A hero can be defined as someone who possesses upstanding qualities or has accomplished impressive feats. Similarly, a tragic hero in a piece of literature possesses upstanding qualities, yet also has a tragic flaw that eventually leads to his demise. For these reasons, the character John Proctor in the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a tragic hero. Due to how John Proctor can be characterized as having goodness and a superior reputation, a tragic flaw, and an epiphany moment, he is the embodiment of a tragic hero.
John Proctor is shown as having goodness and being superior through how he is a moral and ethical person who is respected and influential in the community. John is shown as being a moral person through how he does not intend to harm anyone. One event that displays John’s moral character is when he warns Abigail to be expectant of him revealing their affair (Act II). …show more content…
People may argue that John was not moral due to how he sinned by committing adultery. Admittedly, John did break the Ten Commandments by having an affair with Abigail prior to when the play was set (Act I). Although this specific action may depict John as being a bad person, he recognized the action as being bad and honestly regretted his choice. Immediately after the affair, John knew he had done wrong and tried to redress his actions by trying to make amends with his wife. John attempted to earn back Elizabeth’s trust by not visiting Abigail or hardly leaving the house at all (Act II). In essence, John was a good person who had simply made a mistake. Had he truly not been a good person, he would not have cared so much for his wife and would neither have regretted his actions nor tried to make things up to her. Therefore, the fact that John committed adultery once does not define him as a bad person, but rather shows he was a good person who simply made a
John Proctor is shown as having goodness and being superior through how he is a moral and ethical person who is respected and influential in the community. John is shown as being a moral person through how he does not intend to harm anyone. One event that displays John’s moral character is when he warns Abigail to be expectant of him revealing their affair (Act II). …show more content…
People may argue that John was not moral due to how he sinned by committing adultery. Admittedly, John did break the Ten Commandments by having an affair with Abigail prior to when the play was set (Act I). Although this specific action may depict John as being a bad person, he recognized the action as being bad and honestly regretted his choice. Immediately after the affair, John knew he had done wrong and tried to redress his actions by trying to make amends with his wife. John attempted to earn back Elizabeth’s trust by not visiting Abigail or hardly leaving the house at all (Act II). In essence, John was a good person who had simply made a mistake. Had he truly not been a good person, he would not have cared so much for his wife and would neither have regretted his actions nor tried to make things up to her. Therefore, the fact that John committed adultery once does not define him as a bad person, but rather shows he was a good person who simply made a