John Proctor, a farmer in the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller, is he a hero or is he a stooge? First of all, in my opinion, a hero is a person that overcomes obstacles and achieves their goals. John Proctor does not fit into that definition. He did not achieve his goal of bringing Abigail and the other girls to justice and in the end, he ended up getting himself and his friend into grave trouble.
Arguably, John Proctor can be a hero for his cause but he is a stooge for his last decisions. Proctor was given a chance to be set free and he accepted it. He was alleged to have seen the devil and worked for him and he confirmed its accuracy. He told the judge that he lied about everything and he was the devil's accomplice. Though, in the end, he refused to sign his testimony and he was hung.
If he had agreed to the lies they put on him and recanted what he had believed in, why did he go change his mind. He only needed to sign his name for his life and he gave up that chance. He chose death over life. If he were to choose death over life in the end, why tell a lie before you die? Why ruin your purity before the moment of death?
I cannot call John Proctor a hero nor can I call him fully a stooge. He did not save anyone nor himself. He definitely was not foolish in the sense of what he believed in but he was a stooge for his decision of having a moment of regret. I call him a martyr for this.
Interesting thoughts. Why do you think he didn't sign the confirmation at the end? From what you're saying, do you think that signing that confirmation at the end would make him a hero? It would be a smart decision to preserve his life but at what cost? At the cost of losing your believe and your conscience? And what was really his goal by going to court? His goal wasn't to bring Abigail and the other girls to justice, it was to save Elizabeth who was convicted witchcraft. =]
ReplyDeleteHis goal wasn't to bring Abigail and the other girls to justice. His goal was to save Elizabeth, his wife, from being executed for being convicted of witchcraft. A martyr? yes you could consider him one since he died for his beliefs.
ReplyDeletevery good but as said above he was trying to save his wife, but overall very good.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with you that he wasn't a hero or a stooge because he couldn't save anyone even himself although he believed in what was right and fought for it. Therefore I have to argue that he doesn't deserve to be called a martyr. By definition, a martyr is a person that save a group of people or organization through their death or persecution. In the end, nobody was saved after John Proctor died so how could he be called a martyr?
ReplyDelete-Jia Jia
ReplyDeleteJohn Proctor's goal was also to save everyone else by revealing the truth behind the lies Abigail and the other girls made up. He didn't end the trials even though he tried so I think he is a hero in that sense. He also ended up dying for trying to end Abigail's lies so he is fool in that sense. If he wanted to, he could have said signed the papers and said he was a witch to save himself so that he may have another chance of revealing the truth, but he didn't. That was just bad judgment in my opinion.
-David and Ulises
He was trying to save the others. When Danforth asked if he would drop the charges he imposed on Abigail after giving Elizabeth a year, John Proctor said no. He continued his argument. I think that means that he didn't only set out to save Elizabeth but the rest of the people and stop Abigail from lying anymore. Thank you Ulises.
-Yi
John Proctor is a martyr of his belief because he stuck to it until the end of his life. He did not recant when he was to be killed. I think he fits MY definition of a martyr.
Could John, be considered "half" a hero, as he partly confessed of himself being a witch?
ReplyDeleteWould "half" a hero, be considered a hero?
Well Amy, that's the thing. He is "half" of both sides. Can you be half good and half evil? You might probably say yes. If someone did evil things then people would associate that person as evil despite the good he has done. Though, there are always exceptions. It's up to you to decide if he is a hero, a stooge, or "half" a hero.
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ReplyDeleteWoah. 8 years of silence ended by the godly h.
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