What defines a man as a failure, and what describes a man as a tragic hero on par with the great greek heroes such as Oedipus? The qualities of a tragic hero, that of which people have studied for decades, have such a strict set of rules that define a tragic hero that there doesn’t seem to be any modern or “common” tragic heroes. Although Aristotle dictates that a tragic hero must be of noble birth, John Proctor demonstrates more qualities of a tragic hero than he does not, therefore John Proctor is best understood as a tragic hero.
John Proctor, the protagonist in The Crucible, who was seen as a highly renowned man in his society, saw error in his ways despite his affair with Abigail. He knew what he did was far from forgivable and acknowledged himself as a sinner. Even despite the fact that he cheated on his wife, Elizabeth still saw him as a man of justice and honor and pleaded with him to end the trouble that he inadvertently started with Abigail. Elizabeth says, “Then go and tell her she’s a whore. Whatever promise she may sense--break it, John, break it,” (Miller 62). Elizabeth still knows that John is a …show more content…
They argue that John Proctor does not fit the complete guideline for tragic heroes. Aristotle proclaims that, “The tragic hero must have noble stature and greatness,” (Aristotle). This means that for a character to be a tragic hero he must come from royalty or some other form of noble birth. However, even though John Proctor is a common man just like any other person in the town of Salem, he is described to be a highly regarded member of the society of Salem and his community respects him as such. The book describes him as a man ‘powerful of body, even-tempered, and not easily led,’ and the book states, “Proctor, respected and even feared in Salem…,” (Miller 20). John Proctor may not be of noble birth, but he was seen and perceived as a noble and respectable man in