John Proctor is a Tragic Hero in The Crucible Essay Example

Arthur Miller's “The Crucible '' is a play of a fictional dramatized story of the witch trials of Salem which took place in the time periods of 1692-1693. In this play a group of young girls falsely accuse the Salem villagers of witchcraft. According to Aristotle John Proctor from Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible, meets the criteria for the Aristotelian tragic hero. 

In the crucible by Miller the character John Proctor is introduced as a tragic hero. A tragic hero is someone who meets suffering or defeat, that ends up dying in the end. The tragic hero is usually introduced as happy and powerful, and ends up dying due to their own actions and faults.  An example of Proctor's nobility is when he admitted to adultery. Him admitting it to the judge takes width off his shoulders. For example in this line he says  “(trembling, his life collapsing about him). I have known her, sir. I have known her.” (His voice about to break, and his shame great). In the proper place-where my beasts are bedded…. I bed you, sir, I beg you-see her what she is. My wife, my dear good wife, took this girl soon after, sir, and put her  out on the highroad.” This is a noble stature because when Proctor confesses lechery he puts his commitment to the truth above all else. is his pride and what he does with it. Proctor's pride in himself overshadows the sin he made. An example of this would be when “Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! 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?”  Proctor has excessive pride that hides his mistake. He's willing to do anything to keep it and not let his name go down. 

Another way proctor was a hero was when he was told to confess for his life and for his friends lives. Proctor wasn’t being selfish so he decided to confess in order to save everyone else. This  is an example of free choice proctor had. He needed to choose his name or his friends. An example is “You came to save my soul, did you not? Here! I have confessed myself; it is enough!” This line that proctor said was when the judge wanted him to sign his name as proof for the village and proctor was refusing to do it. Proctor didn’t want his name to be that low and for the whole village to talk about him. Proctor suffered injustice when he was told to confess. This line says “(his eyes full of tears). I can. And there’s your first marvel, that I can. You have made your magic now, for now I do think I see some shred of goodness in John Proctor. Not enough weave a banner with, but white enough to keep it from such dogs.” This provides that Proctor is proud of the name he holds. He is happy that he has a good character in the village and that he's not ashamed of anything and that showing the paper to the village will bring that down. 

Another way Proctor is a tragic hero is when become aware of what's happening.  Proctor notices that the girls are faking everything in the court. An example of this is when he takes Mary Warren to confess it "My wife will never die for me! I will bring your guts into your mouth but that goodness will not die for me!". This proves that proctor was aware of everything and he knew that Abigail lied about his wife. He didn’t want his wife to die for a sin he made that caused all this drama. A cathartic moment proctor has is ripping the paper he signed. “(His breast heaving, his eyes staring, Proctor tears the paper and crumples it, and he is weeping in fury, but erect.)” This proves that proctor was willing to die for his name. This also proved that his name was important to him to even give up the life he could've had with his wife and unborn child. 

In Conclusion, Proctor's action led him to be a tragic hero. Proctor died a hero because he saw pride in himself. During the trials he didn’t want to confess anything he didn’t do and when he did the judge made him sign a paper for his confession which he rips up and ends up dying for it. Proctor cared about his name and character so much that he chose to die for it because he wouldn't have another. He gave his life for his name to live high. Proctor's downfall of his sin made him into a bigger person which made him forget what he did. A tragic hero that Aristotle explains is what proctor turned out to be.