No, I do not believe that John Proctor’s design to hang instead of admitting that he was consorting with the devil is an act of excessive pride or stubbornness. I instead believe that John Proctor is the tragic hero of the Crucible and that his decision to choose principle over self preservation was an honorable act with the goal of affirming his goodness before God. In the second act of the Crucible, the audience first meets the character of John Proctor while he is in his home with his wife Elizabeth. The reader’s initial reaction of Proctor is that he is a benevolent husband as he states “I mean to please you Elizabeth” (50) and is otherwise kind and respectful towards his wife. However, as the act progresses, the reader comes to find out …show more content…
The first is that Proctor had an affair with Abigail, who was once a servant for the Proctor household. The second is that despite Proctor’s repeated attempts to atone for his sin, Elizabeth still hasn’t forgiven Proctor. Elizabeth expresses her lack of complete forgiveness towards Proctor by treating him coldly. This treatment greatly frustrates Proctor, “You forget nothin’ and forgive nothin… I cannot speak but I am doubted, every moment judged for lies, as though I come into a court them I come into this house!’”(54-55). The knowledge of Proctor’s affair at first stands to contradict the idea that Proctor is the tragic hero of the Crucible. This is due to the fact that immoral behaviors, such as adultery, are not behavior that one would normally associate with a hero. It is often assumed a hero is someone who always does the right and honorable thing. However the author of the Crucible, Arthur Miller, stands to contradict this assumption. He does this by making the piece’s hero a character who doesn't begin the story as …show more content…
What John Proctor is concerned about however is how he is viewed as a person by God. Therefore his decision to allow himself to be hanged is not out of stubbornness or excessive pride as he was willing to ruin his reputation with the townspeople in act three. This last act was an act of honor and an act that Proctor hoped would make him good in God’s eyes. Elizabeth understood this in the last page of the play when she says “He have his goodness now. God forbid I take it from