John Proctor is a Tragic Hero in The Crucible Essay Example

Arthur Miller's “The Crucible '' is a play of a fictional dramatized story of the witch trials of Salem which took place in the time periods of 1692-1693. In this play a group of young girls falsely accuse the Salem villagers of witchcraft. According to Aristotle John Proctor from Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible, meets the criteria for the Aristotelian tragic hero. 

In the crucible by Miller the character John Proctor is introduced as a tragic hero. A tragic hero is someone who meets suffering or defeat, that ends up dying in the end. The tragic hero is usually introduced as happy and powerful, and ends up dying due to their own actions and faults.  An example of Proctor's nobility is when he admitted to adultery. Him admitting it to the judge takes width off his shoulders. For example in this line he says  “(trembling, his life collapsing about him). I have known her, sir. I have known her.” (His voice about to break, and his shame great). In the proper place-where my beasts are bedded…. I bed you, sir, I beg you-see her what she is. My wife, my dear good wife, took this girl soon after, sir, and put her  out on the highroad.” This is a noble stature because when Proctor confesses lechery he puts his commitment to the truth above all else. is his pride and what he does with it. Proctor's pride in himself overshadows the sin he made. An example of this would be when “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?”  Proctor has excessive pride that hides his mistake. He's willing to do anything to keep it and not let his name go down. 

Another way proctor was a hero was when he was told to confess for his life and for his friends lives. Proctor wasn’t being selfish so he decided to confess in order to save everyone else. This  is an example of free choice proctor had. He needed to choose his name or his friends. An example is “You came to save my soul, did you not? Here! I have confessed myself; it is enough!” This line that proctor said was when the judge wanted him to sign his name as proof for the village and proctor was refusing to do it. Proctor didn’t want his name to be that low and for the whole village to talk about him. Proctor suffered injustice when he was told to confess. This line says “(his eyes full of tears). I can. And there’s your first marvel, that I can. You have made your magic now, for now I do think I see some shred of goodness in John Proctor. Not enough weave a banner with, but white enough to keep it from such dogs.” This provides that Proctor is proud of the name he holds. He is happy that he has a good character in the village and that he's not ashamed of anything and that showing the paper to the village will bring that down. 

Another way Proctor is a tragic hero is when become aware of what's happening.  Proctor notices that the girls are faking everything in the court. An example of this is when he takes Mary Warren to confess it "My wife will never die for me! I will bring your guts into your mouth but that goodness will not die for me!". This proves that proctor was aware of everything and he knew that Abigail lied about his wife. He didn’t want his wife to die for a sin he made that caused all this drama. A cathartic moment proctor has is ripping the paper he signed. “(His breast heaving, his eyes staring, Proctor tears the paper and crumples it, and he is weeping in fury, but erect.)” This proves that proctor was willing to die for his name. This also proved that his name was important to him to even give up the life he could've had with his wife and unborn child. 

In Conclusion, Proctor's action led him to be a tragic hero. Proctor died a hero because he saw pride in himself. During the trials he didn’t want to confess anything he didn’t do and when he did the judge made him sign a paper for his confession which he rips up and ends up dying for it. Proctor cared about his name and character so much that he chose to die for it because he wouldn't have another. He gave his life for his name to live high. Proctor's downfall of his sin made him into a bigger person which made him forget what he did. A tragic hero that Aristotle explains is what proctor turned out to be.

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John Proctor Tragic Hero Analysis; the Parameters of the Tragic Hero

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History , Literature

Historical Figures

John Proctor , Tragic Hero

  • Words: 1609 (4 pages)

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Works cited

  • Aristotle. (1991). Poetics. In S. H. Butcher (Trans.), The Poetics of Aristotle (pp. 43-87). Dover Publications.
  • Bodden, V. (2017). The Crucible: Arthur Miller. Greenhaven Publishing.
  • Bloom, H. (Ed.). (2010). Arthur Miller's The Crucible. Infobase Publishing.
  • Breslin, J. F. (2002). Arthur Miller's The Crucible: A Literary Analysis. Twayne Publishers.
  • Ditsky, J. (1987). John Proctor as Tragic Hero of Arthur Miller's The Crucible. Rocky Mountain Review of Language and Literature, 41(2), 125-143.
  • Dunn, J. (1992). The Crisis of Naming in Arthur Miller's The Crucible. American Drama, 1(1), 1-17.
  • Elton, W. R. (2000). The Temptation of Innocence in the Dramas of Arthur Miller. University of Michigan Press.
  • Enoch, J. (1994). The Prophetic Drama of Arthur Miller. Indiana University Press.
  • Martin, R. A. (2014). The Crucible: A Reader's Guide to the Arthur Miller Play. Humanities-Ebooks.
  • Miller, A. (1996). Why I Wrote The Crucible. The New Yorker, October 21.

