Who Is John Proctor A Tragic Hero

Everyone loves a hero to swoop in and save the people, but what if the hero is not really a hero? What if they are a tragic hero? In Arthur Miller's play The Crucible (1952), John Proctor shows characteristics of being a tragic hero, through his actions throughout the play. Let us start with a simple question. What is a tragic hero? According to Arthur Miller in Tragedy and the Common Man, he says that all tragic heroes have one thing in common, "[a] tragic flaw," (paragraph 6). This tragic flaw is the thing that brings down the status of being a hero to a tragic hero. Honesty is one rule all heroes never dare to break. Throughout the play, John Proctor has shown characteristics of being a hero, by being honest. Proctor was the very first character to bring forth the truth, "It were pretense [Judge Danforth]," (Page 1191).
When Proctor was prosecuted for being one with the devil, he was asked a series of questions. Danforth demanded Proctor to confess that is he saw certain people, innocent people, with the devil. Proctor answered with, "No, I did not," (Page 1230), every single time. As other people who were prosecuted did accuse these people, such as Rebecca Nurse and Martha Corey. He did not put anyone else's life in danger as he was putting his own life in danger by not accusing them. Having the guts to stand up to others is something that all heroes have mastered in.
When Proctor was giving his confession, Cheever was recording it to post on the church door. The court wanted to show the public that even someone as good as Proctor cannot escape the clutches of the devil. By doing so, the court would be able to rid all the doubts the community had on their work. Proctor knew this and, "[in a] wild terror rising in him," (Stage directions page 1231), he ripped the confession paper. This showed the court that he will not give them what they want. By doing this Proctor also ripped up any chance of him keeping his