John Proctor, the Tragic Hero

Tragedy is a form of drama based on human suffering that invokes in its audience a pleasure in viewing. One of the greatest philosopher, Aristotle, depicts a tragic hero as a noble man that had an "error in judgment" which led to "a reversal of ending" and "a fate that is greater than deserved". Similarly, Miller, the author of the play, The Crucibles, defines a tragic hero as a common man that is ready to give up his image in society as well as facing the later consequences that may be greater than deserved. In the play, The Crucibles, John Proctor, one of the main protagonist, is known to be a tragic hero. Proctor had committed adultery which lead to Abigail's love for him and ultimately ended up starting the witch trials. The wrong decisions, the noble choices he made, and the fate that he experienced allows him to be called a tragic hero.
In the beginning of the play, John Proctor, the main character of the story, found to have been associated with a tragic flaw. Proctor and Abigail met each other and she tried to convince him to be with her. "I know how you clutched my back behind your house and sweated like a stallion whenever I came near…” (Act 1). Proctor and Abigail had sexual relations because of the physical attraction that resided within them. Even with his three children and a faithful wife, he committed adultery; which was extremely sinful in Puritanical society during those times. Through this, Proctor has an urge to do good to compensate for the evil deed he has done. He eventually confesses to Elizabeth, his wife, and slowly leads to saving the town from the ‘witches’.
This “error of judgment”(Aristotle) allows Proctor to become a tragic hero. Through this immoral action several unfortunate events occurred. He...

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... his life. He has done good to the society as well as saving lives. He confesses his sins and also declared that he was the real witch that has been disrupting the town. Even though he was able to save himself from his death, he chose not to in order to sacrifice for the people that were being called a witch. He did not deserve this kind of punishment for his noble actions. But in the end this had to be done to allow himself to become free as well as the town.
Overall, John Proctor is a tragic hero. This is because he made a mistake in his judgements, was considered a noble man, and faced a punishment that was greater than deserved. Through his actions, one learns that it is better to sacrifice in order to save a town from destruction. Because of the things he had done, the people of Salem thought it was unwise to expel someone because of accusations by little girls.