Arthur Miller wrote the Crucible in 1953 several years into the Cold War. Arthur Miller book the Crucible is a not so well hidden allegory for McCarthyism. McCarthyism is named after Senator Joseph McCarthy and his witch hunt for communists, during the Cold War. This was done in order for McCarthy to gain political power similarly to what Reverend Parris and the girls did during the Salem Witch Trials. The time of McCarthyism is now called The Red Scare. John Proctor does not qualify as a tragic hero. While he possesses many character traits of a tragic hero, he lack one important factor. He admits to lechery. Therefore giving up his pride. His pride is his tragic flaw, however it does not cause his downfall like a tragic hero's tragic flaw should. Instead the giving up of his pride is what leads to his downfall and ultimately his death. …show more content…
Now if he was prideful enough to have it tragic flaw he would not admit it was a mistake like in this quote from Proctor “Abby I may think of you softly from time to time. But I will cut off my hand before I’ll reach for you again wipe it out of mind. We never touched, Abby”(22) This quote from John Proctor were we admits that he was wrong. Crealy shows that he is willing to give up his pride as he continues to do in the later Acts leading to his downfall. During Act 2 we learn more about John Proctor’s home life and what we learn is that while the Proctor family are not poor, They currently aren't as well off as the traditional Tragic Hero as evidenced by this Quote from Proctor “If the crop is good I’ll buy George Jacob’s Heifer.”(48) Therefore John Proctor has less to lose than most tragic heros making the main thing he ends up losing being his respect among the people of
The next quality that makes John Proctor a tragic hero is having a tragic flaw. John Proctor went through many tragic flaws during the story. For example, on page 894 John Proctor decides not to be interested in Abigail no more and he says, “I will cut of my hand before I will ever touch you again.” This ends to John’s tragic flaw because eventually this will lead him to go to court to save his wife. Another Example, On page 916 John and Elizabeth has gotten into an argument about the situation that was going on between him and Abby.
John Proctor’s excessive pride evidently led him to his downfall. In the beginning of the book, John is seen as a strong man, “in Proctor’s presence a fool felt his foolishness instantly” (Miller 20). He was seen as such a high man that he let his pride get the best of him, at first he didn't want to confess to the court about his affair with Abigail to keep his name from being blackened. When John eventually confesses to the court about his adultery with Abigail; His wife, Elizabeth, didn't know that John had already confessed, so she lied about it to keep him safe, which only made matters worse. In the end, he dies in order to keep his good name in the town.
John Proctor is a pedofile but a hero. In Arthur Miller's movie, "The Crucible,” released in 1996 in the United States, the town of Salem is consumed by a mass hysteria as people are accused of witchcraft left and right. John Proctor, the star of the movie, plays a crucial role on how he could have been the character to have ended this madness. In "The Crucible,” I believe John Proctor could have ended the hysteria in Salem by avoiding the affair with Abigail Williams, being more honest, and exposing the lies. To begin with, John Proctor should’ve left Abigail Williams alone.
John Proctor’s strengths is that, “He is a kind of man—powerful body, even-tempered, and not easily led—who cannot refuse support to partisans without drawing their deepest resentment” (Miller 1245). His major flaw is not forgiving himself after having an affair with Abigail, which caused a riff to happen in his marriage. This flaw led Proctor to not fully cut off ties with Abigail, out of guilt, making her believe that they had a chance of truly being together if Elizabeth wasn’t there anymore. John Proctor transforms from a selfish character that only cares for his image to a man who will die for his beliefs and to prove the corrupt ways of the court to save many lives of innocent people. His inner conflict is how he views himself, “My honesty
The Tragic Flaw of John Proctor in The Crucible Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible takes place in early 1692 in the town of Salem Massachusetts. In this small town of Salem, there is hysteria due to accusations of children that many of the townsmen use witchcraft. Among these townspeople there is a man named John Proctor who knows that all of the accusations are a fraud. In the play John Proctor has many tragic flaws: his lust and pride led to the mounting of hysteria and overall tragic plight of others. Yet, in the end, his pride led to his own death.
You can see that John Proctor is a good man, he tries to help everyone and he does not meddle in the lives of others, he is considered an upstanding member of the community. John Proctor is a hardworking middle aged farmer, husband, and father. People love and respect him although they know he is not without human failing. For example with Mary, when the Counsel take Proctor’s wife, He starts to scream at her and almost hits her. I understand that he doesn’t want to lose his wife but, he can be gentler with her or when he has an affair with their teenage servant Abigail Williams, a girl that tells lies, manipulates her friends and the entire town, and eventually sends innocent people to their deaths.
At last, a tragic hero realized his bad and try to fix that into right way. In the book “the crucible” John Proctor said to lawyer and judgement that “Tell them I confessed myself: say Proctor broke his knees and wept like a woman:say what you will, but my name cannot-”(p62). It reflects that he is trying to be honest, and also trying to be a good father to his child and husband to Elizabeth. This is because, if he confess and avoid death, his child cannot inherited anything and Elizabeth lived with suffer because her husband is a witch. But, Proctor doesn’t confess that he is witch, and be honest to his child and wife.
A tragic hero is a great or virtuous character in a dramatic tragedy that is destined for downfall, suffering, or defeat. In Arthur Millers The Crucible, John Proctor, according to Aristotle’s definition, can be well defined as a tragic hero due to his nobility, irreversible mistakes, serious error in judgment, and eventually a tragic death. John Proctor has the possibility to succeed, but is trapped in a situation and has no way out. Everything he executes throughout the play, describes the ideal definition of a tragic hero. In regards to real life historical facts, John Proctor would fit the role of the amazing Martin Luther King Jr..
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.
John Proctor didn’t want his name to be the ruined because he felt that was all he had left. John Proctor was tragically killed for a sin he had not committed but was found a hero because people followed in his footsteps by not confessing to something they didn’t do. “A tragic hero is a character
JOHN PROCTOR: TRAGIC HERO Arthur Miller’s The Crucible is a greatly revered work, and it reflected the times of America in the days of McCarthyism. Perhaps the character that connected to the audience most was John Proctor, the protagonist of the play. He reflects the mistakes that we have made in our lives, and the struggle that some of have while trying to take the blindfold off of other people. He should be considered a hero because he feels guilt, and therefore tries to make up for the fact that he once had an affair.
Because I cannot have another one in my life!... Proctor tears the paper and crumples it. ”(143 & 144) This quote proves that John Proctor preserved his dignity and soul, and followed his moral compass in doing the right thing. Contributing to the previous detail, “I do think I see some shred of goodness in John Proctor...
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.
“He have his goodness now. God forbid I take it from him!” (1273) Metaphorically speaking, Proctor was put into a crucible, melted down, and came out in the purest form possible. John Proctor perfectly fits the role of a tragic hero because he has all the qualities of a tragic hero.
John Proctor displayed his character traits of aggression and anger throughout the story in fear of his integrity being ruined. He was considered a tragic hero because of his downfall in trying to protect his integrity. Even though Elizabeth Proctor had the traits of innocence and compassion she still lacked affection towards her husband. This in turn led John to commit adultery with their housekeeper. These two characters demonstrate these traits throughout the story.