Preview

Tragedy & The Common Man Essay

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
801 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Tragedy & The Common Man Essay
Shadin Hamdan Period-2 English-6 3/19/15 Tragedy & The Common Man Essay
Arthur Miller has written many books and has had many modern tragic heroes. It has been asked which of Arthur Miller's protagonist best exemplifies the modern tragic hero. The character I have chosen is John Proctor.The Crucible is considered to be one of the major tragedies of Arthur Miller.A tragic hero is one who is trapped in a situation where he cannot win, and this defines the character of John Proctor.
A modern tragic hero best exemplifies John Proctor because of his Tragic Flaw. Proctor's downfall in the play is started by a tragic flaw, which qualifies him to be the tragic hero. Proctor's flaw was his affair with Abigail Williams, and also his excessive pride. Proctor was a good man who cheated on his wife. Proctor was also a very fair man, who cared about his name and his reputation in his town. He didnt lie because he felt that when a person dies there name is all that is left and he felt that if he lied his honnor and dignity would die with him. This makes John Proctor a tragic hero because this shows how loyal he was and what kind of man /he was.Him not wanting to die a liar and all of the truth come out shows he was a tragic hero. He was a honest man and he believed to do what was right even if it resulted in death.
John proctor was a common man, this also showed that he was a modern tragic hero. John Proctor was a farmer. He was just like all the other men in the town of Salem. He was not on a higher rank he was a middle class man. He was well respected and looked up to by the people around him in Salem.Proctor has a wife and family, which he works to take care of them like all the other men in Salem.What makes John

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    John Proctor is one of major characters in the Crucible. At the beginning of the play, he was introduced as a husband of Elizabeth and consider to have somekind of secret relation with Abigal, Reverend Parris's neice. He is a farmer. His family is not too wealthy, but it's consider to some kind of needed. He is a patriarchal man. He was regreting of cheating on his wife cause it again God, however he just woulden't admit that he cheat on her. and a man that is full of…

    • 90 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    First, John Proctor was well-respected in many ways. One reason is how he was well-respected by the people in the community and how he respects them because he doesn’t speak upon anyone else’s sins nor their name. An example from the book is when John Proctor said “I speak my own sins, I cannot judge another. I have no tongue for it.” (131.) He feels that he doesn’t need to speak upon anyone else’s mistakes or accuse them of doing witchcraft. John Proctor is also well-respected because he is a hard-working man who is very independent and values honesty.…

    • 99 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The character John Proctor from Arthur Miller’s famous play about the Salem witchcraft; The Crucible is a member of the Puritan religion. This is a culture established in the values of Christian faith, hard work, selflessness, and manageable living. Proctor is a main character that has committed the sinful crime of adultery and is struggling to repair his trustworthiness in himself and his wife. The audience first see John Proctor as a man of great value that has committed a disgraceful act, which now makes him frail in personality and filled with guilt. As The Crucible progresses a great development in John Proctor occurs, making the audience ache with him when his destruction occurs. John Proctor is the most dynamic character as he values…

    • 129 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    A tragic hero is a character that risks their life for others. John stayed loyal to Elizabeth as he loves her, not Abigail. We can learn not to defend our bad decisions from the play as it will only make a situation worse. John Proctor is special because he can easily lie his way out of the mess, but he represents the right thing by giving his own fate for his people.…

    • 72 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    John Proctor is a very dynamic character who has an internal conflict between being righteous and falling into temptation. This character is very unique because he changes his personality throughout the story. I like John Proctor because he is a symbol of the common man because most men fall into temptation at one point in their lives. We all try to do well but we are all sinners and we need to learn from our mistakes. I can relate to this character because I to have fallen into temptation but turn to God to guide me and direct me in the right path.…

    • 649 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    John Proctor is the tragic hero of The Crucible. Although he can be cast as the hero, John Proctor causes his tragic face by the end of the play. He had risked his life for others. Caring for others and he had risked his life for someone really important then him. Even his wife, Elizabeth Proctor.…

    • 322 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    John Proctor learned that maybe it’s okay to tell a white lie, in order to keep your life. Proctor was a tragic hero in the sense that he tried to save his wife and many others, even if that meant ruining his name in the town. He also refused to admit to being a witch in order for his kids to able to keep his land.…

    • 375 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    There is a controversy that John Proctor is the nobleman of the story and presented as an archetypal tragic hero. John Proctor is a farmer that lives outside the town with his wife Elizabeth. He is a good man with many good deeds but has one sin that is his biggest downfall. His admiration for Abigail Williams. Which sparks off the plot of the novel The Crucible John Proctor is a tragic hero by his actions during the trials, his tragic flaw, and how faces and accepts death with honor.…

    • 702 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, the protagonist, John Proctor, is a prime example of a tragic hero. A tragic hero is defined as a prideful and well-respected character that goes through an unfortunate downfall. John Proctor embodies all of the traits of the traits of a tragic hero, including his respect in the community, his pride, and his death.…

    • 441 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Everyone loves a hero to swoop in and save the people, but what if the hero is not really a hero? What if they are a tragic hero? In Arthur Miller's play The Crucible (1952), John Proctor shows characteristics of being a tragic hero, through his actions throughout the play.…

    • 776 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    John Proctor Belonging

    • 420 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Arthur Miller uses a variety of techniques to portray the heroic character John Proctor really is. Although John Proctor has committed an unlawful sin, his guilt and regret shows he is not a bad man. He will fight for the innocence of other, even if it means he pays at the end. Proctor…

    • 420 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    John Proctor Failure

    • 739 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Is a man who cheats on his wife and fails to bring justice to the town worthy of the title of a tragic “hero”. John Proctor is a character in Arthur Miller’s play the Crucible. His goal as stated in the play is to stop Abigail who is accusing his wife of witchcraft. John Proctor however fails to do that. John Proctor is not a tragic hero in any sense of the word. Although Miller argues John Proctor is a tragic hero, Proctor’s actions cause him to be defined as a failure.…

    • 739 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    John Proctor Hero

    • 785 Words
    • 4 Pages

    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.…

    • 785 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    John Proctor is easily identified as The Crucible’s protagonist. Proctor was a stand-up man who spoke his mind. His name was synonymous with honour and integrity within the community. Proctor took pleasure in exposing hypocrisy in the town and he was respected for it; most importantly he respected himself. That was up until Proctor had made his biggest mistake; all it took was one shameful encounter to destroy Proctor’s most prized possession – his self-respect.…

    • 918 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Crucible

    • 2090 Words
    • 9 Pages

    John Proctor was a well-respected, highly influential man in society. He was considered to be part of the high-class civilians in Salem, Massachusetts. One part of the play where we see that John is highly influential is when Betty Parris has fallen into a coma and the doctors can not tell what is wrong with her. Her father, Reverend Parris says that no one is to enter the room ,but then allows the Putnam’s, whose daughter was also sick and John Proctor in the room. Also, during the 17th century your wealth and class in society was based upon how much land you owned, and since John Proctor owned a lot of land, this also gave him reasons to be considered…

    • 2090 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays