Arthur Miller's play, The Crucible, has often been described as a tragedy by both critics and the playwright himself. This categorization can be easily justified when looking at the traditional elements of a literary tragedy and how they manifest in the play. According to Aristotle, a tragedy involves the fall of a noble protagonist due to a combination of fate, hubris, and the manipulation of external forces. In The Crucible, the protagonist, John Proctor, fits this description perfectly, making the play indeed a tragedy. One of the key aspects of a tragedy is the presence of a tragic hero, a character who possesses noble qualities but has a flaw that leads to their downfall. John Proctor, the protagonist of The Crucible, embodies this archetype. He is a respected member of the community, known for his integrity and moral values. However, his tragic flaw is his pride and inability to admit to his own mistakes. This flaw ultimately leads to his downfall as he is unwilling to confess to practicing witchcraft to save his own life. Proctor's tragic flaw not only brings about his destruction, but also contributes to the tragic fate of many others in the play. …show more content…
In The Crucible, the Salem witch trials serve as the external force that drives the tragic events of the play. The hysteria, paranoia, and false accusations that characterize the trials are fueled by power-hungry individuals like Abigail Williams and Reverend Parris who manipulate the situation for their gain. Proctor's fate is intertwined with the broader fate of the community, as he battles against the corrupt system of the trials and ultimately loses his life in the
The Crucible was a rather strong book, it had battles both internal and external, there were also betrayals and vendettas… but a few stuck strong to their morals of what was wrong, and what was right. After the girl’s acts were, undoubtedly, in the eyes of the law, seen as entirely real, people who would not otherwise have been accused of witchcraft were now eligible to be under Satan’s spell. One John Proctor, saw himself above the nonsense, that witches could not exist in Salem, his wife, his children nor him; But, when Mary Warren said to the court that he used his spirit to drag her into court to testify against the girls, the judges deemed her word more truthful than his. After actively and repeatedly denying the claims, he was sentenced to death, for only a witch could lie in the face of god.
Proctors Grave Mistake Corruption has always existed in our society since the beginning to present time due to conspiracies such as the witch trials and the communism era. The Crucible by Arthur Miller was written during the era of communism to mere the hysteria. The Crucible is about the Salem witch trials in Salem Massachusetts in 1692. It’s a corrupt witch trial in Salem that’s due to false accusations of witchcraft for personal gains. John Proctor is the protagonist in the story The Crucible who goes through the ultimate test by choosing his reputation over integrity.
The Crucible is a play by American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a fictionalized story of the Salem witch trials and is an allegory for McCarthyism, when the United States government accused people for being communists. In The Crucible John Proctor goes through many transformations, first as a selfish man who has committed adultery, to a man who is willing to sacrifice his reputation and come clean to save his wife Elizabeth, to finally a man who is willing to sacrifice his life to uphold his good name.
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.
Arthur Miller’s political allegory of McCarthyism, in the form of The Crucible, has been adapted into a faithful companion to the play that is able to incorporate the emotions and atmosphere that may not have been available to some in the play. Miller’s screenplay is very faithful to the book, having many of the same lines and situations the character in the play experience. Because of this, we are able to make an active connection to the play, thus expanding our understanding of the play. Lead by Daniel Day-Lewis, The Crucible’s plot is portrayed by a solid cast, who, for the most part, are able to engross the viewer into the story. The film contains many captivating scenes that exemplify hysteria meant to be depicted in the play, that demands the viewers attention while also immersing them in emotions. The film adaptation of The Crucible is a well produced version of the play that not only serves as a companion to the play, but an entertaining and though provoking experience.
The Crucible – John Proctor the Tragic Hero What is a tragic hero? The most well known definition of a tragic hero comes from the great philosopher, Aristotle. When depicting a tragic hero, Aristotle states "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." In addition, he explains the four essential qualities that a tragic hero should possess, which are goodness, appropriateness, lifelike, and consistency. All of these necessities help to classify the character of John Proctor in Arthur Miller's The Crucible as the tragic hero of the play.
