A Tragic Hero Essays - Literature, Arts, Culture, The Crucible

A Tragic Hero Essays - Literature, Arts, Culture, The Crucible A Tragic Hero Heroes are viewed as vital to a story within American literature. These heroes accomplish both big and small feats in their own stories. They can help a whole city that's in danger, or just help themselves get over some internal conflict. Whichever situation they fulfill, they're considered a hero and have a special place within any kind of story. In literature we have a specific kind of hero that often makes appearances in stories, this would be a tragic hero. A tragic hero has flaws and makes errors, just like an ordinary person, which makes it easier for readers to relate to the hero and pity them (Miller). The hero's story also displays how they must make a difficult decision that could have effect on many people close to them. A prime example of a tragic hero would be John Proctor from The Crucible . Proctor fulfills many of the characteristics of a tragic hero, he has major flaws and has to make many crucial decisions throughout the play. Due to his actions within the play, while also dealing with the repercussions of his past mistakes, he can easily be considered a tragic hero. John Proctor, like any other human, made mistakes in his past. He has an affair with the household servant, Abigail Williams. She is the niece of Reverend Parris, who preaches at the local church. Parris is disliked by a majority of the town of Salem due to his extreme preaching about how everyone is going to hell. John Proctor dislikes and distrusts Parris a great deal, which in turn causes him to not attend church and not have his youngest child baptised. These facts are used against him later in the play because another man, Reverend Hale, wrongly judges him and makes him look bad to the court. So when he tries to save his wife and present evidence that make her look good, the court already views him badly. Once Proctor is accused of witchcraft he faces his biggest decision he has to make, Overall, Proctor is a good man that falls into bad situations and makes mistakes, like any other person. It's how he handles those issues and what he goes through that makes him a tragic he ro. According to Aristotle, a tragic hero is a literary character who makes a judgement error that inevitably leads to his/her own destruction. In The Crucible, John Proctor's judgement error would be his affair with Abigail. He finally realizes the only way to get the trails to stop However, what really leads to his destruction is his flaw, his excessive pride also known as hubris. At the end of the play, when he almost confesses, he refuses to let the court post his confession on the church door and tears the confession up. This shows how his pride got in the way and led him to accept his death. Obviously he had other reasons for not confessing including regaining his goodness and dignity, which also build his character as a tragic hero. There are two things that Proctor holds close to him, his wife and his good name. In attempt to save both of these things, he initially admits to the affair between him and Abigail. This is the major decision he makes that he thinks will discredit Abigail and her friends in the court: A man may think God sleeps, but God sees everything, I know it now. I beg you, sir, I beg yousee her what she is. . . . She thinks to dance with me on my wife's grave! And well she might, for I thought of her softly. God help me, I lusted, and there is a promise in such sweat. But it is a whore's vengeance, and you must see it; I set myself entirely in your hands. (Miller 873) Because he makes this significant decision it adds to him being a tragic hero due to Aristotle's description of a tragic hero. His actions were honorable due to the fact that he exposed himself and his mistakes for the well being of his wife and their marriage. Over the course of The Crucible John Proctor did many things to