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The Crucible John Proctor Selfish

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The Crucible John Proctor Selfish
In The Crucible, John Proctor, the protagonist of the play, is known as a tragic hero. He is a hero because in the end he stays true to his beliefs and his philosophies, knowing that by doing so he will be condemned to hang. Some may consider him as a tragic hero and some may consider him as only a pride filled coward for not telling the truth earlier. John Proctor can be viewed as selfish because many others including Rebecca Nurse and Sarah Good were hanged before John confessed to having an affair with Abigail. Proctor is also selfish because he could not control his attraction to Abigail, even though he knew it would not end well and be good for no one. He could have easily saved his life by signing the confession which stated that …show more content…
Everyone around him doesn’t realize how much his pride is holding him back from the truth. Although he is trying to save Abigail Williams and himself from being shamed in the village, he is causing others to die a tragic death even if they were not at fault of witchery. The Crucible ends with John Proctor marching off to his death. By refusing to lie and confess to witchcraft, he sacrifices his life in the name of truth. At the end of the play, Proctor has in some way regained his goodness. His death is significant because in my opinion he was a coward, but also a hero. I think it is interesting that the author of the play, Arthur Miller, does not give John the last word. Instead, Reverend Hale and Elizabeth Proctor get the privilege. At the end of the play Hale states “Woman, plead with him! Woman! It is pride, it is vanity. Be his helper! What profit him to bleed? Shall the dust praise him? Shall the worms declare his truth? Go to him, take his shame away!” And Elizabeth states “He have his goodness now. God forbid I take it from him!” I don’t think he deserved to die since he eventually told the truth and he is also leaving his family and his unborn child. In conclusion, it is obvious that John Proctor falls into the category of a tragic hero. All the evidence that I have shown above proves that this is true. Unfortunately, his heroic and honest action led to his own downfall and his tragic

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