John Proctor, Hero or Stooge?

The Crucible is ironic . Simply Ironic. John Proctor is one to urge a behavior towards others that he believes deserves to be drawn out and scrutinized, yet lives in hypocrisy himself. Adultery. It is the name of the crime (crime in the Puritan society at least) he is guilty of, yet looks on others with shame as they conduct themselves in double standards. Although this is certain, Proctor is my favorite. Could it be his wittiness and sharp tongue? Even though the other characters make for great entertainment, he serves his role quite well as the hero. Proctor judges himself with the same harshness as he does with anyone else. Elizabeth Proctor said it herself. The balance of justice is clearly thrown all the way off on the crazy side in this book, and at the point of my last read (end of Act III) his scale seems to be weighed the most even. He confessed his sin, which by Puritan means makes him a clean man, and in this book, a clean man means a clean name. Name and politics is what influences power and authority in this community, but unfortunately Proctor’s exposure came in a bit late, and now works in means of his downfall (as is what the book is foretelling for now). So is Proctor foolish for advocating the simple well-being of his town? No, but his ways in going about so lead him in the counter direction of his goals. For instance, we have a perfect example: Abigail. This girl was nothing but sly and devious to achieve her revenge, and also in gaining the trust she needed through manipulating the Puritan society. Of course her ways were unethical, so we have to ask: do the means justify the ends? In some cases yes, and some no. When complicated matters boil down to a yes or no question, all that remains is the simplification of a dense situation that does no justice (or finds no real solution) to the matter as a whole. So when asked is John Proctor a hero or stooge , I would throw my dart somewhere in the middle; and perhaps, that is the bull’s-eye.