who dooms himself due to his fatal flaws and mistakes. John Proctor, though a mere farmer, wields considerable influence in Salem.
John Proctor: Tragic Hero or not? By definition a Tragic Hero is a literary character who makes a judgment error or come in contact with a fatal flaw that inevitably leads to his or her own destruction. John Proctor, a farmer in the play The Crucible, is debated as a tragic hero. John Proctor suffers from a tragic flaw that leads to his demise, that fatal flaw is his excessive pride.
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.
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.
Proctor commits adultery by cheating on wife Elizabeth, with his much younger house maid Abigail. Proctor is often faced
Abigail Williams accused John Proctor of participating in witchcraft. Seven months earlier Proctor had an affair with Abigail who worked as his maid. When John’s wife Elizabeth Proctor found out, she fired Abigail immediately. This left Elizabeth feeling doubtful of John.
Guilt is emotional torture that transforms one's psychological operation. In the play, The Crucible by Arthur Miller, before the Salem witch trials emerge, John Proctor cheats on his wife Elizabeth Proctor, with young Abigail. Causing him to live with an eternal shame that generates dispute. Proctor’s endeavour is to elude from his wrongdoing, but he cannot because of the disgrace he feels himself to be when around Elizabeth. Miller shows that John Proctor's emotional and behavioral conflict rises from his guilt.
“I have given you my soul; leave me my name!” (Miller 1357). This quote is said by John Proctor, a character in “The Crucible,” who is pleading to keep his name reputable when accused of witchcraft. Arthur Miller writes “The Crucible” to portray the Salem witch trials of 1692. The people of Salem have grievances in which they need a scapegoat.
He has brought a deposition, signed by her, that she lied about seeing spirits. When Abigail manages to turn the tables on Proctor, and Mary Warren starts to backtrack on the truth about the girls, Proctor confesses his sin of adultery to the court and both ministers. Proctor says his wife cannot lie, so Danforth sends for Elizabeth to see the truth of this. Unfortunately, this is the one moment when Elizabeth decides to lie, to protect her husband. Reverend Hale defends Proctor against Abigail’s lies.
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
John states in his article,”Expressing the 'conscience' or 'name' of the protagonist in dramatic terms is a different one from the establishment of Proctor's right to be termed a Tragic Hero in the first place,” shows the intent of Miller putting Proctor In the play(Arthur Miller and the Tradition of Tragedy). Proctor is defined to be the hero of the play in his words or ‘conscience’ and actions or ‘name.’ Dictionary.com has defined a tragic hero to be,”a great or virtuous character in a dramatic tragedy who is destinedfor downfall, suffering, or defeat” pefectly fitting the image of John Protcor(Dictionary.com). Proctor is a virtuous character that meets his doom in the end. Furthering Proctor’s actions combining with his personality flaw, bring about his death known has a tragic
John Proctor’s toxic relationship with Abigail directly leads to his demise in the play. His affair with Abigail comes back to haunt him when Abigail wants to curse his wife, Elizabeth, for taking him away from her. This event leads to the first evidence of witchcraft, which allows Abigail to convict Elizabeth, not only saving herself, but getting rid of the person she hates. Unfortunately, Abigail isn't the only one who knows about her attempt of a curse. Betty: You did, you did!
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.
The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, is categorized as a dramatic tragedy, and all tragedies, by definition, have a tragic hero. So who is that hero? In this story, it would be John Proctor. According to Aristotle there are five characteristics of a tragic hero, he must have a flaw or error of judgement, he must cause his own downfall, he must recognize that he caused his own downfall, he must have pride, and his fate must be greater than he deserved. In this play, John Proctor has all of these characteristics.
When people think of the play, “The Crucible”, they usually picture the witch trials and women being hanged, but Arthur Miller depicts the witch trials in a completely new light. He shows through a story that the witch trials were much more than just people calling others witches. There was deceit, pain, greed, and more. Through the play, we follow the character, Abigail, observe her actions and their consequences. We witness the lives of people she impacts, what happens to them, and how many times she lies to get her way.
