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John Proctor: A Tragic Hero

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What would you do if your choice was to save your name or get hung? Would you die? John Proctor died for his name. He signed a document saying he was a witch but then he thought to himself that if they posted that on the church door, he would lose his last name, meaning, his last name would not be a name people wouldn't want to hear. John Proctor was a tragic hero because, he died for his pride, his integrity, and hysteria.
John Proctor had a few flaws; one of them that really hurt him was his pride. That flaw would make him go through a series of events that would soon lead up to his hanging. Proctor’s internal pride was lost when he had a affair with Abigail. Proctor's life is completely turned upside down when Abigail accused his wife who was then sent to jail, and almost executed. A Tragic hero is when he or she has a complete reversal of fortune brought by the hero's own flaw. At the end of every tragic play, the audience must feel pity or remorse for the …show more content…
While talking to Elizabeth he uttered, "It may well be God damns a liar less than he that who throws his life away for pride" (Miller 132). He was trying to get Proctor to confess his lie and save his life. God cannot forgive a man who dies for pride, yet he can forgive a liar. So, Proctor should confess to witchcraft, however, Proctor cannot do this because he cannot get his name taken from him. At the very end of the play, Proctor is told the he will have to be hung and Hale tells Elizabeth, "Woman, plead with him! Woman! It is pride, it is vanity. Be his helper!-what profit him to bleed? Shall the dust praise him" (Miller 145)? Hale yells these words at Elizabeth Proctor, because he wanted her to convince John to plead guilty, but prideful Proctor chose to die instead and not lose his name. Proctor indeed had obsessive pride and he sacrificed himself for cleansing his soul. The entire play began and ended with his

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