Arthur Miller s The Crucible - 1191 Words

In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, the normal criteria that a central character fits, is not met by the protagonist, John Proctor. Common traits one might expect to find in a traditional hero are humility, patience and caring. John Proctor, while he is the principal, has many qualities that could instead assume him the role of the antagonist and land him in the adversary box. His background and slight character flaws cause him to take on the the personalities of both a protagonist and antagonist. Proctor, because he exhibits qualities of both types of characters, is what is known as a tragic hero. Tragic heroes are characters within stories that due to a judgment error, is the cause of his/her own demise. In the case of Proctor, his error was made when he refuses to give up the names of other alleged witches, and refuses to allow the court to hang his confession in the center of town. John Proctor embodies three major signs of tragic heroism. Proctor, even through the rest of th e village perceives him as great, knows deep down inside that because of past sins, he will never be able to live up to his reputation. As well, John Proctor is a tragic hero because he had the power to stop his own execution, therefore his downfall was no one s’ fault but his own. This reluctance to could be seen as a character flaw. The final criteria that Proctor meets for a tragic hero is that the punishment given is way too severe for the â€Å"crime† committed. His sentence to death for being a wizardShow MoreRelatedArthur Miller s The Crucible2214 Words   |  9 PagesJohn Proctor: A tragic hero A man s reputation in many forms is his, life’s work. To have your reputation dismantled is like taking away one s accomplishments and life’s work. Arthur Miller s The Crucible is a play about justice and injustice, and how our justice system can be easily corrupted. The story revolves around a man named John Proctor, the tragic hero of this story. John Protector is a symbolic character created by Arthur Miller, because he faced the justice system head on. Proctor’sRead MoreArthur Miller s The Crucible Essay1194 Words   |  5 Pages In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, the normal criteria that a central character fits, is not met by the apparent protagonist, John Proctor. Common traits one might expect to find in a traditional hero are humility, patience and caring. John Proctor, while he is the principal, has many qualities that could instead assume him the role of the antagonist and land him in the adversary box. His background and slight character flaw s cause him to take on the personalities of both a protagonist and antagonistRead MoreArthur Miller s The Crucible833 Words   |  4 PagesThere are an array of Aristotelian tragic heroes throughout American literature. One of which includes John Proctor, main character farmer in mid-30s, from Arthur Miller s play, The Crucible. Yet, in order for him to obtain such a title he must possess specific characteristics. Five of which include possession of hubris, a flaw or decision leading to desire for revenge, a reversal of good fortune brought forth by the error of judgement, acceptance of poor fortune brought forth by their actions,Read MoreAnalysis Of Arthur Miller s The Crucible 1457 Words   |  6 PagesSteven Huang Ms. Folkrod English 3, Period 7 26 October 2014 Proctor’s Pride and Downfall A tragic hero is a hero in a story whose natural flaws or wrong judgments, associates with bad fate, causes his downfall or death. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, there are tragic heroes. In the late 1600s, there are a series of witch trials happens at Salem, MA. John Proctor, a farmer who lives in a farm with his wife Elizabeth Proctor, is the protagonist during the Salem witch trial. John is a candid, frankRead MoreAnalysis Of Arthur Miller s The Crucible 961 Words   |  4 Pages Movie paper analysis of The crucible The circumstance brought upon a person can change them greatly. The Crucible edited and rewritten by Arthur Miller, is a movie which takes place in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. The leading actors are Daniel Day-Lewis as Proctor, Winona Ryder as Abigail, Paul Scofield as Judge Danforth, Joan Allen as Elizabeth, Bruce Davison as Parris, and Rob Campbell as Hale. It was directed by Nicholas Hytner and was Based on the witch hunt which surrounded MassachusettsRead MoreAnalysis Of Arthur Miller s The Crucible 1732 Words   |  7 Pagesin the world. II. Biographical Arthur Miller was a controversial playwright during the 1950’s and 60’s, note because of the material that he choose to write about, but because of the events that took place surrounding one of his best works: The Crucible. One of his friends and a fellow playwright Elia Kazan was accused of being a Communist by the house Un-American Activities Committee. Elia, who had admitted to being previously a Communist during the 1930’s (long before the cold war) was askedRead MoreAnalysis Of Arthur Miller s The Crucible 1052 Words   |  5 PagesArthur Miller was one of the leading American playwrights in the 20th century. Arthur Miller was born on October 17, 1915 in Harlem New York City to Isidore and Augusta Miller (GradeSaver). After graduating from high school, Miller worked a variety of odd jobs including hosting a radio program; this was before the University of Michigan accepted him. At school, he studied journalism, became the night editor of the Michigan Daily, and began experimenting with theater and writing plays. He lived throughRead MoreAnalysis Of Arthur Miller s The Crucible 908 Words   |  4 PagesDel Giudice Mrs. Schmiedeler English 2F 21 October 2015 Crucible Essay â€Å"It takes many good deeds to build a good reputation, and only one bad one to lose it.† This is a quote by Benjamin Franklin and it explains how the puritan society in The Crucible work. this quote shows how fragile a reputation can be, you can spend your whole life increasing your reputation, but one wrong move and it’s completely wrong. In The Crucible, many of Arthur Miller’s characters are very concerned with their reputationRead MoreAnalysis Of Arthur Miller s The Crucible 2138 Words   |  9 Pages Crucible Character Essay - John Proctor #6 In Arthur Miller’s â€Å"The Crucible† the protagonist is a man by the name of John Proctor. Proctor is a very complex character because he doesn t have the cleanest history. He is a man in about his forties who had committed the sin of cheating on his wife with a young girl. This act of his gives a bad first impression to the reader. Proctor however does try to become a better man and do the right thing to save his wife s life, which changes feelingsRead MoreThe Scarlet Letter And Arthur Miller s The Crucible1050 Words   |  5 PagesNathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter and Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, the repercussions of committing adultery are exhibited through characters in two different puritanical societies. Arthur Dimmesdale, Hester Prynne, John Proctor, and Abigail Williams are all victims to this. Despite living in sincere societies, these characters behave hypocritically in order to hide a concealed truth, resulting in internal ignomi ny, until they ultimately confess. Arthur Dimmesdale shows his guilt and hypocritical