Week 6 Term 2 Homework

Is John Proctor a hero or not? We have debated this in class. Now choose the most effective point in the argument for or against and write a paragraph on this point with a really effective topic sentence and evidence from the play in support. Include at least one correctly punctuated quotation. Post to your blog for tomorrow’s lesson.

I believe John Proctor is a tragic hero because he meets the principle expectations of what a typical hero should require. A typical hero is one who is admired for courage or noble qualities. Courage is one of the main qualities that makes Proctor's character unique. An example of this is when he stands in front of the entire court, trying to prove Abigail Williams a 'whore' and a liar by confessing his sin of adultery with Abigail to Judge Danforth, "I have known her, sir. I have known her." In order to validity his point, he says to Danforth, "A man will not cast away his good name. You surely know that." However, Proctor specifically makes a tragic hero. A tragic hero, according to Aristotle, must have two main qualities: First, he must be noble, above the norm in intelligence, bravery, charisma, or success; secondly, however, he must also possess a tragic flaw which causes his ultimate downfall. Proctor is all of the qualities above; He is noble, beyond brave and successful in is own way. He also possesses a tragic flaw. Another definition of a tragic hero that matches Proctor's character is that the inner struggle of hiss flaw eventually ends in the defeat of the hero, hence his death. Proctor is noble throughout the whole play because behind his every action were meaningful reasons. Although he committed adultery with Abigail, he realises this was wrong and chose to change, never daring to repeat the mistake. When the whole town believes in witchcraft and is suspicious of Proctor, his morals and beliefs does not falter, even if it meant death. At first, Proctor wanted to confess to a lie in order to survive. However, he only considered this because he felt as though he did not deserve to sacrifice his life for the truth, "I cannot mount the gibbet like a saint. It is a fraud. I am not that man." He feels as though he owes his life to God for committing such a crime and is certain that he can no longer be a honest man, "I'd have you see some honesty in it. Let them that never lied die now to keep their souls. It is pretence for me, a vanity that will not blind God nor keep my children out of the wind." Proctor's decision to choose self-sacrifice shines through the characteristics of a hero by allowing him to keep his soul and goodness in him and at the same time, serve justice to his community, inspiring others to stand up for what they truly believe in. John Proctor becomes a tragic hero because despite his flawed character, deep down Proctor is a righteous man of courage who sacrificed his life for ethics and justice.