John Proctor Hero

In Miller’s play, The Crucible, John Proctor can be seen as a tragic hero due to his just character and his selfless act of redemption at the end of the play. John Proctor follows Aristotle’s basic ideas on the tragic hero due to the fact that he willingly dies to protect his name and his family, leaving the audience in a state of depression. He also portrays a tragic hero because in the end he stays true to his beliefs and brings justice to Salem, by ultimately sacrificing himself. Despite Aristotle's views on a tragic hero, John Proctor qualifies as a tragic hero due to his just character and for keeping his name sacred.

In Arthur Miller’s play , The Crucible, John Proctor finds himself as the object of Abigail's affections after having an affair with her. In the
beginning of the play, John Proctor is seen as a good Christian who everyone turns to for advice, he has a wife and three kids and is highly respected in the small town of Salem. As the play starts to unravel, the audience discovers a significant secret about John Proctor, which is an affair with a young girl named Abigail Williams. John Proctor's most prize possession was his good name, when he had an affair with Abigail he felt that he branded himself as an adulterer. After John Proctor ends the affair, Abigail doesn’t want to believe that it is over. Due to her heart break, she spreads rumors around the town naming others about their encounters with the devil. Therefore, the audience is left to believe that the affair of John and Abigail was the instigator of the Salem Witch Trials.

Although of John Proctor sinned against his wife Elizabeth, he can still be seen as a loyal man. He proves he is still loyal to Elizabeth when he states to Abigail, “ Abby, I may think of you softly from time to time. But I will cut off my hand before I’ll ever reach for you again (Miller,123). When John states this he is making sure that Abigail understands he will never cheat on Elizabeth again. He addresses this to Abigail to make her understand that their affair is over and will not happen again, this is proved when he uses exaggeration saying that he will cut off his hand. Another example of John’s loyalty is when he states to Elizabeth, “ My honesty is broke, Elizabeth; I am no good man (136) When John states this he is telling Elizabeth that he still has not forgiven himself for his affair with Abigail. John has desperately tried to reconcile with Elizabeth and will do anything to protect his family. When John Proctor states, “ Because I lie and sign myself to lies! Because I am not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang! How may I live without my name? I have given my soul; leave me my name ! ”( pg. 143), he is saying that he wants his good name and dignity back. Even though he wanted to live,he would rather die than to be reminded his life was on a lie. John Proctor lacked the ability to forgive himself and felt that he had ruined his image in the eyes of God, Elizabeth, and himself.

It is true that some might say that John Proctor was a failure because he died at the end of Miller's play The Crucible.Based on Aristotle's ideas of a tragic hero, John Proctor does not meet the requirements because he died at the end and he is not one of a noble stature.
Aristotle's ideas on a tragic hero state that a tragic hero is a character of a noble stature that has greatness.John Proctor is clearly not one of a noble stature because he is a farmer, husband, and a commoner of a small town, Salem Massachusetts. John Proctor also dies at the end of the play which makes John proctor unfit for a tragic hero. Although John Proctor does not meet Aristotle's views of a tragic hero, he meets the requirements due to the fact that he dies for justice . John Proctor can very well be seen as a tragic hero because of his selfless act at the end of the play to protect his family. He can not seem to forgive himself after having an affair with Abigail so he takes the jurassic step , and in his eyes, necessary, to confess in order to end his life . John Proctor stays true to his beliefs ,but at the end he leaves the audience in a state of depression by ending his life to save his name and
family.