The Sorrow and Heroic Tragedy of John Proctor in The Crucible by Arthur Miller

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.

As formerly indicated, tragedy occurs not only to selected people or noteworthy humans, but rather to the ordinary person. In The Crucible, John Proctor epitomizes “tragedy” for the common man in Salem. In the article Tragedy and the Common Man, Miller explains tragedy as “the consequence of a man's total compulsion to evaluate himself justly, his destruction in the attempt posits a wrong or an evil in his environment. And this is precisely the morality of tragedy and its lesson” (1). Miller expresses his view in the recognition of “tragedy”, which characterizes John Proctor an average man in Salem who challenges the accusations of Abigail and her friends and is willing to give up his life for a justified ruling.

John Proctor is categorized as a courageous hero in The Crucible. He stood up for the absurd accusations of w...

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...or refuses to post the testimony in the church doors because he will not allow the judge and ruin his name and instead would die if he cannot have the only thing left for him.

John Proctor depicts a courageous individual with an image of a sincere and an honorable man, not only in minds of the Salem community, but also in his own. His death implies more than a “tragedy”, but rather a strong action that inspires and encourages citizens in Salem to follow his footstep for change. Proctor is frustrated at how the court for believing Abigail and not the innocents. He says, “My wife is innocent, except she knew a whore when she saw one! You are pulling Heaven down and raising up a whore!” (Act III). He is infuriated that the officials in the court believe the ridiculous pretenses and acting of the Salem girls, that everyone’s the belief in god seems to be deteriorating.