John Proctor In The Crucible

In the 1953 play The Crucible by Arthur Miller, the main protagonist, John Proctor allows the audience to create an emotion of sympathy towards him. In the play John Proctor is the husband of Elizabeth Proctor, he is a farmer, and a father of three boys. He was also accused of witchcraft like many individuals who lived in the town of Salem. Proctor did not attend church, because of Reverend Parris. Parris is the minister of Salem, who preaches about wealth, “…and for twenty week he preach nothin’ but golden candlesticks until he had them”. (Act Two, pg. 69) John had no importance for wealth, but rather of God, it was one of the reasons he stopped attending church. The other was to avoid Abigail Williams. John committed adultery with Abigail,
John was a hero, because he wanted to save the lives of all the innocent people who were going to hang. He was an honest man that made a mistake. In act four John transforms into a man who has nothing left but his dignity. His soul has been blackened, and he cannot confess to such a crime that he did not commit, even if it would’ve saved his life. He believed in dying the moral way without lies, rather than living with a name that is full of sin. “Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies...” (Act four, pg.145). Proctor’s self-worth was being challenged, and he wanted to keep his last shred of dignity, before he was a completely destroyed man. Individuals may think that John Proctor is not a tragic hero, due to his flaws. However, that is what makes him a tragic hero. He is an average person, who has errors but he tries to correct them with the rest of his honor. The people in Salem see themselves as immaculate, however their misconceptions bring the death of nineteen innocent women, and men. Proctor tries them to see that their beliefs, are foolish. He suffered the consequences of the affair he had with Abigail