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The Tragic Hero In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

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In Arthur Miller's definition of a tragic hero, a common man sacrifices his life to achieve one thing. Throughout his character arc, the tragic hero undergoes six distinct characteristics: being wounded, desiring to do good, making poor judgments, experiencing a downfall, having a tragic realization, and creating a catharsis in the audience. In "The Crucible," John Proctor embodies all of these characteristics, making him a perfect example of a tragic hero.
The first characteristic of a tragic hero is being a common man or woman who has been wounded in some way. John Proctor is wounded by his past actions, specifically his infidelity with Abigail Williams. This is illustrated when Proctor tells Abigail, "I may think of you softly from time …show more content…

Proctor's most prominent error in judgment is his affair with Abigail Williams, but he also demonstrates a smaller error during Act II when his wife Elizabeth urges him to expose the witch trials in Salem. In response, Proctor questions being able to validate Abigail's behavior, stating, "If the girl's a saint now, I think it is not easy to prove she's fraud, and the town gone so silly. She told it to me in a room alone—I have no proof for it" (Miller 851). This remark reveals Proctor's flawed thinking, as it contradicts his previous claims of having only encountered Abigail in a group setting and exposes him as a liar to his wife. In this way, Proctor's poor judgment contributes to his downfall as a tragic …show more content…

In the case of John Proctor his downfall is when he was accused of witchcraft. At the end of Act III, Mary Warren turns her back on Proctor when she realizes the sheer amount of power that Abigail and the girls have in the town. This causes Mary to lie and say “My name, he wants my name. “I’ll murder you,” he says, “if my wife hangs! We must go and overthrow the court,” he says!” (Miller 876). This was caused by his tragic flaw because if he never had an affair with Abigail in the first place, she wouldn’t have forced Tituba to go in the forest with her and the girls to do a ritual to kill Elizabeth Proctor which started the whole Salem Witch

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