English 3 H
Ms. Park
September 18, 2016
The Tragic Hero and His Downfall John Proctor Theocracy is where the government rules through the laws of religion. The Crucible by Arthur Miller shows a society which has undergone a brief moment in a Christian theocracy with the emergence of the Salem Witch hunts. Aristotle's definition of a tragic hero is when character makes judgment error and as a result he becomes the tragic hero of the Crucible. John Proctor's path of a tragic hero is shown in his high position in society at the beginning of the story, however as the story continues to develop Proctor’s tragic flaws become more prominent, which leads to a changing of his fortunes, and finally Proctor gains insight at the end …show more content…
The influence of John Proctor in the town of Salem was explicitly stated Reverend Parris telling “Mr. Proctor [and] you may tell that to your followers, There is a party in this church. I am not blind; there is a faction and a party” this statement from Parris solidifies the first characteristic of a tragic hero and that is his deep influence and high position in the society. Though many would refer to the true definition of nobility which being extremely wealthy and being from a high social class. This, however true in definition, but is false here because the fact that John proctor’s background is not from wealthy and high social class, yet he is able to gain a faction/ party in the church which is owned by Reverend Parris is a direct comparison by Arthur Miller to the medieval era in which Reverend Parris represents the catholic church, whereas John Proctor represents the king, the sole existence which surmounts the sole authority of the church allowing him to have many supporting groups everywhere. The allusion to medieval king also gives the common man John Proctor a noble air, thus proving the first characteristic of a tragic hero to be solidified around John …show more content…
And focuses the advancement of the story to follow the tragic hero John Proctor. John Proctor's path of a tragic hero is shown in the beginning with his high position in society, however as the story continues to dive and plunge with climaxes proctor’s tragic flaws become more prominent, which leads to a changing of his fortunes, and as the end becomes eminent Proctor gains insight at his flaws and thus tries to transform himself for the better but is too late to make a lasting impact in the living world like all the tragic heroes of the