John Proctor: Stooooge?

When I first learned John Proctor had committed adultery, I viewed him as a stooge. He kept his affair with Abigail a secret while innocent people were accused of witchcraft. He had put himself before other people’s lives. However, let’s be realistic. If you were John Proctor and you found out your friends’ wives were accused of witchcraft, would you tell everyone you had committed adultery in a flash to save their lives? Sure, it would be nice of you, but it wouldn’t happen. I know it’s one of the worse mistakes you can make, but everyone has sinned and aren’t proud of what they had done. For example, one our presidents had many affairs but people still love him, so why can’t John Proctor be considered a hero?

I agree that John shouldn’t have kept what Abigail had told him a secret (that everything they did was a sport). If he had said something in time, witchcraft possibly wouldn’t have become a big deal. But the consequences of John saying Abigail had lied about witchcraft and the devil, Abigail would say they had an affair. So if I were John Proctor, well, I would probably do the same as what he had done in the book.

Based off of John Proctor’s deeds, he is a hero to me. John was one of the few characters who didn’t believe the witchcraft stories, so he had some sense. People, who think Proctor was a stooge, probably believe a hero is someone who saves the day with some type of super power. A hero can be anyone with courage and fight for what they believe in. Proctor admitted to lechery and chose to die instead of confessing to seeing the devil. He was brave for what he had done and even though his death didn’t save everyone else, he should be viewed as a hero.