Aristotle defined the classic tragic hero as a man whose fate is changed because of a tragic flaw and eventually has a tragic downfall, where as Arthur Miller believed that, “in this age few tragedies are written” (“Tragedy”), because there aren't many heroes among us. According to Miller, the common man is “a subject for tragedy” (“Tragedy”). He identifies a “Modern Tragedy,” which concerns a common man who stands up against social injustice and refuses to live in bad faith. The Crucible is one of many tragedies written. The play is about the Salem witch trials and takes place in a small religious town were false accusations of witchcraft are made. John Proctor, the modern tragic hero, refuses to be a bystander to these accusations and died …show more content…
The characters of Abigail, Reverend Parris, Danforth, Mary Warren, and Thomas Putnam, illustrate the moral corruption and hypocrisy at the heart of Salem’s society and witch trials. Abigail realizes that she has power and, “turned her own violation of Salem law into a occasion for naming those for whom she has little liking and, in so doing transforms herself into a local heroine” (Schlueter and Flanagan 116). Abigail really wants revenge on Elizabeth Proctor and will do anything to have her killed so she can be with John again. One of the reasons Abigail doesn't want to confess is because if the people found out she wanted to cast spells against Elizabeth, they would realize she had an affair with John Proctor and think she interacted with the devil. Proctor brings the past affair into court and says, “She thinks to dance with me on my wife’s grave!” (Miller 116). Elizabeth was only one of many people she tried to have killed. The finger pointing from Abigail was used to get the attention of dancing in the woods out of her hands. Reverend Parris also displays moral corruption and hypocrisy in the story. Parris is a selfish liar who only …show more content…
Proctor struggled to confess to lies and live the rest of his life in shame, “Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies! Because I am not worth the dust on my feet of them that hang! How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name!” (Miller 150). Proctor later decided he could not confess to lies and live a life of sins. He wanted to die a truthful man and in the path of god. Schlueter and Flanagan say, “Proctor is a man of extraordinary moral courage” (115). He is a courageous man because he gave up his life to set an example for Salem. He wanted the town to realize that they are killing innocent people. Proctor died to save other people’s lives as well. Unlike most people in Salem, Proctor never admitted to seeing anyone with the devil to save himself. He put himself in front of others, “He sacrifices himself in order to save others and to stage a protest against his persecution” (Adam 71). John Proctor was not going to let his wife Elizabeth be accused by Abigail for his sins, “My wife will never die for me! I will bring your guts into your mouth but that goodness will not die for me!” (Miller 85). June Schlueter and James K. Flanagan explain that, “Renenging, he agrees to death to preserve for his sons the honor of his name” (115). He
After Elizabeth, his wife, finds out about his affair with Abigail he tries his hardest to prevent anyone from finding out because he doesn’t want to go to prison and doesn’t want his good name ruined. Again, that isn’t the best thing to do but it proves that Proctor has immense pride in himself and what he has accomplished in his lifetime that he doesn’t want to be looked down on after years of being a role model to all the civilians of Salem. At the end of the play, the only way to save himself from hanging is by confessing to the act of witchcraft. He almost does it, but he says, “I am John Proctor! You will not use me! It is no part of salvation that you should use me!”(pg.538, lines 879-82) He doesn’t confess because can’t handle ruining his name anymore than it has been and because he is a man of truth.
...fess to them Elizabeth” (238). He’s thinking about giving in to the corrupt church to save his own life like everyone else. But when the Judge Danforth asks him to sign his name on a document confessing of witch craft he won’t do it because he explains, “It is my name I cannot have another in my life because I lie and sign myself to lies. Proctor finally stands up for what’s right and he shows that he won’t taint his name in order to save his own life. So they send him to be hung but he dies with his honor and his integrity.
Reverend Hale was correct, John Proctor possessed an excessive sense of pride. Proctor chose to be hanged because he didn’t want to put his name in vain by claiming to be associated with the devil. Proctor refused to confess he was acting honorably. Thus, earning himself respect in Salem by dying. His actions were foolish; he committed adultery with Abigail Williams.
Proctor’s prideful personality does not let him baptize his third son because he dislikes Reverend Parris (168, l. 516-520). Proctor withholds his affair with Abigail because of his pride, he was unable to confess it until his wife was accused. Before he confessed he stated that “a man will not cast away his good name,” this statement suggest that a man has a lot of pride in his name and therefore his confession must be true (189, l. 845-847). In addition, after confessing to witchcraft Proctor takes pride in his name and refuses to have his name nailed in the door of the church showing everyone that he confessed to witchcraft (207, l. 894-897). “You will not use me! I am no Sarah Good or Tituba, I am John Proctor! You will not use me!,” Proctor beliefs he is better than Sarah good and Tituba hence he would not sign his name (207, l. 899-701). Towards the end, Proctor thinks better of his action and rips the signed paper after declaring, “Because I am not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang! How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name!” (207, l. 725-730). Proctor compares himself with the brave people that are about to hang and takes pride in his name by refusing to keep on lying and ripping the paper with his signature; he bravely accepted death with the thought that his name is not tainted by
Tragedy is interpreted in various ways. For example the wise Greek philosopher Aristotle defines “tragedy” as a story that contains a character that commits a terrible mistake in his life that leads to his pitiful death. On the other hand, Arthur Miller defines “tragedy” as a characteristic common to all human beings who are willing to give up their lives for the necessary and righteous causes, and for their dignities. A composite definition of a tragedy is a character in a story that recognizes his awful error committed, and is willing to give his life for the necessary cause that would leads to his inevitable death. In The Crucible, John Proctor’s dilemma is to either confess about his affair with Abigail or remain silent about this secret to keep his reputation. John Proctor does have a tragic death and is thus a tragic hero, but he fails to be an admirable character in The Crucible for committing adultery.
