Tragic hero Essay Example

Tragic hero Essay The Crucible as a drama effectively explores and treats the problems of envy and jealousy. These two problems are personified by the character Abigail. Abigail is vehemently jealous of Elizabeth Proctor and of course, her relationship with John Proctor, and in Act One drinks a charm to kill her. As this initial ceremony is what sparks the witch-hunts in Salem, it can be inferred that the jealousy evident in the play is the cause for all of the other problems that arise with the witch-hunts. This jealousy throughout the play causes hysteria and panic Elizabeth, knowing that Abigail wants [her] dead fears that she will be suspected in the witch hunts because of Abigails jealousies. This is indeed what occurs, Abigail utilising the agency that she gains during the trials to her advantage. However, the background of Abigails character must be explored in order to completely understand this jealousy and will for attention and love. Abigails parents were brutally murdered, and she was left as an orphan under Parris strict household. The nature of her jealousy, therefore is centres a will for affection and love. This problematises Abigails upbringing, thereby failed parents are revealed and problematised. The audiences response to Abigail identified with the tone of the play and with the manner in which envy is treated in the play with sympathy, but condemned. Other characters however, are not viewed as sympathetically. The Putnams also represent envy and resentment. Ann Putnam is resentful of Rebecca Nurse and her healthy family and this leads to Rebecca Nurses imprisonment and hanging. Thomas Putman represents envy in his constant struggle to gain more land. In this case, however, the audience condemns them. As members of the upper-middle class they do not attract sympathy for their actions. The problems of envy, jealousy and resentment, are condemned in Millers The Crucible and although partially justified in the case of Abigail, are deemed unacceptable by the audience. We will write a custom essay sample on Tragic hero specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Tragic hero specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Tragic hero specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer In Millers drama The Crucible, the need to maintain a good reputation and personal integrity is explored and problematised, revealing the superficial nature of the contemporaneous society and any applied society. John Proctor, who in Act 4 decides to hang rather than have his name be blackened typifies this trait. For this, he is immediately perceived as a character of high morals and the tragic hero of the play. However, the motives behind this high morality are exposed too. John Proctor, when deciding he will hang reveals his obsession with his good name. Although John Proctor is happy to sign the confession, he will not let it hang on the church door and this brings him to tear up what he has signed. This action represents superficiality and is problematised. The nature of the public eye, particularly the gossiping nature of Puritanism represented undermines the judicial system and ridicules it. In this, the society of Salem is condemned by the audience for its theocracy and that prive and public morality are one. The character John Proctor, although viewed as essentially good and condoned by the audience has motives to appear perfect in the public eye, an obsession that is problematised, and ultimately results in his death. Giles Corey, another character essentially viewed as good also refuses to give into the pressure of society and indeed the pressure of the stones that pressed him and clung to his personal integrity when refusing to name those whod signed an affidavit as to the good nature of Elizabeth Proctor, Martha Corey and Rebecca Nurse. This personal pride borders on the edge of stubbornness and for this reason is problematised. The result of this pressing is the Corey dies, which although tragic, allows the audience to understand that he did die in vain, and with regards to the symbolic nature of the text understand that Giles Corey gave in to societal pressure like John Proctor, resulting in his downfall. Although the values of a reputation and the importance of personal integrity are maintained throughout the drama, obsession with these traits is problematised, resulting in death and destruction. A significant moral problem that is raised in the drama The Crucible is moral uncertainty, and it is explored and treated as the drama progresses. The original John Hale spoke of a conscientious endeavour to do the thing that was right. This is true of the nature of the Coreys, the Proctors and the Nurses in the play, and to an extent the judges who believe it is G-ds work [they] do. Yet these characters have difficulty in determining what exactly is right and what exactly is moral. Repetition is utilised in order to illustrate this problem. The repetition of the phrase I think indicates this uncertainty. In Act Two, for example, Elizabeth says in succession The towns gone wild, I think, I think you must go to Salem, John. I think so, and when referring to the court I think they must be told. To this, Proctor answers Ill think on it and I think its not easy to prove shes fraud. All of this suggest an uncertainty, not only to the whole situation of the witch-hunts in Salem but to societys inability to make correct judgements, and the uncertainty that society displays about what is right and wrong and what each individuals position is. This insecurity and inability to make clear concise decisions and the moral uncertainty of these decisions escalates the conflict within the drama, revealing dilemma and thus making the drama more effective. Unconsciously these characters ignore what they feel is right, and instead depend on the views of the persuasive society to do what they think is right. For example, Judge Danforth refuses to believe that the girls might be frauds and he has been making the wrong judgements throughout the play and sentencing innocents to death. The problem of moral uncertainty represented throughout the play through repetition, characterisation and conflict allows the audience to condemn this uncertainty. The audience is also able to view the destruction of characters and society itself within the play as a result of this lack of moral conviction and integrity. The Crucible, by Arthur Miller is an effective medium in which a variety of social and moral problems are raised. These problematised issues are typically treated in two ways. Firstly, in the case of problems raised such as gender and class inequalities, traditional roles are often maintained, but varied slightly in order to create confusion and complications. These complications allow these problems to be raised and condemned. Other problems, such as envy, jealousy and bigotry are vehemently