Through time it can be seen that the world’s history has a nature of repeating its self. Author Miller, was aware of this as he experienced a repitition of history of society’s flawed government. In the text The Crucible, the writer, Author Miller has identified and illustrated the problems society faced during the 1950’s setting by drawing parallels with the setting of the 1962 Salem witch hunt. This setting helps readers to understand the characters of John Proctor and Giles Corey.
The Crucible Film The audience are first brought into the film by the white credits on
Arthur Miller’s dramatic play The Crucible, takes place during 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts. The setting is important because it takes place during the time of the Salem Witch Trials. The play begins with the town’s girls, led by Abigail Williams, gathering in the forest and starting to dance around a fire, chanting. Reverend Parris catches them dancing, sending the girls into a panic and causing two of the girls to go into a coma-like state. The townspeople spread rumors that there are witches lurking throughout the the town that have put the girls under their spells. This causes Reverend Parris to send for Reverend Hale, an expert in witchcraft and the devil's work, who hopes to rid the town of all witchcraft. John Proctor, a local farmer, asks Abigail to stop accusing innocent people and start telling the truth about what happened in the forest. Elizabeth Proctor, John Proctor's wife, excused Abigail from their house because she found out about an affair between Abigail and John. She lies to the court when she is asked about John’s affair to save him from any punishment. In doing so, they were both sent to jail for witchcraft because they knew she had lied. Abigail and the girls continued to lie about people in the town being witches, causing many innocent people to be killed, including John Proctor. Miller shows the dangers of scapegoating when lies that are regarded as the truth, and can kill innocent characters.
The play The Crucible by Arthur Miller focuses on the frenzy that occurred in the Massachusetts town of Salem in the year 1692. It shows the interactions between the characters and how their varying personalities affected the dynamics of the trials. One of these characters is Giles Corey, an eighty-three year old farmer who is the scapegoat for many of the bad occurrences in the town. The primary reason for this is that he is uneducated and had a fiery personality which led to many confrontations with others. Although Giles Corey’s personality antagonized him with the townsfolk, this same stubbornness is what makes Giles one of the heroes of The Crucible.
In the play The Crucible, characters are presented in many ways. The ways Miller presents the character of Parris is through what the characters say, stage directions, what the character of Parris says and does and the relationships that Parris has with other characters in the play.
"'A person is either with this court or he must be counted against it, there be no road between.'" Act 3, Scene 1 pg. 87 . The characters in the play are either portrayed as good or evil with no in between , which makes life even harder for them . Salem mislabeled people in town as good or evil , but they had very little or no evidence at all to support it . Salem labels Rebecca nurse as a witch and evil , when really she was innocent and took care of everyone's babies. Abigail was an evil character who was a liar, vindictive and careless , the people of Salem viewed her as good character .
Justice played a big role in The Crucible. In the play, a manipulative girl is infatuated with a married man and will go to any lengths to get what she wants, even accusing others of witchcraft and putting their lives at risk. Her accusations cause mass hysteria in the town of Salem. The Salem community’s obsession with trying to provide justice only caused injustice against the accused.
Some literary analysist may consider the character, John Proctor in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, a tragic hero; however, his behaviors presented in the play represent an adulterer, a liar, and someone who has selfish qualities. John Proctor makes decisions that create destruction and hurt in which results to chaos. Although he does suffer from his actions throughout the play he never learns that the truth is the best route. He does display both internal and external conflicts which does finally produce a man of honor. John Proctor, a wise and virtuous man who tampers with the justice system and his emotions are based off what goes on in court that day or month etc.
A tragedy should bring fear and pity to the reader. A man in this tragedy should not be exceptionally righteous, but his faults should come about because of a certain irreversible error on his part. This man should find a bad or fatal ending to add to the tragedy of the story, for this man in the tragic hero. The protagonist John Proctor portrays a tragic hero in The Crucible; his hamartia of adultery causes great internal struggles, he displays hubris by challenging authority, and he encounters catastrophe through recognition and reversal.