A tragic hero is a noble man who commits a fatal flaw. The hero’s downfall is a result of their choices which leads to a punishment that exceeds the crime. “The difference between Proctor and Willy Loman is enormous; the former is the rather typical tragic hero who is defiant to the end, the latter is trapped in submission and is living a lie” (McGill 4). John Proctor is one of the main characters in The Crucible. he is married to Elizabeth Proctor and they live in Salem. In Arthur Miller’s famous play, The Crucible, John Proctor represents a classic tragic hero because he is a well respected man of noble stature, he is conflicted because of his fatal flaw, and his downfall is a result of his own choices.
In the play the Crucible, by Arthur Miller, John Proctor is seen as a tragic hero because of his tragic fate and his sacrifice to his family. The play takes place in the town of Salem Massachusetts in 1692 during the times of the Salem witch trials. Many of the townspeople were being accused but one family inpeticular named the Proctors were at the epicenter of the accusations. The proctors were being accused by Abigail Williams, which eventually led to the death and hanging of John Proctor. John Proctor is seen as a tragic hero because he had a tragic flaw, which was a lust for sex, which lead to an affair with Abigail, he had free choice of whether or not he was going to be hanged but admitted he was a witch, because he does not want to hurt his family, and John Proctor had increased awareness in the story because he realizes what is wrong in town and makes a statement of trying to stop it by accepting the punishments.
For instance, Parris, Abigail’s uncle and the main reverend of Salem, feels great at first when people started to get accused of being witches. He knows that witchery is unlikely in Salem because the girls admitted to just playing. However, when Parris claims that Abigail can see spirits, he saves his position in the church. It is only when he sees that he may lose his life due to this lie, that he wants to stop. Parris expresses this to the judges, “Tonight, when I open my door to leave my house—a dagger clattered down” (200). Parris starts to care when his life is at stake, but he was stress-free for a while. He foresaw positive effects of this lie, but he understands his mistake of letting the executions continue. Lastly, Proctor admits to the judge that he had an affair with Abigail because he wants this injustice to end. The judge takes Abigail’s side, but they still ask Elizabeth to confirm or deny Proctor’s confession because she is known for only telling the truth. The judge demands an
The absolute power of aristocracies is a scourge on society that corrupts minds and imposes too much of an impact on the lives of the majority. At the time when Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible, society was subject to McCarthyism, the unquestionable authoritative force that could and did ruin the lives of those suspected of communism. Yet, of these people who suffered the brunt of punishment from authority, a numerous percentage of them displayed hypocrisy in accusing others out of survival. In The Crucible, Miller reflects this idea of hypocrisy in an environment where unquestionable authority reigns. His work displays the essentiality in rising out of such an insincere state and acting upon what
John Proctor says, “Because it is /my name! Because I cannot have another in my/ life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies! Because/ I am not worth the dust on the feet of them that/ hang! How may I live without my name? I have/ given you my soul; leave me my name!”(4.969). During this scene John Proctor is close to his ultimate tragic fall. He has found goodness in him and he does not want to live by signing his name into a lie. He would rather die, knowing there is goodness in him and forgiving himself for his tragic flaw than live and know he give up his name up in a lie . He dies with honor.
Abigail’s selfish nature is prominent throughout the entire play through her actions and speech inside and outside the court. In Act 1, the adults in Salem continue to question numerous girls about the dancing that was seen by Reverend Parris.
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 Greek philosopher, Aristotle: “a person who must evoke a sense of pity and fear in the audience. He is considered a man of misfortune that comes to him through error of judgment” (qtd. in www.literarydevices.net/tragic-hero). In The Crucible, a play
To give this false confession and to sign away his name, John Proctor would be further exacerbating his sins. He wants to live, but he also knows his life would not be worth living if based on a lie. While saving his life would only require him to give a false confession, Proctor would be eternally plagued with a guilt-ridden conscience. He would’ve damned himself for a second time if he were to profess that he had been consorting with the Devil just to evade death
Parris: "Aye, a dress. And I thought I saw – someone naked running through the trees.” The play, The Crucible, by Arthur Miller had very many themes in it. Some of these themes stood out more then others. These themes would be hysteria, reputation, and hypocrisy. These themes were present throughout the entire play, from the beginning till the end. When you think of a Puritan religion you may think of a very good, morally perfect society. This wasn’t the case in Salem, Massachusetts. It was actually the opposite in the play, there was lying, cheating, stealing and just about everything else you wouldn’t want in your society.
Charles was a greedy man. He was cold hearted and never philanthropic. This "Scrooge" was the CEO of a multi-million dollar stock company in New York City. Charles often told his employees that honesty is the key to success and that he would not tolerate liars. When approached by a potential client himself, he told the client that he would be sure to consult with him before making any major decisions. As soon he left the room, however, he transferred all of the man's stock to a different holder without asking the man's permission. As long as the outcome benefited him, dishonesty was acceptable. This man's hypocrisy parallels Arthur Miller's novel about the Salem witch trials. In The Crucible, the theme of hypocrisy plagues the pages and the three characters that exemplify this theme the most are Danforth, Paris, and Mary Warren.