John Proctor Sacrifice

In 1692, over 200 people were charged with witchcraft, with 19 dead by hanging and one crushed by heavy stones. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, these events are shown, with one of them being the main character John Proctor, who is seen sacrificing his life, but one may think the sacrifice was pointless. At the beginning of the book, Proctor is a respected farmer, then his wife, Elizabeth, is accused and arrested by the court, and then he is arrested and accused like his wife. Then, minutes before his execution, he draws up a fake confession to get him out, later denying it because by signing it and giving it back to the court, he would be ruined, despite calls from the head priest Reverend Hale, to sign it and save his own life. John Proctor …show more content…
At the start of the book, John Proctor is a nobleman with a high amount of hubris, traits of tragic heroes. Which is a part of a tragic hero, and when “if it were not Abigail that you must go to hurt, would you falter now? I think not. Elizabeth. I have good reason to think before I charge fraud on Abigail, and I will think about it. Let you look to your own improvement before you go to judge your husband any more” (Miller 12). In this quote, one sees how Proctor responds to criticism, passing blame to Elizabeth. When she responds, he is only faltering because it is Abigail. Proctor responds to this by telling her that he is above questioning of him by his own wife unless she questions her faults. Proctor demonstrates …show more content…
When Proctor says this he talks about what would be the lesson to his children if he sold out his friends, but if he is dead how can he teach anything, if he is not alive? Proctor only raises this concern after he has to ruin his name, being fully okay with the judges and preachers telling the townspeople he has confessed, but when his name is put directly on the church that is now too much. All this means that Proctor only really cares when he loses something, not considering others. Secondly, many characters believe Proctor is arrogant, only causing more damage to his family. Hale believes Proctor's actions are “it is pride, it is vanity. Be his helper. –what profit did he bleed? Shall the dust praise him? Shall the worms declare his truth? Go to him, take his shame away” (Miller 39). This quote determines Proctor's heroic qualities. If he dies, what can he say? If Proctor dies, his ability to speak testimony is lost, so if the judges are brought to trial they lose testimony and get off despite their