attacked by Miller, allowing the audience to immediately view these issues and others as problematic. While some problems and issues raised are justified for example, Abigails desire for affection relates to her traumatic childhood all in all, the main problems raised in The Crucible are rejected. This is achieved by the use of a variety of dramatic techniques and conventions throughout the drama, allowing the audience to gain insight into the problems evident not only in the Puritan society of Salem, Massachusetts in 1492, but to other contexts be it Millers McCarthyist context, the Nazi Germany period, contemporary society or to any general context where human behaviour and conflict is evident. Tragic Hero Essay Example Tragic Hero Paper John Proctor Tragic Hero? How does he fit in to the tradition of tragic heroes e. g. Macbeth, Oedipus, Hamlet? What is modern about him? Aristotle said that a tragic hero is A man neither entirely good nor entirely bad who through some flaw in his character or through some error of judgement, passes from great happiness to great sorrow. Also said of a tragic hero is an action serious and discrete in itself, a man of some eminence, and a tragic flaw often the result of pride. In this essay Im going to compare John Proctor to other tragic heroes and decide if he falls into the same situation. Macbeth as a tragic hero is married and relatively happy at the beginning of the play but his flaws are ambition and a suppressed desire to be King. This flaw causes him to go from a well-respected Thane to a dead King. Oedipus is born with his flaw; there is nothing he can do to stop it. Although what makes the downfall to great sorrow happen is that fact he tries to avoid the prophecy. John Proctor is a married man with two sons. At the beginning of the play he is looking to expand his farm. He has had a bad time with his wife. We will write a custom essay sample on Tragic Hero specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Tragic Hero specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Tragic Hero specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer John Proctor has many flaws in his character, which cause him great sorrow. His affair with Abigail is one of his flaws especially when he wants nothing more to do with her. Abigail holds a grudge on John Proctor and his wife Elizabeth and when the hysteria starts she has a chance to get revenge. John Proctor rarely attends church, which in 1692 was thought of extremely badly. The reason he doesnt attend church is because he doesnt get on with the Reverend Parris. This makes religion one of his enemies. Another of his enemies is wealth, in the form of Putnam. Proctor has had disputes over land with Putnam. John Proctor believes he is an important, respected figure in Salem and believes he is more powerful than the court and wont get caught up in the hysteria. He doesnt believe in witches and doesnt want a witch-hunt, but by trying to stop the mass hysteria he puts himself in the position of being accused as a witch. When John Proctor comes forward and says the girls are frauds he is too late. He leaves it too late because of his pride; he doesnt want people to know about his affair with Abigail Williams because it will ruin his reputation. When John Proctor does finally admit to the court the girls are lying, the court want to believe but it would mean they had already killed too many innocent people. A tragic hero often has a choice over what happens in the end. In the case of Macbeth, he does not take the easy option and run away but waits until he is found in is castle and is killed. Oedipus has no control over what happens to him in that he was unaware he slept with his mother and killed his father. However, Oedipus does choose to gouge out his eyeballs, a decision not necessary. In John Proctors case he has two options to save himself from his death. He could go with Abigail to Boston and run away and avoid death and imprisonment. John Proctor does not like saving himself at the expense of others. Proctor hates hypocrisy, and he comes dangerously close to being a hypocrite himself. He tries to name Abigail a fraud without revealing the information about his affair with her. By the time he confesses it is too late to stop the craze from running its course. At the end, Proctor wrestles with the decision to save himself from the gallows with a confession. He does not want to go to the gallows with the others and have anyone think of him as a martyr because he refuses to confess out of spite. He does not want to have to name the six other prisoners as guilty in his confession because he does not want to save his life by tarnishing the names of others. He does not want his signed confession nailed on the church door because it makes the six convicts look like unrepentant sinners. He chooses to go to the gallows because there is no way to save himself without putting blame on the names of the other prisoners. John Proctor doesnt take the easy opportunities, as dont the other tragic heroes. This is because taking these options is too convenient and goes against literary tradition. Tragic Hero Essay Example Tragic Hero Paper In every Sophoclean drama, there is a hero of some kind.These heroes usually are the focus of the myth.Some examples would be Frodo from the Lord of the Rings, Jason and the Argonauts in the Quest for the Golden Fleece, etc.Characters such as Creon and Antigone of the myth Antigone are also great examples.All of these characters have the qualities of a tragic hero, according to Aristotle.These qualities would be that they are inherently good, have good intentions, recognize responsibility, and accept their fate with dignity.Unfortunately, every hero has a tragic flaw. Creon and Antigone embody characteristics of the traditional Greek tragic hero and the Sophoclean tragic hero, respectively. The traditional Greek tragic hero is defined by five characteristics, thefirst being Aret. Aret is having excellence.Hubris is defines a hero as having excessive pride.At is blind recklessness that heroes may follow because they do not think about what is going to happen next.Nemesis is disastrou s retribution.The tragic flaw that a traditional Greek hero harbors is their excessive pride.This is shown when Creon says, But whoever steps out of line, violates the laws or presumes to hand out orders to his superiors, hell win no praise from me. (AI L746-750)They will not accept defeat and this is bad.Creon of the myth Antigone is a traditional Greek tragic hero.He is also the antagonist in the story. The Sophoclean tragic hero is a character whose rigid and courageous adherence to a set of principles invites their disastrous fate.Their flaw is their rigidity.Antigone is a Sophoclean tragic hero in the self-entitled myth.She would not leave a family member unburied, which in turn breaks her fathers law and proves to bring her doom.