John Proctor: Hero or Stooge?

In the Merriam-Webster dictionary, hero is defined as a person who is admired for great or brave acts or fine qualities. A stooge is described as a weak or unimportant person who is controlled by a powerful person, organization, etc.

John Proctor is a very complex character and we, as readers, really got to see his many layers as we read The Crucible. It is a difficult task to label someone as hero or stooge. Although there are definitions for the words, there are many grey areas when it comes to placing a person into one of the categories. Heroes, unlike the way they are thought to be personified, can have flaws. That's part of the way the character becomes relatable for a reader. Not every character is written to perfectly fit a label, just like most people don’t fit into certain categories one hundred percent of the time. Judging someone’s mortality is in most ways judging your own and how you view others, which is unique to each person.                      

John Proctor is a hero with a hamartia (fatal flaw) in my eyes. Proctor is initially introduced as a strong farmer that many of the townspeople admire. He is a described to have leadership qualities and as a person that is honored and respected. He owns a farm, has a lovely wife and children, and is well liked. What could possibly be wrong? Well, the first indicator that John Proctor is not perfect is that he does not attend church regularly. Living in a Puritan society meant that your life was heavily influenced by religion and it was mandatory that all citizens attend mass every Sunday. So, we know that Proctor is unsure of his faith. A reason for a questioning of faith may be due to his affair with Abigail Williams, which brings us to flaw number two. John Proctor committed adultery. Despite all of the chaos with the witch trials and the accusations being thrown around, one of the central roots of the problems caused in the town goes back to John and Abigail’s affair. If Abigail and John never had an affair, Goody Proctor would have not fired Abigail, Abigail would have never tried to conjure a potion in the forest to kill Goody Proctor, Betty wouldn’t have gotten bewitched, Abigail wouldn’t have accused a bunch of people (including Goody Proctor) of witchcraft, dozens of people wouldn’t have died, and John Proctor wouldn’t have had to publicly admit to his affair and end up getting killed. John Proctor heroically announced his adultery in order to save his wife, but in the end, got himself killed. He was a hero whose hamartia was an affair with a young girl that ended up ruining (ending) his life.