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Character Analysis

Tragic Hero

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John Proctor: A Tragic Hero

John Proctor: A Tragic Hero

John Proctor: Tragic HeroAs human beings, we each display specific traits and qualities that define our character and shape our personalities. The way in which we carry ourselves establishes our reputations, as well as how others identify us. We are each prone to making mistakes, and unfortunately, the mistakes we make can affect the way people see us as well.

The struggle to regain a good name can be difficult and uncertain once someone’s reputation is tarnished. In Arthur Miller’s timeless play, The Crucible, a well-respected man named John Proctor betrays his wife and struggles to gain her forgiveness and his good name in the village of Salem. Although John Proctor betrays his wife, he remains the tragic hero of the play for he recognizes his faulty actions and dies with integrity and honesty in the end. In the play, John Proctor holds a tragic flaw that leads him to his downfall.

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Proctor embodies the deadly sin of lust, for he acts upon his attraction to a young, manipulative, and strikingly beautiful girl in the village named Abigail Williams and betrays his wife.While he attempts to disconnect himself from his sin, as well as Abigail, she states, “I know how you clutched my back behind your house and sweated like a stallion whenever I come near!” (Miller 22) Abigail’s statement uncovers evidence regarding the secret relationship she and John Proctor previously shared. Both she and Proctor know the relation they shared is wrong, and this detail exhibits how his tragic flaw of lust led him to commit such a faulty action he can not expose to anyone. As Proctor continues to conceal his past relationship with Abigail, his wife Elizabeth’s suspicions of the two having associated begin to surface when he accidentally reveals they were alone together.

In disbelief, Elizabeth says, “John, you are not open with me. You saw her with a crowd, you said.” (Miller 55) Elizabeth’s uncertainty in her husband’s claims reveals a deeper conflict between the two, in which Proctor has been dishonest with her on several occasions. His admission to being alone with Abigail displays his dishonesty, as well as his immoral misdeed of betraying his own wife.

Proctor’s wrongdoing impacts his reputation negatively throughout the course of the play, categorizing him as the tragic hero for possessing a tragic flaw that leads him to a downfall with his wife and himself. As the tragic hero of the play, John Proctor recognizes his mistake and seeks forgiveness for his sins. As Proctor and Elizabeth further discuss his wrongdoing, he seeks her forgiveness in a way in which Elizabeth cannot agree to. Proctor states, “… I have gone tiptoe in this house all seven month since she is gone.

I have not moved from there to here without I think to please you, and still an everlasting funeral marches around your heart.” (Miller 54) Proctor’s statement demonstrates his indirect attempt to reconcile with Elizabeth and the immense amount of time he has felt sorry for his wrongdoing.His recognition of his faults and his attempts to resolve them demonstrate the qualities he embodies as a tragic hero. John Proctor also exhibits his recognition of his sins when he says, “When will you know me, woman? Were I stone I would have cracked for shame this seven month!” (Miller 62) He uses a stone to symbolize himself as being able to be damaged by his guilt and remorse, demonstrating his capability to recognize his own actions and feel repentance for them.

Proctor attempts to redeem himself and show Elizabeth he is an honest man and that he is truly sorry for his wrongdoings. His ability to admit to his wrongdoings and his efforts to mend his relationship with his wife, and himself, categorize him as the tragic hero of the play. John Proctor sought his wife’s forgiveness to regain her trust and to entitle him to die an honest man. He recognized his actions; he simply wanted his wife to recognize them too.

“Let you look sometimes for the goodness in me, and judge me not.” (Miller 55) Proctor’s appeal to his wife reveals his hope for her forgiveness and for her to see the goodness in him. He wants his wife to recognize him as an honest man, because to him that is the only substance that made him feel like a good person. Later in the course of the play, Elizabeth forgives Proctor for his mistakes.

She states, “John, it come to naught that I should forgive you… Whatever you will do, it is a good man does it… it needs a cold wife to prompt lechery.” (Miller 136-137) Elizabeth’s statement to her husband exhibits an understanding of his mistakes and acknowledgement of the good man Proctor truly is. Elizabeth’s forgiveness allows Proctor to forgive himself as well. After being forgiven, John Proctor can now die an honest man, a tragic hero – a man with integrity and goodness.

In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, it is evident that John Proctor is the tragic hero.Concluding through evidence in the play, it is fairly simple to connect him with separate parts of the definition. He makes his share of mistakes, just as many human beings do. John Proctor is fundamentally a good man, with respectable intentions and an appropriate moral code.

He recognizes his own mistakes and makes efforts to repair the damage he has made. He is forgiven, and his honesty and goodness can now be restored. His suffering was meaningful, but not entirely deserved. Bringing all of these parts together, we can say that John Proctor is truly a tragic hero.

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Home / Essay Samples / Literature / The Crucible / John Proctor As A Tragic Hero In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible

John Proctor As A Tragic Hero In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible

  • Category: History , Literature
  • Topic: John Proctor , The Crucible , Tragic Hero

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