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Characterisation in the crucible
In an expose subject aristotle definition of tragedy to scrutiny
John proctor in the crucible character traits
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Tragic Hero in The Crucible
What is a tragic hero? The most well known definition of a tragic hero
comes from the great philosopher, Aristotle. When depicting a tragic
hero, Aristotle states "The change in the hero's fortunes be not from
misery to happiness, but on the contrary, from happiness to misery,
and the cause of it must not lie in any wickedness but in some great
error on his part.” In addition, he explains the four essential
qualities that a tragic hero should possess, which are goodness,
appropriateness, lifelike, and consistency. All of these necessities
help to classify the character of John Proctor as the tragic hero of
the play. Not only does he unfortunately fall to desolation, but also
his character captures the sympathy and pity from the audience or
readers.
A tragic hero is also known to be someone who brings about their own
death, through a flaw within their character or through their actions.
Proctor's downfall in the play is initiated by a human error, which to
a great extent qualifies him to be the tragic hero.
Is John Proctor a tragic hero? In this essay I will be exploring his
character, personality, and relationship towards others.
The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, depicts the story of the Salem
witch-hunt and the chaos it caused. One of the main characters is John
Proctor. Proctor is put through many life-changing decisions. In many
cases, a decision he made in one situation led to another problem.
Miller sets ‘The Crucible’ in a Puritan community in Salem,
Massachusetts, in the spring of 1692. The Puritans were a group of
religious separatists who sought to worship God in uncomplicated and
basic ways. They built their own houses, made their own furniture, and
did...
... middle of paper ...
...himself harshly. Before Abigail came and
ruined his peace, he was always sure of himself. After Abigail, he was
sure that nothing he would ever do would be pure and honest again.
Proctor’s “tragic hero” status was illustrated by his efforts to save
his wife from being put to death, his attempt to prove the children
are making fraudulent claims, and his unwillingness to confess to
practicing witchcraft when accused.
Personally I believe all humans are created with flaws, which control
our emotions and often twist our lives. We are put into predications
because we are having a hard time of controlling them; therefore we
just let them flow. John Proctor’s flaws were his faith, the belief of
his own dignity, and his pride, that eventually put in to death. He is
a tragic hero that dies of his own flaw, which brought up our sympathy
and our fear of death.
A tragic hero is typically thought to be a person that has very good morals but is destroyed by their one flaw. In order for someone to be considered a tragic hero, they must fulfil each stage of the hero’s journey. John Proctor, from Arthur Miller’s ‘The Crucible’, is thought to be a tragic hero because he possesses each of the characteristics of a tragic hero. In Salem, John is known for his integrity, self-respect, and dignity. To him, his family name was everything. He valued it so much, that he was willing to die for it.
The play I chose for my third play reading report is "The Crucible" by Arthur Miller.
The Crucible by Arthur Miller is set in Salem in a Puritan community. John Proctor, Elizabeth Proctor, Reverend Hale, Reverend Paris, and Abigail are the main characters. The book is about witchcraft or what the town thinks is witchcraft. John Proctor is the tragic hero because he is loving, loyal, authoritative, but his tragic flaw is his temper.
Personal character traits are the attitudes you have toward your activities and the challenges they present. These traits may be positive, negative or often in between, depending on the situation. Many negative character traits were depicted in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. He discussed the guilt of personal private sin, loss of emotional control and the worst of all jealousy. Negative personal character traits can lead to failure or frustration. These characteristics will affect you throughout your life. The story revolves around Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. The author converses about witchcraft and displays many issues in the town of Salem. These above traits are still found in our times because we don’t live in an ideal society.
Through out the ages the inevitable dilemma of the balance of power is always seen where the governing super power wants to fullycontrol an individual through every aspect of their life. This description nodoubt, fully describes the Puritan belief system in Salem, where the church/court has the authority over everything or else itâˆ(tm)s of the devil. The conceptof individuality is highly resented making everyone follow the leader withoutthought. However there are those who question the authority when situation seemto surpass reason. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, Proctor, astrong steadfast farmer resides in the small town of Salem, which is engulfedin hysteria due to the accusations of children that many of the townâˆ(tm)s peoplehad partaken in witchcraft. Among the accused is he (Proctor). Proctor is theonly individual willing to question the puritan belief system. He believes thatno man (church/court) should have control over the life of the other. Only Godhas the power to judge and condemn. Therefore, choosing the more tragic outcome by not allowing himself to lose his individuality and sense of self;conflict of ethics between what is right from wrong as well as sheer lack ofcommon sense. Through Proctor, miller shows how an individual should notallow society to divest their sense of self, Instead, hold unto onesindividuality as well as integrity and not let society have the upper hand,leading one to lose their sense of right and wrong.
