Tragedy affects people in all different ways, for some it can cause dramatic changes in their lives. Arthur Miller, the author of “The Crucible” believes that a tragic hero is a person who stands up for their own personal dignity and goes against the crowd. In the play John proctor is a tragic hero. His actions show that when a person is being pushed to their limit, it causes them to change their personality from a passive person to an assertive person. In turn, this can be seen as a good thing in society, or a disaster. Most people in the real world value their individuality, and the truth. When someone questions a person’s individuality it causes a conflict. Arthur Miller establishes John Proctor as a tragic hero in “The Crucible” through
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All the people living in Salem follow each other in everything they do. For example, when the story of witchcraft broke out all of the citizens are taking advantage of the widespread fear going through the town to accuse any one of the people they dislike of committing the crime, which leads them to be punished, and in most cases killed. John recognizes this problem and argues with the court that they are not being fair to everyone who was accused because they were being killed without being able to defend their case. Proctor’s name was thrown into the mix because Mary Warren, the Proctor’s servant, wanted to save herself and clear her own name. Proctor is aggravated by this due to the fact that he was not given a chance to save himself, and he gives into the pressure and wrongfully confesses to the accused crime. He states, “What others say and what I say and what I sign is not the same!” (Miller 143). The church will not accept his confession without being able to show it to everyone, and ruining his name. His name means so much to him because their name represents who they are and their status in society. His tragic moment changes his view of the society, and exposing their lack of knowledge on what is happening in the town of …show more content…
In the essay “Tragedy and the Common Man” he states, “ the tragic feeling is evoked in us when we are in the presence of a character who is ready to lay down his life, if need be, to secure one thing-his sense of personal dignity” (Miller). Proctor was able to put his situation aside, and take a stance for himself. He knows that by not agreeing to Reverend Hale’s idea of confession, he could have more of a chance to be killed, but he does not care. He wants to die a noble man, without lying to save himself, even though there was a chance that the plain would fall through. This is how he was able to gain back his sense of self-worth, and reinstate his individuality, against everyone’s
All the people living in Salem follow each other in everything they do. For example, when the story of witchcraft broke out all of the citizens are taking advantage of the widespread fear going through the town to accuse any one of the people they dislike of committing the crime, which leads them to be punished, and in most cases killed. John recognizes this problem and argues with the court that they are not being fair to everyone who was accused because they were being killed without being able to defend their case. Proctor’s name was thrown into the mix because Mary Warren, the Proctor’s servant, wanted to save herself and clear her own name. Proctor is aggravated by this due to the fact that he was not given a chance to save himself, and he gives into the pressure and wrongfully confesses to the accused crime. He states, “What others say and what I say and what I sign is not the same!” (Miller 143). The church will not accept his confession without being able to show it to everyone, and ruining his name. His name means so much to him because their name represents who they are and their status in society. His tragic moment changes his view of the society, and exposing their lack of knowledge on what is happening in the town of …show more content…
In the essay “Tragedy and the Common Man” he states, “ the tragic feeling is evoked in us when we are in the presence of a character who is ready to lay down his life, if need be, to secure one thing-his sense of personal dignity” (Miller). Proctor was able to put his situation aside, and take a stance for himself. He knows that by not agreeing to Reverend Hale’s idea of confession, he could have more of a chance to be killed, but he does not care. He wants to die a noble man, without lying to save himself, even though there was a chance that the plain would fall through. This is how he was able to gain back his sense of self-worth, and reinstate his individuality, against everyone’s