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 accusation of witchcraft in Salem and many were arrested including Elizabeth Proctor. John Proctor was heartbroken knowing that his wife has been falsely accused because of his mistake so he went to help her by confessing.
John Proctor had an affair with Abigail but he ended the affair because he
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realized being with Abigail was immoral and he also realized that she wasn’t moral herself either. Abigail and Proctor meet again and she tries to remind him of their relationship but he puts her off. This shows when Proctor says to Abigail‘’…I will cut off my hand before I’ll ever reach for you again…’’ (23). John Proctor tells Abigail that he will never get back together with her and make another mistake. Abigail accuses Elizabeth of witchcraft to take revenge. The court official came to Proctor’s house to investigate. The court official found a puppet that’s been stabbed with a needle which they claim was used to kill Abigail. Proctor tells them that “If she is innocent! Why do you never wonder if Parris be innocent, or Abigail? Is the accuser always holy now?...This warrant’s vengeance...’’ (77)! Proctor tells them that his wife is innocent and that Abigail accused her to take revenge. He also asks them why they don’t ever investigate on the Accusers. Elizabeth had been taken to court and was put on trial. Proctor confesses his affair to save his wife from getting hanged. He tells the court that ‘’ in the proper place- where my beasts are bedded. On the last night of my joy, some eight months past. She used to serve me at my house, sir, I beg you- see her what she is. My wife, my dear good wife, took this girl soon after, sir, and put her out on the highroad. And being what she is a lump of vanity, sir. Excellency, forgive me. She thinks to dance with me on my wife’s grave! And well she might, for I thought her softly. God help me, I lusted, and there is a promise in such sweat. But it is a whore’s vengeance, and you must see it; I set myself in your hands, I know you must see it now’’ (110). Proctor tells the court that Elizabeth is innocent and that Abigail is trying to take revenge so she can get rid of Elizabeth and marry him. Later, John Proctor gets accused of witchcraft. The court officials tell him to confess to witchcraft but Proctor says ‘’I have 3 children- how may I teach them to walk like men in the world, and I sold my friends’’ (142)? What Proctor is trying to say is that how can he raise his kids to be respectful when he himself is going lie and confess to something that’s not true by accusing others. John Proctor is told by the court to sign his name on the confession but Proctor refuses to sign.
The court asked him why he wouldn’t sign and he says’’ Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! Because lie and I sign myself to lies! Because I am not worth the dust of them that hang! How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name’’ (143)! Proctor is saying that he has 3 children and if his name gives his name away then there won’t be any reputation left for them. He tells them that if he signs then it’s going to be a lie and he’s not as good as the people who got executed for not lying.
John Proctor is a tragic hero. The tragic part comes from him having an affair will Abigail but he left her because he was ashamed for what he did and this led him to have problems. Abigail took revenge on him by accusing his wife of witchcraft. He’s a hero because he confessed to having an affair to save his wife from getting hang. He didn’t care for his reputation and honor that he’s been having in Salam. When John Proctor was asked to sign the confession he said that he would rather die than to lie again and that makes him noble and
great.
Overall, I believe that John Proctor is a good man who did have a slight moment of weakness. Generally, throughout the play, Proctor is seen as a good man whose character also has the right intentions throughout. Even though he had a moment of weakness he tries to make up for what he has done. He is also seen as the character who talks through wisdom and not Puritan and biblical teachings. The main reason I think he is a good man is because he admitted to witchcraft to stop lots of other people in Salem from being hanged. The character of Proctor is seen as good because he was also innocent just like the rest but thought that he should protect the others.
The Crucible by Arthur Miller is set in Salem in a Puritan community. John Proctor, Elizabeth Proctor, Reverend Hale, Reverend Paris, and Abigail are the main characters. The book is about witchcraft or what the town thinks is witchcraft. John Proctor is the tragic hero because he is loving, loyal, authoritative, but his tragic flaw is his temper.
