The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a tragedy about the Salem Witch Trials and the hysteria surrounding the town of Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. It is a work of literature based on the true story of how the Salem Witch Trials began, and how they affected those living in Salem. However, no tragedy is complete without a tragic hero. A tragic hero is a character in a literary work who possesses a tragic flaw that ultimately leads to their destruction or downfall. In this case, the tragic hero of The Crucible is John Proctor, a farmer in Salem and the protagonist of the play. Because of the eventual appearance of his moral character, his superiority in the town, his possession of a tragic flaw, and his realization of his mistakes, John Proctor is a tragic hero in The Crucible. The first …show more content…
However, throughout the play, he is able to prove the audience wrong. Firstly, when Proctor is arrested, he decides to confess to practicing witchcraft. He does this because he believes it could end the trials in Salem, which could save many innocent lives of others who have been accused. Proctor tells this to his wife, saying, “I have been thinking I will confess to them, Elizabeth.” (Miller, 135). This decision is then backed up by Reverend Parris, who says that Proctor’s name on the list of confessions could convince the town to stop accusing one another. While discussing Proctor’s confession, Parris says to Judge Danforth, “It is a weighty name; it will strike the village that Proctor confess.” (Miller, 141). Another way that Proctor shows his moral character in The Crucible is when he is being questioned by Judge Danforth. When Danforth asks Proctor who he has seen with the Devil, Proctor denies seeing any other women practicing witchcraft or doing work for the Devil. He says to Danforth, “They think to go like saints. I like not to spoil their names.” (Miller, 141). He could have chosen to drag other women down
The one person who could have stopped the Salem Witch Trials was none other than a tragic hero. Aristotle developed the idea of a tragic hero in a story. This person was someone who was an exceptional person, they were quite prideful, and by the end they must die. In the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller, John Proctor is a tragic hero. He is an exceptional man with lust as a fatal error, he takes pride in his name, and by the end he dies and repents.
In the play, confessions and court decisions lead to the termination of accusations of witchcraft. John Proctor also helped to end the hysteria by coming forward about what was actually
The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, is categorized as a dramatic tragedy, and all tragedies, by definition, have a tragic hero. So who is that hero? In this story, it would be John Proctor. According to Aristotle there are five characteristics of a tragic hero, he must have a flaw or error of judgement, he must cause his own downfall, he must recognize that he caused his own downfall, he must have pride, and his fate must be greater than he deserved. In this play, John Proctor has all of these characteristics.
In the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller, the town of Salem is afflicted with hysteria, intolerance, and accusations that lead to death. According to philosopher Aristotle, a tragic hero possesses a tragic flaw, excessive pride, and an inevitable downfall. Protagonist John Proctor illustrates a tragic hero because he is presented as happy, powerful, and privileged, which later leads him to suffer because of his own actions. First of all, John Proctor possesses a fatal flaw, pride, which is a characteristic of a tragic hero. Proctor’s fatal flaws includes honesty and pride.
Proctor says “ You are the high court, your word is good enough! tell them i confessed myself; say proctor broke his knees and wept like a woman, but my name cannot!”. In the quote John Proctor does not want written proof that he was a witch because he wants to protect his friends and not throw them under the bus. This means he cares for his friends and is truly a good man. Proctor says; “ let them that near dead now take their souls, it is pretence to me.”
The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a dramatic play that expresses a very important message and that is how far people would go to save themselves from the hands of death. There are many characters in the Crucible who are guilty of taking innocent lives, but there are three major characters who, without a doubt, are the most at blame. The play takes place in the city of Salem, a city filled with people that would do anything to keep their reputation clean. Throughout the play, Miller is introducing multiple characters that experience changes in their decisions and negatively influence more people eventually leading up to the witch trials. The main point that the story revolves around is that people would rather lie and blame someone else instead of confessing and accepting the punishment.
John Proctor, the protagonist of The Crucible, qualifies as a tragic hero because he has a tragic flaw, is ethically superior to the other characters in the play, and struggles to find peace with himself in midst of the lies and chaos during this play. John Proctor possesses a tragic flaw that forces him to hide his prideful mistake, which eventually brings about his downfall. I guess the old saying is true, “Pride comes before the fall”. John Proctor’s tragic flaw is his excessive pride, and he expresses it abundantly throughout the play. In Act I, it states, “ Proctor: Abby, I may think of you softly from time to time.
Proctor motivates to learn how the truth can still not matter if it is not what the court wants to hear causing people to be killed and put in jail. John Proctor chooses to try to hide the affair between him and Abigail Williams , which causes half of the town of Salem going to jail for witchcraft. John is talking to Mary Warren when she is talking to him about the Devil being in Salem and they must find where he is:"I
In The Crucible John Proctor goes to his death falsely being a witch, but he redeems and gains his esteem by confessing he committed adultery. Proctor chooses death over having a bad reputation and perceives his social standing. “How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name!”
http://www.shmoop.com/crucible/respect-reputation-quotes.html Proctor was going to confess to working with the devil even though it was not true so that he could live happily with Elizabeth,his now pregnant wife, and
The Crucible “The Crucible” is a play, by Arthur Miller, about the Salem Witch Trials. After reading “The Crucible”, you will be asking yourself, is it necessary for a person to suffer? The answer to the question is shown through the characters, Giles Corey, John and Elizabeth Proctor, and Abigail Williams. John Proctor is a respected puritan man in the community. John had made the mistake of sleeping with, a teenage girl, Abigail Williams.
“Character Analysis over The Crucible” Arthur Miller is a commonly-known playwright, most famous for his 1953 play, The Crucible. The basis for The Crucible came from the witch trials which occurred in Salem, Massachusetts during the puritan era. Miller even uses some of the same characters in his dramatized play that were a part of the original witch trials in Salem. However, Miller made a few alterations to the historical members of the Salem society in order to suit his dramatic purpose in The Crucible, particularly Abigail Williams, John Proctor, and Reverend Samuel Parris.
The Admirable Traits of John Proctor Who is the most admirable OR despicable character in the plan, and why? What is the larger theme and message that Miller sends through the character? I believe that John Proctor is the most admirable character above everyone else, in The Crucible, by Arthur Miller. I believe this because John is honest, hardworking, and he loves his wife, who is in peril of being falsely charged with witchcraft. John Proctor is a farmer that lives outside of Salem, and his wife is Elizabeth (Miller, 20).
A man of conscience is one who is aware of his moral and ethical beliefs and judgments and one who will prefer right over wrong. The life of such man is ruled by the desire to seek the truth and justice in all that surrounds him, including himself. These attributes are seen in both character, John Proctor from Arthur Miller’s play, “The Crucible”, set in Salem in the early seventeenth century and in Atticus Finch from Harper Lee’s novel, “To Kill a Mockingbird” set in New York in 1950. In the play “The Crucible” set in the town of Salem which is burdened by the belief of witches, we are introduced to the main character John Proctor.
Tragedy Mr.Miller wrote the tragedy of the crucible. The setting of the crucible is in Massachusetts bay during 1692/93. The tragedy is a dramatized and partially fictionalized play. The tragedy of the crucible begins with a rumor that started with nine girls. The play focuses on the inconsistencies of the salem witch trials and the behavior that can result from dark desires and agendas.