...Many people can’t look past one’s flaws no matter what the person has done for them. Man can be a hero in spite of having some flaws. In Arthur Miller’s story The Crucible, the town of Salem is faced with a “witch problem”. Twelve girls claim they can see witches and accuse innocent women of witchcraft. This leads to many innocent people being put in jail, some of them put to death. The only way you could get out of being accused of witchcraft is if you confess. The confessing is what kept the trials going because then the people of Salem continue to think witchcraft exists. John Proctor, one of the main characters, had the flaw of adultery with Abigail Williams, one of the twelve girls accusing of witchcraft, but John still fought for justice in Salem. Throughout the story John was truthful, selfless, and strong. Some say that the truth can set you free. In John Proctors case, it cages him up. John tells the judges about his affair with Abigail to stop her and the girls from the witchcraft accusations and to free his wife. When he tells the truth, he realizes he is not a perfect man, but he is fighting for the right thing. I cannot mount the gibbet like a saint. It is a...
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...William’s flaws – envy, dishonesty, and lust – that led her to be most responsible for the tragedy of the witch-hunt in Salem. Throughout The Crucible Abigail is envious of Elizabeth Proctor, and tries to get rid of her. One example is, ‘Oh, I marvel how such a strong man let such a sickly wife be’ (Miller 470). Abigail is commenting on Elizabeth’s health. She does not understand why John would rather have a sick wife than her. She is jealous that he chose His wife over her. Then she commented, ‘You loved me John Proctor, and whatever sin it is you love me yet,’ (Miller 471). This shows that Abigail thinks John loves her, and she is trying to convince him to be with her again. Abigail’s envy of Elizabeth drives her to get many people killed. In the play, Abigail is dishonest, pretending that there are actually witches. She does this in order to prosecute Elizabeth proctor. She...
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...John Proctor, a symbol of strength in Salem, was a prideful man. Proctor displayed himself as a righteous man who worked hard, raised wholesome children, and followed the Lord’s laws. What the community of Salem didn’t see was the ongoing internal battle Proctor endured on a daily basis. “He is a sinner, a sinner not only against the moral fashion of the time, but against his own vision of decent conduct,” (Miller 18). Proctor committed the act of adultery with Abigail Williams, which haunted him daily. This slip of moral judgment constituted Proctor as a tragic hero. Proctor was a tragic hero because he made a flaw of judgment, his anagnorisis, and his unfair punishment. John Proctor betrayed his wife, a fact that bothered his conscience...
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...November.11.2015. The Crucible: Is John Proctor truly a tragic hero? A tragic hero is a person with admirable qualities yet they have a tragic flaw that leads them to their downfall. In Miller’s play “The Crucible,” the protagonist, John Proctor, is a tragic hero known for his good reputation yet commits adultery with Abigail thus making it a tragic flaw that leads to his death. John Proctor is a tragic hero because he is a well-mannered person that has a good reputation. John strongly believes in Elizabeth’s good morals by proving his honesty and bond towards Elizabeth and speaks up for her as he tries to get her and his friends’ wives out of jail. He tells Danforth...
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...John Proctor, a man with many flaws and mistakes made in his life. A man that is not faithful to his wife. This man is to be compared to a Tragic Hero. A hero that makes a bad judgement that leads to his/hers demise, This comparison would be reasonable for this character, but I would not say that he was a hero since day one but more he develop into a hero towards the end, but the real question is John Proctor a tragic hero? In the beginning John Proctor was cheating on his wife with a young girl named Abigail. Abigail is mischievous young girl of 16 who dance in the forest and drank blood of a chicken in order to kill John’s wife, Elizabeth Proctor. John had an affair with this girl, a girl who tried to use magic to kill his wife. Thous he broke one of the most important christian rule of “Adultery, John” (Miller 64). A rule that he could not remember when he was ask to say the Commandments later in the book. In which shows his none heroism. John’s wife put the pieces together and figured out that she was being cheated on “She doesn’t want friction, and yet she must: You come so late I thought you’d gone to Salem this afternoon.”(Miller 49) This shows that she still tried to keep their relationship going and doesn't want to believe the bad in him. John on the other...
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...as a tragic hero.The tragic hero in this story is John Proctor. This is because John displays all the qualities of being a tragic hero, such as a tragic flaw. Tragic heroes are supposed to arouse pity and fear in the reader or audience. John Proctor shows all qualities which are: mighty figure, reversal of fortune, Uncommon suffering, recognizes the consequences of his actions, and his plight ennobles the reader. John Proctor is a mighty figure because he had helped to build the church. In the Book John had said “I nailed the roof upon the church, I hung the door,” (Miller 32). This shows how, in the theocracy the live in, which is a government run by religion, John would be a mighty figure. It also shows how it leads to his downfall, and his recognizing of his actions. This is because he is so full of pride that he thinks no one will suspect him, and he can get away with adultery. Also in the book John says “ How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name,” (Miller 62). This shows how John has recognized his mistakes, and is recognizing...
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...mother figure in her life she did not have much love as child therefore she found it somewhere with someone else being John Proctor...
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...that is destined for a downfall or defeat. In the play, The Crucible by Arthur Miller, there is a debate going on about if the main protagonist, John Proctor, is a tragic hero. Some say he is because of the way he died to save the dignity of his name, yet others say he is not because of the sins he had committed. Proctor is a tragic hero because he learned from his flaw to become a better person and died to save the dignity of his name. During the play, Miller talks about a flaw that Proctor has that is the cause of his downfall. Miller talks about a girl by the name of Abigail Williams who worked for Proctor and his wife, Elizabeth Proctor. She wouldn’t be working for them for too long because Williams and Proctor had an affair. When Elizabeth Proctor finds out, she fires Williams and since then John Proctor has used this flaw to learned from it. For example, in Act III, Proctor confesses his sin publicly to the court. By doing this, Proctor shows his goodness and also has learned how to forgive himself and not live with the guilt. Even though John Proctor has sinned, he tries to keep his name a clean as possible. For example, at the end of Act III, Proctor is arrested for being a witch after the girl who works...