John Proctor is a good man. He is a puritan, a husband, a citizen, and an all around valuable member of the community. All of this is represented by his name. The name of John Proctor could be considered his most prized possession. It is his most priceless asset. Proctor is very strong-willed and caring. He does not set out with any intentions of hurting anyone. He is a farmer and village commoner who is faced with incredible inner turmoil. He has committed adultery and had absolutely no intentions of joining in the witch trials. After his wife got involved and eventually was set free due to the fact that she was pregnant, he feels that he can't sit back and accept what is happening to the town. John Proctor is a good and noble man and because of this he believes that he can't be hanged and die a martyr when he has this sin blooming over him every waking moment.
Although John Proctor isn’t much of a pious man, he does choose to do the right thing in the end. He doesn’t go down to the level of Danforth, he stays truthful and prideful to himself. Not many people would confess to something if it meant they would be hanged or imprisoned for their actions, John Proctor did. These three personalities of John Proctor prove that he is an overall good man even if he made a few poor choices in his lifetime. He ultimately shows that everyone should be proud of who they are and always tell the truth because if you want to be successful, you must be true to
¨A tragic hero is a character that is noble and well-respected but he has one tragic flaw that causes him to fall from greatness.¨ John Proctor was known throughout the town of Salem as a well respected farmer and landowner. As the story progressed, John got more involved with the witch outbreak in the way that Abigail dragged him into it. Proctor had committed adultery whist he had a family. This quote relates to John that he is a tragic
John Proctor is a very good man or he seems like a very good man. He is hardworking, nice guy, never lies or people thought he was that guy. In my opinion, he wants to be thought of a great guy and he is, but up until he makes a very bad life decision with Abigail. At one point he was possibly bored with his good wife, Elizabeth. As the book goes on, Abigail gains power in Salem and people that live there view her as a saint. John has no worry about what is happening in Salem. His reputation is good still, but his wife knows what he and Abigail did, but as nice as Elizabeth is she has forgiven him. When Abigail has power and she is running around Salem accusing people, she accused Mrs. Proctor. John goes to Salem, sees what is going on and talked to Abigail. John is mad, it was just Abigail and him alone, she confesses that she just wants to get John to
John Proctor: “God in heaven, what is John Proctor, what is John Proctor”. John is a man of strong moral beliefs, concerned only for the safety of his family and personal welfare. He cares of nothing for the beliefs of any of the other people in the town and what his supervisor which is the Reverend, thinks either. After trying to avoid involvement in the witch trials he is later prosecuted for witchery and sentenced to hang. John trys to avoid any involvement in the Salem witch trials. His reason for doing so is to protect his image because he is afraid he will be committed of adultery with Abigail Williams. Following these events he trys to save everyone’s lives by admitting to this horrible offense adultery and ends up losing the trial along with his life. He did have a chance to live but instead of signing away his name and his soul to keep his life, he wanted to die honorably with his friends not without a name, a soul, and with guilt. “John Proctors decision to die is reasonable and believable”. Reverend Parris, the Salem minister and Proctors immediate supervisor, which says “ there is either obedience or the church will burn like hell is burning.” “The church in theocratic Salem is identical with the state and the community and will surely crumble if unquestioning obedience falters in the least.” Proctor, on the other hand, “has come to regard his self as a king of fraud,” as long as he remains obedient to an authority which he cannot respect.
Greetings to all. I am Dillon Marshall, I’m here today presenting to you why John Proctor was an unfavorable and bad character in The Crucible. The story takes place in Salem Massachusetts in 1692. John Proctor a farmer who lived in Salem. Elizabeth Proctor’s husband. A hard, bitter tongued man, John a man who also hates hypocrisy. John Proctor also putting his marriage to the test having relations with Abigail Williams along with his wife creating a scandal. John Proctor wasn’t the man he proclaims to be.
