John Proctor The Epitome of a Tragic Hero - 950 Words

John Proctor: The Epitome of a Tragic Hero According to Aristotle, a tragic hero is a literary character of magnitude that â€Å"makes a judgment error that inevitably leads to his or her destruction†. Unlike the Greek philosopher’s description, Arthur Miller, the author of the essay â€Å"Tragedy and the Common Man†, considers a tragic hero to be a character of ordinary status that â€Å"is ready to lay down their life to secure his or her personal dignity†. Miller illustrates this belief in his Puritanical play The Crucible, featuring the honest and wholesome protagonist, John Proctor as the tragic hero. Proctor, a farmer who despises hypocrites, finds himself in a string of conflict when he commits adultery with his former house servant and becomes what he hates most, resulting in his death. Proctor’s role as a true classical tragic hero is demonstrated by his relentless fight to expose Abigail and the â€Å"witch trials† as lies, and save his wife and secure â€Å"good name†. In his essay, â€Å"The Tragedy and the Common Man†, Miller affirms that one of the aspects of a tragic hero is â€Å"the underlying struggles that of the individual attempting to gain his rightful position in his society (1).† Miller makes it clear that even a man of ordinary status is burdened with the struggle of one’s name in a duplicitous society. Proctor struggles with this when he is faced with the ultimate decision to either confess to witchcraft and give in to the corruption of the witch hunt and Puritan beliefs or keepShow MoreRelatedArthur Miller s The Crucible Essay1194 Words   |  5 Pagesprotagonist, John Proctor. Common traits one might expect to find in a traditional hero are humility, patience and caring. John Proctor, while he is the principal, has many qualities that could instead assume him the role of the antagonist and land him in the adversary box. His background and slight character flaws cause him to take on the personalities of both a protagonist and antagonist. Proctor, because he exhibits qualities of both types of characters, is what is known as a tragic hero. Tragic heroesRead MoreArthur Miller s The Crucible1191 Words   |  5 Pagesprotagonist, John Proctor. Common traits one might expect to find in a traditional hero are humility, patience and caring. John Proctor, while he is the principal, has many qualities that could instead assume him the role of the antagonist and land him in the adversary box. His background and slight character flaws cause him to take on the the personalities of both a protagonist and antagonist. Proctor, because he exhibits qualities of both types of characters, is what is known as a tragic hero. Tragic heroesRead MoreThe Allegory of McCarthyism in The Crucible by Arthur Miller Essay2041 Words   |  9 Pagesgravity of their accusations that lead to the tragedy in the play. Miller displays this by showing a slight glimpse of maturity in Mary Warren, however she soon results back to their grave childish game that Abigail leads the girls into as she calls Proctor â€Å"the Devil’s man!† which leads to his death. There must actually be a rightful entity to blame and that is Salem itself. The town’s traditions inhibited the importance of women, especially the young woman, who were still classified as children andRead MoreOrganisational Theory230255 Words   |  922 Pages. Organization Theory Challenges and Perspectives John McAuley, Joanne Duberley and Phil Johnson . This book is, to my knowledge, the most comprehensive and reliable guide to organisational theory currently available. What is needed is a text that will give a good idea of the breadth and complexity of this important subject, and this is precisely what McAuley, Duberley and Johnson have provided. They have done some sterling service in bringing together the very diverse strands of work