Of John Proctor As A Tragic Hero In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

What is a tragic hero? According to Aristotle, a tragic hero is a character in literature, usually an influential and prominent member of their community, that carries the weight of a tragic flaw, and endures a tragic fall from society as the result of a poor decision. In Arthur Miller’s classic drama, The Crucible (1953), the character John Proctor is analyzed as a tragic hero because he is an important member of Salem, bears a tragic flaw, and experiences a tragic downfall due to a detrimental decision. In the drama, Proctor is a prominent member of the community. The reader determines this from the stage directions Miller employs to describe Proctor as he enters: “He was the kind of man - powerful of body, even-tempered, and not so easily led - who cannot refuse support to partisans without drawing their deepest resentment. In Proctor’s presence a fool felt his foolishness instantly… Proctor [is] respected and even feared in Salem…” (1269). This quote demonstrates that Proctor is powerful and respected in his community, going so far as to even be feared by the townspeople. Thus, Proctor has fulfilled …show more content…
For Proctor, that flaw would be his excessive hubris, or pride. This is apparent throughout the play, and can be exhibited in his first description in the stage directions: “[Proctor] has come to regard himself as a kind of fraud. But no hint of this has yet appeared on the surface, and as he enters from the crowded parlor below it is a man in his prime we see, with quiet confidence and an unexpressed, hidden force (1269).” His pride is also ascertained during his interrogation and trial near the end of the play: “‘You will not use me! I am no Sarah Good or Tituba, I am John Proctor! You will not use me! It is no part of salvation that you should use me! (1356).” These quotes convey the pride Proctor possesses in himself, from when he is introduced until near the end of the play, that designate him a tragic