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...must risk their reputation to do what is right. This is what made John Proctor a hero, despite the flaws he had. The Crucible by Andrew Miller is a play about the Salem witch trials during the Puritans era. John Proctor is a hero in The Crucible because he believes in justice, values his reputation, and is fallible. John Proctor believes in justice for the people accused of witchcraft. He is willing to put himself on the line so others can be free. When John was at the courthouse, in front of all the judges—trying to save his wife’s life, he admits to his affair with Abigail. It does this so he can end the wrath of Abigail. John said—admitting to his faults “I have known her, sir; I have known her,” (Miller 1309). Another example would be when he is not willing to give the names of others away, because he wants to be the good person that he was always inside. He says when the towns’ men are questioning him for other “witches”. Danforth asks him if there was...
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...The One to Blame While reading “The Crucible” we were so bewitched by what was happening that we never thought about who caused these trials. There are many characters that could be to blame. Whether it be John Proctor or Reverend Parris. There is only one character whom possess the traits to pull off something like this and not get into trouble. This would be Abigail. In Arthur Miller’s play “The Crucible” Abigail uses her flaws lust, mendacity, and vengefulness to her advantage. As the play first starts off, Parris is praying over Betty while waiting on Doctor Griggs diagnoses. Susanna Walcott comes to talk about Doctor Griggs findings and the possibility of unnatural causes for Betty’s illness. Parris tells Susanna that his daughter...
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...play The Crucible it tells the tale of a troubled, proud, and arrogant man by the name of John Procter. John Proctor does something that was wrong with a woman that was not his wife. When his wife finds out, she sends out the woman that he did lechery with out of her house and sent her to the girl's uncle's house. The young female who was sent out was named Abigail Williams. Abigail Williams uncle happened to be the Reverend in the small town of Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. When Abigail Williams starts to threaten the life of his wife Elizabeth, he becomes very angry but tries to fix it in any way that he can. John Proctor, possesses all the attributes of a tragic hero. It is revealed in the play that John Proctor was a noble man. He was a prominent land owner, so he had a say in the different meetings in the meeting house. This...
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...Crucible. John Proctor is most affected by the thought of maintaining an acceptable reputation for his name. Throughout The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, John Proctor made many mistakes, one such as committing adultery, which made his wife, Elizabeth Proctor, lose his trust. Although he made mistakes, the town still saw John as a respectable man who cared immensely for his family. In the end, John did admit his sin of adultery and was hanged. Through “Aristotle’s Poetics” it is proved that John Proctor is the tragic hero of The Crucible because his true character comes out and he becomes a good man in the end by admitting to his wrong-doings, committing adultery, in order to save his reputation and family. John Proctor ruins his reputation within the change of fortune, or catastrophe, appeal of “Aristotle’s Poetics”. A change of fortune is explained as “occurs when a character produces an effect opposite to that which he intended to produce…”(McManus). John Proctor did not want his reputation ruined or his relationship with his wife ruined, however the complete opposite happened to him creating a major problem. The change of fortune is when John is finally forced to admit to the court about his sin (Miller 119). John Proctor commits adultery with Abigail and is compelled to admit this sin to his wife and to the town. John first admits to committing adultery to his wife, Elizabeth Proctor, after she had suspected something was going on between John and Abigail. John tells Elizabeth...
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...Communism (Bach, Morten, and Hale, Korcaighe 68). The red scare led to many people fearing everyone else, thinking of them as Communist. In the Salem Witch Trials, witchcraft haunted the village much like during McCarthy era, Communism haunted America. During the McCarthy era and the Salem Witch Trials, people became so scared of accusations of witchery or Communism that they proceeded to try almost anything to keep themselves out of harm. The Crucible shows a symbolism of McCarthyism in the 1950’s In the beginning of The Crucible, flaws in the Puritan religion shine through Parris. Parris, too drawn up in himself, worried only about his reputation, so when Abigail won’t tell him what happened he yells to her, “I have sought here three long years to bend these stiff-necked people...
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...John Proctor is faced with obstacles that he must overcome to develop his character in The Crucible. John Proctor’s change in his character is an important part of the theme of The Crucible. John Proctor is a farmer that inherited the family tradition. He is married to Elizabeth Proctor and has three young boys. John Proctor dislikes hypocrites and does not trust the authority in Salem. John Proctor committed an affair with a seventeen-year-old girl named Abigail Williams. Throughout the story he is challenged with the guilt of committing adultery. John Proctor’s personal integrity is challenged in multiple parts of The Crucible. Proctor is challenged by the affair with Abigail, Hale questioning him about his relationship with God, giving up...
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...Proctor is known to be an upstanding member of the village, but he has some flaws. He had an affair with Abigail Williams, and he didn’t want the Puritans of Salem to know about it. Proctor was embarrassed about the situation and he wanted his wife and Abigail to forget about it. He wanted everyone in the village to continue to think of him as a good man. When trying to save his wife from being killed, he ended up getting questioned for having conspired with the devil. He refused to sign the written confession to show proof to the village. Proctor stated, “How may I leave without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name!” (143). John Proctor does not want his name to be left with a lie, so he did not sign the confession to save his name. He wanted to die with a name that was honest, and not stay living a lie. John Proctor then got hung for his...
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