One common characteristic you can find across tragic works of media is the presence of the “tragic hero.” The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a perfect example of a strong tragic hero. The play is based around the true events that occurred centuries ago in Salem, Massachusetts. The Puritan town erupts into mass hysteria over a group of girls’ claims of witches in the town, causing people to turn on and accuse each other. The leader of the girls, Abigail Williams, aims to use this to her advantage to try to get with John Proctor, a married man who she had previously had an affair with and who also happens to be our play’s tragic hero. What the term “tragic hero” really describes is a character of noble birth and morals who is doomed to tragedy by a fatal flaw. John Proctor is a tragic hero because he is noble in character, he has a tragic flaw, he suffers greatly, and he finds redemption at the end of the story. John Proctor is a noble character; not simply due to his good reputation, but because of his honesty and integrity that stand in spite of his mistakes. During his quarrel with Elizabeth, she asks him, "You were alone with her [Abigail]?" He confesses, "For a moment alone, aye." Despite his shame in his actions and the distrust he feels from his wife, Proctor tells …show more content…
As the trials go on and Abigail calls to heaven, Proctor realizes he must confess to get the court to believe him, exclaiming, "She thinks to dance with me on my wife's grave! And well she might, for I thought of her softly. thus "ringing the doom of his good name." Through this confession, while he has finally shed some evidence on Abigail's true motives, he has also abandoned his good reputation. His fatal flaw of lust forces him to taint his reputation in the final parts of the play in order to end the trials once and for all. Despite the honor in confessing the truth, it causes Proctor and, in turn, his family much
Crucible Essay Tragic Hero Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible and it portrays the story of the Salem witch-hunt and the confusion it has caused in the town. One of the main Characters is a man named John Proctor. Proctor is put through many life-changing choices. In many cases, a choice he made in one situation led to another problem and so on. John Proctor is most definitely the tragic hero of the crucible. John Proctor is a character that is very demanding
John Proctor as the Tragic Hero of The Crucible 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. During the play The Crucible, a play written by Arthur Miller, the character John Proctor suffers a change in fortune from happiness to misery. Proctor is an honest, brave man that carries a hidden fact, a fatal flaw. Proctor’s flaw is his lust for Abigail Williams that throughout the play
What really is a tragic hero, a tragic hero defined by Aristotle as someone who (“differentiate himself from every other man, that moment when out of a sky full of star he fixes on one star),” (Bhatia). Aristotle also says that to qualify for being a tragic hero is (“suffering of the most inward or psychological rather than physical),” (Bhatia). Although John Proctor isn’t really considered a tragic hero because of what Aristotle says, buy he is because of how he courageously saved his family’s
In The Crucible, a play Arthur Miller wrote, he incorporated multiple tragic heroes in his play surrounding the Salem Witch Trials. Arguably, the most popular tragic hero in The Crucible was a man named John Proctor. To classify as a tragic hero, you must follow these guidelines: a main character that is not flawless nor evil, they have a noble background and people look up to them, they have to make an error in judgement that cause their own downfall, after their downfall tragic heroes need to gain
A tragic hero is a great and noble character in a tragedy that has a tragic flaw. In the play, The Crucible, Arthur Miller portrays John Proctor as a tragic hero with a flaw. John Proctor’s tragic flaw was that he had an affair with Abigail, a 16year old girl who was a servant at Proctor’s house. Eventually, Proctor realized what he had done was wrong and decided to end his relationship with Abigail but soon this caused many other problems in Salam. Abigail, with a thirst of revenge, started the
Tragic hero, definition given by greek philosopher, Aristotle, states that "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 depravity but in some great error on his part." He also explains that the tragic hero is “a person of noble status who has a mixture of good and bad in his personality, he has a fatal flaw. .” Proctor was a stand-up guy who spoke his mind. Around town, people used his name
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
At any given time, someone in the world is acting as a hero. Whether it be an innocent bystander retrieving an old woman’s stolen purse, or a man who selflessly launches himself towards an active shooter. The real world is filled with heroes, as well as the fictional world. Heros appear in all shapes and sizes, and can be classified in different ways. One classification is a tragic hero, which is defined as “...someone who makes a judgement error that inevitably leads to his or her own destruction”
John Proctor seals his fate as a tragic hero when Abigail threatens to accuse yet another innocent soul of witchcraft in her plot to have him to herself, prompting him to break forth, shouting, “It [Abigail] is a whore! …I have made a bell of my honor! I have rung the doom of my good name—you will believe me, Mr. Danforth! My wife is innocent, except she knew a whore when she saw one!” (Miller 3.3). Proctor, in his dealings throughout the play, models the definition of a tragic hero given by the
John Proctor: A dirty hero? A tragic hero is defined as a great or virtuous character in a dramatic tragedy who is destined for downfall, suffering, or defeat. In The Crucible, a town wide crisis is spreading quicker than a wildfire. This crisis is caused by the accusations of people practicing witchcraft. Among those who are accused is John Proctor. Now, John Proctor may seem like any other farmer, however, he is generally well liked and even looked up to by other towns people. He can be grouped
The Crucible Essay Being a hero does not necessary mean the person is perfect. Heroes are bound to make mistakes just like everyone else. In the play, The Crucible, John Proctor is portrayed as a tragic hero. A tragic hero is a character who makes an error of judgment or has a fatal flaw that, combined with fate and external forces, brings on a tragedy. John Proctor is very selfless and full of pride and dignity, which are all traits of a hero. He also has a tragic flaw, his weakness, which
the novel “The Crucible” I consider the character John Proctor the tragic hero of the story. A tragic hero according to the philosopher, Aristotle is a literary character who makes a judgment error that inevitably leads to his/her own destruction. Proctor portrays the character of a tragic hero because he very loving, holds a lot of pride, is loyal, and authoritative but his tragic flaw is his biggest temper, his character captures pity and sympathy from the readers. Although John is set to be an
John Proctor as Tragic Hero of Arthur Miller's The Crucible In the play, The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, John Proctor fits the classic Greek definition of a tragic hero. Aristotle, one of the great Greek philosophers, teachers and writers, stated that one of the most important aspects of a tragedy was the tragic hero. He defined a tragic hero as a noble person that goes from a state of fortune and happiness to a state of utter misery. The character’s tragic flaw causes this change. Aristotle
Since the times of the ancient Greeks, tragic heroes have been used to enhance the meaning of a play or literary work. Any character cannot be described as tragic hero. Several key characteristics are necessary for the tragic hero to possess in order to be characterized as such. He must be high-ranked or have a high standing in the community. He must have a weakness or a tragic flaw and be involved in a struggle. In the end, that struggle will lead to his downfall. Arthur Miller purposely incorporates
people were being accused of witchcraft left and right. The Crucible is filled with mistakes, guilt, and a man who puts his life on the line to remain true to who he is, but is he truly a tragic hero? According to Aristotle, a tragic hero must possess four characteristics: goodness, superiority, a tragic flaw, and an eventual realization of their tragic flaw. In Authur Miller’s essay, Tragedy of the Common Man, he describes a tragic hero as being a “common man,” someone who suffered from a wound of