John Proctor is a Tragic Hero in The Crucible Essay

John Proctor: A Tragic Hero A tragic hero is a literary character who makes an error of judgment or has a fatal flaw that, combined with fate and external forces, brings on a tragedy. In the play, The Crucible, Arthur Miller portrays John Proctor, the protagonist, as a tragic hero who has a major flaw—lust for Abigail, his teenage house servant. For fear of being exiled in a town where reputation is highly upheld, Proctor initially tries to hide his crime of adultery, but this affair triggers a major series of events in Salem, where unproven accusations lead to internal struggle and eventually to catastrophe. John Proctor, whether consciously or not, constantly determines the path to his fate through his†¦show more content†¦Despite his being an insignificant and non-status-holding member of society, John Proctor is a much-respected man in Salem. However, in determining his fate, he continues to make several critical and irreversible mistakes that harm his reputation. For fear of being ex iled in a town where reputation plays such a large role in their daily lives, Proctor initially tries to hide his crime of adultery, but his affair with Abigail triggers a major series of events in Salem, where simple, unproven accusations escalate to a far larger issue: â€Å"Abby—you mean to cry out still others?† â€Å"If I live, if I am not murdered, I surely will, until the last hypocrite is dead† (Miller 150). In the end, Proctor decides that for the sake of his desperate circumstances, it would be better to admit to his affair, but by the time he decides to reveal his crime, it is too late to reverse all past actions. He is convicted of witchcraft and doomed to be hanged, later, when given a chance to live, he caves in and confesses to seeing the Devil, only to go back even on this last lie, because he does not have the heart to be freed and saved by a lie. Since John Proctor behaves as an essentially good and upright man throughout the story, his tragic death stirs pity and fear in the audience. The audience cannot help butShow MoreRelatedJohn Proctor as a Tragic Hero in The Crucible850 Words   |  4 PagesMcAlister Ms. Holder Comp Eng Honors 11 11/1/13 The Tragedy of John Proctor In the play by Arthur Miller The Crucible, the town of Salem is in pandemonium under the non-existent threat of witchcraft. Every character is either lying to save their lives or to end others, or dying for not admitting to a lie. One character who stands out among the chaotic conflagration is the tragic hero John Proctor. In Greek drama, a tragic hero is defined as â€Å"a great or virtuous character in a dramatic tragedyRead MoreCrucible John Proctor Tragic Hero935 Words   |  4 Pages John Proctor â€Å"Tragic Hero†? I believe that John Proctor is the tragic hero in the play â€Å"The Crucible.† I feel that his tragic flaw is the reason he became the tragic hero. 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Proctor, becauseRead MoreArthur Miller s The Crucible1191 Words   |  5 PagesMiller’s The Crucible, the normal criteria that a central character fits, is not met by the protagonist, John Proctor. Common traits one might expect to find in a traditional hero are humility, patience and caring. John Proctor, while he is the principal, has many qualities that could instead assume him the role of the antagonist and land him in the adversary box. His background and slight character flaws cause him to take on the the personalities of both a protagonist and antagonist. Proctor, becauseRead MoreExamples Of John Proctor In The Crucible985 Words   |  4 Pages John Proctor; Tragic Hero or Ordinary Joe Plays have been used as a method of storytelling and form of entertainment for hundreds of years. A tragedy is one type of play where the audience pities the characters and fear the same consequences that the characters face. In addition, tragedies often include a tragic hero who has a tragic flaw causing his or her downfall. One example of a play that is a tragedy and includes a tragic hero is the The Crucible. John Proctor in The Crucible is a true tragicRead MoreThe Tragic Hero of The Crucible by Arthur Miller Essay1396 Words   |  6 PagesThe Tragic Hero of The Crucible    A tragedy should bring fear and pity to the reader. A man in this tragedy should not be exceptionally righteous, but his faults should come about because of a certain irreversible error on his part. This man should find a bad or fatal ending to add to the tragedy of the story, for this man in the tragic hero. The protagonist John Proctor portrays a tragic hero in The Crucible; his hamartia of adultery causes great internal struggles, he displays hubris by