10/13/13 Integrity Over Life Itself
In the spectacular play The Crucible by Arthur Miller, the leading protagonist was a man named John Proctor. John Proctor was married to Elizabeth Proctor and was a local farmer in Salem, Massachusetts. He was a harsh toned man who hated hypocrisy and was not a die hard Puritan like a majority of the people living in his community, but still followed God. Unfortunately his wife Elizabeth became very ill and was not able to continue a loving relationship with him. During that time their relationship grew apart and John Proctor started to fancy their household servant, a young girl named Abigail Williams. This lead to an affair between them.
Committing adultery at the time of the Salem Witch Trials was illegal and was a total disgrace. John Proctor admitted to his wife to taking part in a affair with their servant Abigail Williams, but Elizabeth Proctor’s love for him was too strong. She forgave him, but when urging John Proctor to denouncing Abigail as a fraud she became jealous, and accused him for still having feelings for her, when he had denied to that. In order to regain the trust of his wife, John Proctor confesses to having an affair with Abigail. Elizabeth then quickly lies to the court in order to protect John’s name.
Every play must have a believable protagonist whom the audience cares about, and John Proctor’s role as a tragic hero is perfectly portrayed in the play, which makes him a believable protagonist. John Proctor is a tragic hero because he was heroic in representing his individual freedom to the Salem Court more than anyone else throughout the whole play. He heroically sacrificed everything to help save his family’s name and to help the innocent townsfolk who were being accused of conspiring with the devil. John Proctor’s tragic flaw was what got him in the unfortunate situation of being trialed at the Salem Witch Trials, which was the adultery he