John Proctor: Hero or Stooge?

First of all, something completely unrelated to the title of this blog post is... PROCRASTINATION. This is partly why you see this blog post posted at around 12 am in the morning. How can this be? Well, I got home.. ate some goldfish, took a nap, went on my phone... oh, you don't need further explaining? Alright, let's get to this post then, shall we? *cool kid music*
For today's post, I will be talking about...
JOHN PROCTOR!!!
John Proctor is one of the main characters in The Crucible as he plays a really important role in the book. Many can argue both ways on whether or not John Proctor was a hero or a stooge, but many argued that he was a hero.. Which makes his "heroism" "mainstream." (Credits to Justin)
Even though in the back of my mind I agree that John Proctor did a really heroic thing, I feel like it is also arguable that he is a stooge. (At least for most of the story)
First of all, something "super juicy" happened in Act I that probably made some of you puke in your mind. HE HAD AN AFFAIR WITH A 17 YEAR OLD GIRL!! That, by itself is a foolish thing. (Then I think to myself.. if this was present day, wouldn't that be considered rape? Abigail is under 18!) In my opinion, when you're married, you're committed to your wife/husband You're not supposed to commit adultery! As a puritan, John should've known better. Also, how old was John? Like 34? He was pretty much twice as old as Abby, and to me committing adultery on a 17 year old is just plain foolish. I'm not trying to say that adultery could be justified, but why would he bother to break a commandment on someone he can call a "child?"
Even though something that you might justify with is the fact that John regretted doing that and felt sorry at the end; he did what he did. There was no turning back.
Another thing that John did was forget one of the commandments. (Oh the irony, I laugh every time.) Out of all the commandments, he had to be reminded of one by Elizabeth, his wife, that adultery was a commandment. It was like he was doing it on purpose or he was nervous, but that was definitely an action that I felt like John messed up on.
A lot of you might be reading this and being like: Why are you focusing just on certain parts in the beginning?
Well, I'm getting there, explaining myself till the end.
PLOT TWIST...
Towards the end of the story, John realized that what he did with adultery was wrong, and even if there was no turning back he knew that he had to show that he was faithful with his wife. He truly felt sorrow and regret for his past, stupid mistakes. I gotta say, that part when John and Elizabeth talked alone made me soften up a bit. All along I thought John was nothing but a fool, but then I realized that he really did care about Elizabeth, with the words being said and even a passionate kiss at the end of their alone time.
At the very end, John ripped up the confession paper he signed because he truly didn't witness witchcraft, and he felt like it was foolish for accusing another person just to save himself. Because of that, John had to die a pretty painful death, but that didn't matter to him. What actually mattered was the fact that his name would be remembered for someone who made a sacrifice, and after his death, not only did Elizabeth marry another man but the witch trials slowed down a bit. It wasn't as hectic and crazy, at least in my opinion, and I feel like John Proctor not only saved other people, but he made a big impact to the Salem Witch Trials. Even though the trials would've ended sooner or later, if he accused more people, the chaos would've kept going.
Therefore, even though John could be easily argued to be a stooge, especially in the beginning, I feel like he has died a heroic, tragic death.
Also, one thing that I thought about was the fact that even though John wronged God and he knew it, I feel like one of his reasons for dying a sacrificing death was because he felt like he wronged God in so many ways.. It made sense to me that John died partly to resemble Christ, even though he wasn't perfect.
JOHN IS A HERO AT THE END YAY
THE END