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.
A tragic hero is always an exceptional individual who makes a fatal error. John Proctor’s fatal error was his lust. If he had not slept with Abigail then she would have no hatred towards Elizabeth Proctor. Thus she would never have had reason to go to Tituba for a curse and involving the other girls. Leading the entire town down a
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Even though John Proctor dies, his effect on Salem is a lasting one. When given the option to confess and he took it but when asked to sign the document he cannot stating,”I have confessed myself! Is there no good penitence but it be public? God does not need my name nailed upon the church! God sees my name; God knows how black my sins are! It is enough!”. Without signing the document he was set to hang again. Instead of confessing and letting this madness continue he was able to plant seeds of doubt in the minds of the villagers, causing the trials to come to an end. The way death came and the way he died is the reason John Proctor is a tragic hero.
The characteristics of a tragic hero, a fatal error, pride, and death, are what describes John Proctor. His error of lust leading to death, his pride in his name, and the redemption in his death. John Proctor is a tragic hero to the core. If he had not slept with Abigail then Salen would not have had the witch trials. If he had spoken out sooner, many lives could have been saved. Even though he did not do these things he was able to redeem himself in the
For John Proctor, this moment comes when he tears up the false confession and chooses to be hanged rather than compromise his integrity. He realizes that his pride has led him down the wrong path, and that he must pay the ultimate price for his actions. Aristotle's definition of a tragic hero includes several key characteristics. The hero must be of noble birth, have a tragic flaw, and suffer a reversal of fortune. The hero must also experience a moment of recognition, and their downfall must evoke feelings of pity and fear in the audience.
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.
Many could argue that John Proctor is not a tragic hero, but actually, he is. Proctor was a very respectable, well known man and he had the courage to admit his affair with Abigail in front of the whole courtroom and ruined his good name. He could have saved his wife and let everyone die but no, he decided to do the right thing and confess. He didn't care if he lived or died, he just wanted all of the killing and accusing to stop.
Even Elizabeth herself recognizes and acknowledges his redemption at the end of the story when she says, “He have his goodness now. God forbid I take it from him” (Miller 73). John makes an altruistic choice and refuses to lie about witchcraft to avoid execution. This is the epitome of what a tragic hero is: a human person who tries to do what is right but still is tragically punished in the end. Using this logic, John Proctor’s integrity during The Crucible cements his role as a tragic
John Proctor would not confess to witchcraft simply to get out of death. He felt as though holding his dignity and integrity exceeded living in deceit. Despite the consequences he had to face, Proctor stood by his worth and beliefs. Tragedy lies in the inability for one to accomplish his or her desires due to unethical ways of others. A tragic hero is demonstrated when one no one longer cares about the consequences that will result and would rather lay down his life than lie to himself and
In The Crucible, John Proctor is dragged down by his flaws of guilt and lust. His journey shows that honesty and loyalty are very important traits to have. He redeems himself by being selfless and helping other people rather than thinking of himself. John Proctor qualifies as a tragic hero because his wrongdoings lead to his downfall. This downfall helps John to forgive himself which makes him a better person at the end of the story.
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.
An example from the book, “Proctor, respected and even feared in Salem, has come to regard himself as a kind of fraud.” (893). The people in the community of Salem respected John and viewed him as a independent and well-worked man. In Addition, John Proctor was also a tragic hero because he redeemed himself from a mistake that he made, and that was committing Adultery.
Beginning with a group of teenage girls wanting to put the blame on others ending it escalating beyond control. They were accused to be witches so needed to shift the fingers from themselves to others. Therefore making it an endless cycle of pointing fingers that was not necessary but they had to bring someone down with them apparently. How could anyone prove their spirit was not torturing that person? Most people were actually innocent, I doubt they were truly delving into the devil 's work but the accused were no way able to prove innocence making most just admit to being witches, just to stop the persecution torture.
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.
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.
John Proctor's main flaw was his excessive pride which sealed his fate. I myself felt his death transformed Salem’s ways of thinking and increased their own knowledge. Proctor's life completely started going downhill when Abigail accused John’s loved ones who then were sent to jail, or executed. John Proctor was a man of goodness and pride which cleansed his soul after he suffered a tragic death, and became a symbol of purity and greatness for others to
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.