Context: This part of the text is included at the beginning of the drama, telling the audience about Salem and its people. The author explains how a theocracy would lead to a tragedy like the Salem witch-hunts. This is the initial setting and is based on the principle that some people should be included and some excluded from society, according to their religious beliefs and their actions. This is basically the idea that religious passion, taken to extremes, results in tragedy. Miller is saying that even today extremes end up bad- communism, like strict puritans, was restrictive and extreme. It only made people suffer.
Arthur Miller writes about the tragic results of human failings in his play, The Crucible. He presents characters from the past and infuses them with renewed vitality and color. Miller demonstrates the horrifying results of succumbing to personal motives and flaws as he writes the painful story of the Salem witch trials. Not only do the trials stem from human failings but also from neglect of moral and religious considerations of that time. Characters begin to overlook Puritan values of thrift and hope for salvation. Focusing on the flawed characters, they begin to exhibit land lust, envy of the miserable and self-preservation.
According to many experts of both history and literature, Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero is used to describe many protagonists in both American and world literature. There are many aspects to Aristotle’s definition, and each idea helps to explain the structure, purpose, and intended effect of tragedy. Many of Aristotle’s ideas can apply to multiple characters in The Crucible. Although Proctor unarguably represents the tragic hero of this novel, Reverend Hale’s story fits surprisingly well with the criteria that Aristotle believes to define a tragic hero. Hale is a character of noble stature, suffers with his tragic flaw of arrogance, yet has a reversal of fortune that is not fully deserved and not fully
Did you know that 34% of the total population of homeless people are under the age of 24? In 2014 a survey was conducted where they found that most of the homeless youth was with their family, but 45,205 of them were by themselves. In America alone, there are more than 3.5 million people that have experienced homelessness. The Crucible by Arthur Miller has many similarities and differences to the homeless people in America. The witches in The Crucible were being treated poorly because of false accusations without any proof. Homeless people are treated poorly because society was once known to pretend to be homeless to get extra money, giving them a bad reputation. Society stands up for the homeless than they did for the witches in The Crucible.
Whenever there’s a problem people tend to blame anyone they can, cause they think why not? But when it comes to The Crucible almost every character could be blamed for making witchcraft a big deal. But three major characters come to mind Judge Danforth, Mary Warren, and The Putnams.
In The Crucible, Arthur Miller tells a story that is based off the real Salem witch trials. The tragic hero in this story is John Proctor and he is married to Elizabeth Proctor. John Proctor has three boys. His tragic flaw is his affair with Abigail Williams (she is one of the girls that lead the witch trials as one of the “victims”). John Proctor and Abigail William’s affair is what led to Abigail Williams wanting to be his wife, then the witch trials, thus leading to his death.
The devil is defined as being a spirit or power of evil. In the play The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, numerous citizens of Salem Village are prosecuted and convicted for having made contact with the devil. While historically, the Salem Witch Trials were an effect of greed and vengeance and are said to be false, the devil was indeed present in the town of Salem; he takes the shape of a young girl named Abigail Williams. Abigail depicts her evil spirit and coalition with the devil though her deception of anyone willing to listen, her irrational behavior, and her immoral actions, which directly defy the Puritan church.
Persecution has been a round for sometime and can be traced historically from the time of Jesus to the present time. Early Christians were persecuted for their faith in the hands of the Jews. Many Christians have been persecuted in history for their allegiance to Christ and forced to denounce Christ and others have been persecuted for failing to follow the laws of the land. The act of persecution is on the basis of religion, gender, race, differing beliefs and sex orientation. Persecution is a cruel and inhumane act that should not be supported since people are tortured to death. In the crucible, people were persecuted because of alleged witchcraft.
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.
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 challenging authority, and he encounters catastrophe through recognition and reversal.