John Proctor: A Modern Tragic Hero

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Recommended: Analysis of the Crucible by Arthur Miller

John Proctor: A Modern Tragic Hero

Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, as most know, was written as a commentary on the Red Scare in the 1950s and the massive paranoia surrounding it. There is another interesting connection to history that can be made, however, to Elizabethan era England. Shakespeare wrote many classic plays, and he often utilized the tragic hero to elicit the desired feeling and to examine the foibles of mankind. Miller uses a common farmer from the town of Salem as his main protagonist, and Miller writes the play in such a way that John Proctor is given the attributes of a tragic hero. Not only is the play a nuanced perspective on the current day (1953) linking the witch hunts to the spread of Communism, but it also reveals …show more content…

However, while analyzing the tragic hero, he provides a description of tragedy itself: “I think the tragic feeling is evoked in us when we are in the presence of a character who is ready to lay down his life, if need be, to secure one thing--his sense of personal dignity.” (Miller, “Tragedy”, 1). While this is not revolutionizing the definition of a tragic hero, it also is characterized very obviously within John Proctor’s actions towards the end of the play. Indeed, when Proctor says, ¨Now I do think I see some shred of goodness in John Proctor¨, he is confessing his true self to the world and to God out loud. (Miller, Crucible, 144). John Proctor is accepting his …show more content…

“Because it is my name!...I have given you my soul; leave me my name!” (Miller, Crucible, 143). This quote is the epitome of sorrow and tragedy in the play. It is the moment when Proctor bears his soul and lays everything out for all to see of his true character. This also aligns so well with Miller’s description of tragedy being someone willing to die for their personal dignity. What is more personal than a name? Proctor refuses to give his name to the document, and therefore is doomed to hang. The parallels are transparent, and they consecrate the connection between The Crucible and “Tragedy and the Common

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