John Proctor is a tragic hero. He goes through a lot to try and save his wife and prove the other “witches” innocence. But hen has a downfall that holds him back and causes him to suffer. This ultimately leads to his downfall and his death. Thus fits with the definition of a tragic hero so I believe John Proctor was a tragic hero.
Before you can become a tragic hero you have to be a hero. I think John Proctor definitely meets this definition. He goes to the court and risks it all to try and free the women accused of witchcraft. He does this by going straight after Abigail, the leader of the “victims” of witchcraft and the main accuser. He does this by exposing the crime he did with her, which is lechery, to show that she had a motive to
…show more content…
Which definitely did happen. After Elizabeth failed to back up his lechery claims all he had to fall back on was Mary Warren to back him up. She eventually folds under the pressure and calls John Proctor a witch. “MARY WARREN, pointing at Proctor: You’re the Devil’s man! PARRIS: Praise God! GIRLS: Praise God! PROCTOR: Mary, how-? MARY WARREN: I’ll not hang with you! I love God, I love God. DANFORTH: He bid you to do the Devil’s work? MARY WARREN: He come at me by night and every day to sign, to sign, to- DANFORTH: Sign what? PARRIS: The Devil’s book. He come with a book?” This leads to John Proctor going to jail and being continuously tortured to confess. Eventually Elizabeth and Hale come for him and told him to confess to save his life. He obviously hates having to go through with this but when they tell him to write down his name on his confession paper so they can nail it on the church he has obviously had enough. He cannot take the idea of his name being ruined in the village. He ends up hanging to keep his and his family's honor. He believes that if he did go through with it he couldn’t have taught his sons to be men with such dishonor on his
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.
Macbeth could justly be classified a “Tragic Hero” as his tragic story fills out the defined criteria for a tragic hero. Macbeth holds a significant social status, reveals essential truths about humanity through his suffering, has tragically wasted talent, contains a “tragic flaw” leading to his downfall and finally he finds some relief in his death.
What is a tragic hero? A tragic hero is typically defined as a character in a literary work who has a lot of pride and makes a judgment error that leads to their ultimate demise. The downfall usually has to do with their pride.
Is John Proctor a good man? John Proctor in my opinion is indeed considered a good man. And the reason why I say this is to inform you that in The Crucible John faces a lot of conflicts with his wife, the church, and his individuality. The way John Proctor deals with these conflicts defines him as a true good man character, for example Elizabeth (Proctor’s Wife) always knew he was a good man in heart. She would have the courage to stand by Proctor side when they were in court “I do not judge you. The magistrate sits in your heart that judges you. I never thought you but a good man.” In this essay I will explain to you why John Proctor is a good man.
When the play sets in to action, John has had a past affair with his servant Abigail Williams. His wife, Elizabeth Proctor is very forgiving of his sin, but John has his mind set that he will not confess to anyone else, in fear of ruining his good name, and reputation. The affair between John and Abigail caused the start of chaotic witchery and accusation. After the affair, Abigail became horribly jealous of Elizabeth Proctor. Proctor realizes there is only one way to stop all the witch hysteria in Salem, and that would be to confess his sin of adultery. Although he knows he should, he continues to be determined not to confess. Also in the beginning Reverend Paris is new to town, and John insist continually that he is only speaking of hell, and hardly ever of God, as Proctor goes on to say to Parris, "Can you speak one minute without we land in Hell again? I am sick of Hell!" (Miller 30). In the drama, Mary Warren places a needle in a poppet she gave to Elizabeth; John firmly demands that Mary Warren tell the courts that she really put the needle in the poppet that day. Proctor says to her, "You're coming to the court with me, Mary. You will tell it in the court." (Miller 80). Furthermore, at the end of the play Proctor is persistent by saying that no matter what anyone says to convince him differently, he would rather die an honest man and save his name. John Proctor took pride in his thoughts, feelings, values, and his name. It took persistency to make his intent clear to others.
John Proctor was definitely a tragic hero in the play however reluctant. Proctor has many good qualities as well as flaws. He is shown to be hardworking by working all the time, even on the Sabbath when he is not suppose to, “I labor the Earth from dawn of day to blink of night” (Miller 62).Furthermore, Proctor develops into a noble character throughout the play by
This is the point where you start to think; what could he have done to become a sinner? Was it a sin in the eyes of god, his friends and family, the law? The description tells us that Proctor was respected so much he was also feared. This is proved when John Proctor enters from the door and Mary Warren ‘leaps in fright’.
...ecause it would be a lie to claim that he has never lied. Elizabeth says that she has her own sins, and only a bad wife would want lechery. Finally Proctor decides that he will confess himself, and then he asks if what he does is even evil. When Proctor agrees to save himself by admitting to witchcraft, Danforth demands a written confession and says that he must prove the purity of his soul to others, so he demands that Proctor accuse others. Hale says that it is good enough for Proctor to confess to God, but Danforth still wants a written statement. Proctor refuses, because he wants to keep his name good for the respect of his children. Danforth refuses to accept his confession, and orders that he be lynched. Hale begs Elizabeth to plead with Proctor to sign a confess, but Elizabeth claims that Proctor now has his goodness, and nobody should take it away from him.
“Danforth:... You will sign your name or it is no confession, Mister! His breast heaving with agonized breathing, Proctor now lays down the paper and signs his name… Proctor has just finished signing when Danforth reaches for the paper. But Proctor snatches it up...His breast heaving, his eyes staring, Proctor tears the paper and crumbles it, and he is weeping in fury, but erect.” Not once in his time from that moment in the court, or jail, or at Gallows Hill did he confess to witchcraft, despite Reverend Hale’s attempts to persuade him otherwise. Proctor stood against the court, the girls, and some of the townsfolk, and although he was in the right, and his claims were accurate,...
¨A tragic hero is a character that is noble and well-respected but he has one tragic flaw that causes him to fall from greatness.¨ John Proctor was known throughout the town of Salem as a well respected farmer and landowner. As the story progressed, John got more involved with the witch outbreak in the way that Abigail dragged him into it. Proctor had committed adultery whist he had a family. This quote relates to John that he is a tragic
A tragic hero could be considered a "noble person with a fatal flaw" or "an opponent of society who is willing to take action that 'sensible people' might applaud
John Proctor is a good man. He is a puritan, a husband, a citizen, and an all around valuable member of the community. All of this is represented by his name. The name of John Proctor could be considered his most prized possession. It is his most priceless asset. Proctor is very strong-willed and caring. He does not set out with any intentions of hurting anyone. He is a farmer and village commoner who is faced with incredible inner turmoil. He has committed adultery and had absolutely no intentions of joining in the witch trials. After his wife got involved and eventually was set free due to the fact that she was pregnant, he feels that he can't sit back and accept what is happening to the town. John Proctor is a good and noble man and because of this he believes that he can't be hanged and die a martyr when he has this sin blooming over him every waking moment.
Although both John Proctor, from Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, and Walter Lee Younger, from Lorraine Hansberry’s play, A Raisin in the Sun, demonstrate qualities of the anti-hero, such as being ordinary men who are “disillusioned with the society around [them],” Proctor is less of an anti-hero because his downfall benefits a greater cause than Walter’s.
A tragic hero can be described as a great or virtuous character in a dramatic tragedy who is
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.