The crucible as a tragedy
The crucible as a tragedyThe Crucible can be seen to be a tragedy in a number of ways, mainly because the main character is faced with, in the words of the author, Arthur Miller, himself, a tragic dilemma.
John Proctor is the main character in the play of The Crucible. At the outset of the play, he does not appear to be a central character, but as the story develops, one can see that the importance of his existence and the reason behind his presence are soon made known.
John Proctor is a man with a divided nature and this is reflected in the way he conducts the relationships between his neighbours and himself. The relationship which reveals the most about the man is the one between him and Abigail. Miller tells us that Proctor feels he has compromised his idea of decency and proper conduct, but the farmer does not seem to assume any such emotion. As a matter of fact, he is unashamed or embarrassed at the presence of Abigail, his illegal liaison, and even smiles somewhat knowingly at her when he points his finger at her and accuses her of being ‘wicked’. He claims that their relationship is over and even goes so far as to say that they ‘never touched’. This seems to contradict the fact that Proctor is a man of strong convictions, but Proctor’s obvious opposition to Parris, his brow-beating of Mary Warren, his threatening violence against the court clerk and his tearing up of the Governer’s warrant all indicate the strength of his character as well as the strong convictions which possess this man.
Later on, John Proctor is faced with a tragic dilemma which tests this conviction. He is accused of witchcraft himself and he is forced to make a choice between confessing to the deeds which he has not done and live, or...
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