The Crubible..John Proctor Question?

Question

Im doing an essay on John Proctor from the play The Crucible. Can anyone tell me exactly why he is a true tragic hero & all of the reasons? Or possibly a good website that states everything I would need to know of why he is a true tragic hero??

Thanks all of the help would be appreciated!

Answer 1

John Proctor is the tragic hero because he is pulled into the histeria due to a past action. In the play he says to Elizabeth it has been cold ever since (the affair he means) and he wants to fix his marriage but it is hard. The witch hunts give Abbigail a way to try and get rid of Elizabeth. Abbigail is cunning and nefarious (wickedly evil), she uses the "out of body" experiences, needle prick and the poppet that Mary Warren made, and fear to further drive a wedge between John and Elizabeth. Despite all the mess surrounding the witch hunts John still tries to protect his family. He stands up for his wife, refuses to sign a confession because that will be all this children will have left, and if he had not tried so hard to disprove the girls scheme Reverand Paris would have believed them to the end. Evidence of heroic actions are present in the text of when changes occur.Abbigails antics brought John and Elizabeth back together just before he was to be hung. Bitter sweet end for a family man just trying to save his wifes life and family name. Email me if you need or want more details. I loved the play and my history/english teacher spent a week going into the details of it. I could pull out my old notes for you. You'll do great on the essay!

A side note for a great paper: Keep your thesis strong and consise. Don't veer off and get vague through out your body paragraphs. Use textual support right, over doing it makes a paper weak and confusing if you use the wrong text in comparison. Remember that if you are having trouble staying on your thesis play with it a little to work with your details, that is easier to change than rewriting the whole paper.

Answer 2

Proctor chose to die on principle...a virtue historically assigned to prophets...a comparison between him and historical figures whether scriptural or not can give you a pretty good thesis statement. Also, even though it's more visual than the play rent the movie with Winona...well acted, but with less dialog....~~~~W

Answer 3

no
pick the one or two majors flaw of his character and show a half dozen supporting details that you can whip into 3 body paragraphs.

all of the reasons would be doing all of the work for you


a tragic hero has a flaw that leads to his down fall
clif and spark can always help

Answer 4

John Proctor wants to keep his good name from being tarnished. Early in the play, he has a chance to put a stop to the girls’ accusations, but his desire to preserve his reputation keeps him from testifying against Abigail. At the end of the play, however, Proctor’s desire to keep his good name leads him to make the heroic choice not to make a false confession and to go to his death without signing his name to an untrue statement. “I have given you my soul; leave me my name!” he cries to Danforth in Act IV. By refusing to relinquish his name, he redeems himself for his earlier failure and dies with integrity.