In my opinion, John Proctor is a hero. Throughout the story, he stood up for what he believed in and put his reputation aside to help others. He showed the Salem community that often times the unpopular approach is the correct approach. This is the reason why he became a leader in the town even when he was not officially appointed to a position of leadership.
Proctor's affair with Abigail was indirectly the demise of Salem and the beginning of the witch trials. Abigail's attempt to be with him resulted in her drinking a charm to kill his wife, thus causing a town-wide conversation about witchcraft. In court, his own wife was accused of witchcraft. Proctor decided to confess to his own sin in an attempt to save her and many of the other people convicted with witchcraft. It takes a true hero to publicly admit to their own shortcomings because doing so only benefits other individuals. He also called the court out on the unjust trials and recognized that they were doing no good for Salem. Instead, they were causing a pattern of lies and accusations.
In addition, Proctor himself was accused of witchcraft at the end of the story. If he was not a hero, he would've lied and accused somebody else and continued the pattern. Instead, he decided to break it and selflessly gave up himself refusing to confess falsely against another citizen who was most likely innocent. This act of heroism resulted in his hanging. In refusing to give a false confession he obligated himself to previous statements and to his moral values. Most leaders today cannot do that and appear to be a certain way one week and another way the next week. Proctor put self-interests aside and operated with morality (even when it hurt him) and that makes for a genuine hero.
John Proctor chooses to confess in an attempt to save the names of the ones accused. He chooses death to save names of the ones accused.
ReplyDeleteHowever, he also makes these decisions for his own benefits as well. His mistake with Abigail brings shame and guilt upon his conscience. To rectify this, he makes these decisions to redeem himself in his own eyes. It's an act that includes his own personal gain. Does this other reason still make him a hero?
I still think that Proctor is hero, even if some of his actions towards the end of the novel were for his own personal gain. I don't think that there is anything wrong with John doing "the right thing" to make up for his mistakes because he is still helping others and standing up for his beliefs regardless of his possible motives.
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