Who Is John Proctor A Tragic Hero In The Crucible

The Crucible Essay Being a hero does not necessary mean the person is perfect. Heroes are bound to make mistakes just like everyone else. In the play, The Crucible, John Proctor is portrayed as a tragic hero. A tragic hero is a character who makes an error of judgment or has a fatal flaw that, combined with fate and external forces, brings on a tragedy. John Proctor is very selfless and full of pride and dignity, which are all traits of a hero. He also has a tragic flaw, his weakness, which is adultery. He proves that heroes are relatable to everyday people and that they are not as perfect as they may seem. Every tragic hero has a tragic flaw which causes him/her to suffer. John’s weakness was his lust for Abigail Williams, who is a 17 year old girl, who used to work for him and his wife as their maid. As Miller describes him, “Proctor respected and even feared in Salem, has come to regard himself as a kind of fraud.” (Miller, 20). He has an affair with Abigail and ever since that he thinks he is a fraud for committing adultery. It is John’s weakness and no one knows about it except for his wife and Abigail. John goes through a personal struggle. He tries to convince his wife to forgive him by showing her that he loves her but she has a hard time trusting

During the trials in the court he says, “A man may think God sleeps, but God sees everything, I know it now. I beg you, sir, I beg you - see her what she is...She thinks to dance with me on my wife’s grave! And well she might, for I thought of her softly. God help me, I lusted, and there is a promise in such sweat. But it is a whore’s vengeance.” (Miller, 110). He basically does not care about blackening his name in town as long as it means saving all of the accused witches and proving that Abigail is wrong. This shows how he cares about others and puts them before himself as he sacrifices his reputation to save