The Puritans had many values that everyone must know and completely obey. One of those values is to know, and obey the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments were one of the most important things for all Puritans to know and obey, because without them there would be no order. For a Puritan not to know his Commandments by heart was nearly unheard of seeing how the Commandments are the basic rules for them. Although almost all of the Puritans knew the Commandments there were a few who didn’t know them all by heart. John Proctor was one of these who didn’t know them all by heart. Its not just the fact that he didn’t know them all by heart that lets him fit into the category of not being a good Puritan because he lacks the Puritan characteristic of knowing and obeying the Ten Commandments. One way he shows that he doesn’t obey the Ten Commandments is the fact the he rarely attends church anymore. This is breaking one of the Ten Commandments, ‘Thou shall remember the Sabbath Day and keep it Holy’ this Commandment states that on every Sunday you must attend church. Yet John doesn’t, which isn’t following what he should do. Another example of not obeying the Commandments is by having an affair with Abigail, who was his housekeeper and who happened to be eleven at the time. In committing this act he directly disobeyed the Commandment ‘Thou shall not commit adultery’. This Commandment states that when one is married to someone they should only be active among themselves. The finally way John shows that he is not a good Puritan is by not knowing all the Commandments when asked to say them by Mr. Hale. John says them all but adultery. These three things made John Proctor ‘an unworthy Christian’ by Puritan standards.
In Arthur Miller's The Crucible, John Proctor, a proud and frustrated farmer of Salem, chooses to die rather than to give a false confession to witchcraft. Many might view this act as that of a selfless martyr; on the other hand, it can more readily be seen as the height of human stupidity in the face of vanity and pride.
John Proctor is portrayed throughout the play to be a man who has high moral values that he must abide by. He can spot hypocrisy in others easily and judges himself no less harshly. Elizabeth Proctor says to him in the second act:
In this town Salem will be forever corrupted… with this so called justice. Those who you have know and we're friends are aren't what they are anymore. The judges have no reason. Justice has vanished. There is no god in this place anymore. The people believe nothing but a liar. It is not Elizabeth's fault. It was I, John Proctor who has betrayed her. I shall be punished for the cause of such tragedy. I never wanted this to be. I was too careless and excited. Elizabeth deserves someone better than me, For I am nothing other than a deceiving husband. Everytime I look into her Hazel eyes, it reminds me of my flaws of a husband. I so ashamed. I shall redeem myself and be free from this chaos that I have started. Tomorrow I will be forgiven for my shame. Forgive me Father, for I have sinned. Today is my last. I John Proctor will be forgiven for the sins I sins I have made. Farewell.
A tragic hero is a hero in a story whose natural flaws or wrong judgments, associates with bad fate, causes his downfall or death. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, there are tragic heroes. In the late 1600s, there are a series of witch trials happens at Salem, MA. John Proctor, a farmer who lives in a farm with his wife Elizabeth Proctor, is the protagonist during the Salem witch trial. John is a candid, frank, but somewhat arrogant man. He has an affair with Abigail Williams, a 17-year-old girl who desires to have John and wants him so desperately. As the story develops, John also gets influenced by the witchcraft. He becomes a hero by save Elizabeth and other innocent people who are being accused by the court. However, John’s pride causes him to focus on his honor too much, which later on, causes a lot of troubles, and leads him to a tragic consequence. John Proctor’s affair with Abigail, his desire of saving other people, and his motivation of protecting his reputation, eventually cause his death and make him a tragic hero, which Miller wants to convey that a person will eventually pay for his flaws no matter what he does to make up.
Maya Angelou once wrote, “One isn't necessarily born with courage, but one is born with potential. Without courage, we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency. We can't be kind, true, merciful, generous, or honest.” Having courage helps people get through hard times in life. Staying hopeful and having the courage will help people get there a situation. Courage helps people stay hopeful and feel safe. Throughout “The Crucible” many characters showed several acts of courage. In the play, “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller, John Proctor stands out as a courageous character in the story.
In The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, the madness of the Salem witch trials is explored in great detail. Arthur Miller was an American playwright, who was born in 1915. He grew up in a Jewish family in New York City. While attending the University of Michigan in the mid 1930’s, he began to characterize himself as a distinguished writer. His first plays were Honors at Dawn and No Villain. The Death of a Salesman, which he wrote in 1949, won him the Pulitzer Prize for literature.